Wednesday, December 29, 2021

nothing but a welcome for my friend and colleague” [TWIS]  



The great heroes of literature are frequently teamed up with a sidekick: Don Quixote with Sancho Panza, Robinson Crusoe with Friday, Huckleberry Finn with Tom Sawyer. But the key to these pairings is an underlying friendship.

In the final episode of Season 5, we take a look at one of the most obvious features of the Sherlock Holmes canon: the friendship between Holmes and Watson. It's just a Trifle.




Download | 10.5 MB, 21:37


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Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra
Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band

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Wednesday, December 22, 2021

“a curiously reptilian fashion” [FINA]  



Aside from vipers, cobras, and adders, there are other reptiles in the Sherlock Holmes stories that either have a bearing on cases or are mentioned in passing. We're even able to find an amphibian or two.

In this final episode of our Exotic Animals series in Season 5, we visit the Reptile House and explore what the Victorians knew (or didn't know) about these creatures, hoping not to rouse anyone's snakish temper. It's just a Trifle.




Download | 9.5 MB, 20:52



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Links / Notes

Playlist: Trifles episodes about animals


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Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra
Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band

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Wednesday, December 15, 2021

Homes seldom laughed.” [MAZA]  



Sherlock Holmes could be deadly serious. As in his encounter with Professor Moriarty, his matter-of-fact explanations, and when Watson wrote "Holmes seldom laughed" in "The Mazarin Stone."

But was Sherlock Holmes really all that humorless? Fortunately, we have decades of Watson's chronicles from which to choose. Let's get into it. After all, it's just a Trifle.




Download | 12.3 MB, 24:52



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Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra
Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band

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Wednesday, December 8, 2021

“Holmes pointed to the street lamp” [SIXN]  



It's impossible to think about Victorian London without imagining street lamps. We're most familiar with the gas-powered versions, but there were other iterations before. 

What was the origin of London's famous gas-lamps, and which Sherlock Holmes stories do they feature in? It's just a Trifle.

We also have an announcement about a special episode only for our Patreon supporters. Be sure you're on board to take part in that.



Download | 13.9 MB, 28:20


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Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra
Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band

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Wednesday, December 1, 2021

she confessed with distress” [LADY]  





Sherlock Holmes took on clients of all sorts, often when they were puzzled, had nowhere else to turn, or were particularly worried.

And three ladies in particular in the Canon were worried. But they stand head and shoulders above some of the other female victims we find. Who are they and in which stories do they appear? It's just a Trifle.

We also have an announcement about a special episode only for our Patreon supporters. Be sure you're on board to take part in that.



Download | 13.2 MB, 27:00


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Have you left us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts yet? You don't need to own an Apple device, and every review helps more people find the show. 



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Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra
Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band

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Wednesday, November 24, 2021

“a love-story or an elopement” [SIGN]  



We don't think of the Sherlock Holmes stories as being romances, and yet there are elements of romance that find their way into these tales about complicated human relationships at all levels.

We look across a handful of stories to tease out the romantic elements and love interests in them. It's just a Trifle.

We also have an announcement about a special episode only for our Patreon supporters. Be sure you're on board to take part in that.



Download | 8.7 MB, 17:24


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Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra
Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band

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Wednesday, November 17, 2021

“a fierce old bird of prey” [SPEC] 



Birds are part of British life. Such is the reality of living on an island. And there were a great variety of birds we hear about in the Sherlock Holmes stories.

While many of them were commonplace and part of the hunting and dining habits in Victorian England, there were others that were a little more exotic. It's just a Trifle.

We also have an announcement about a special episode only for our Patreon supporters. Be sure you're on board to take part in that.



Download | 12.5 MB, 25:29



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Links / Notes

  • This episode: ihose.co/trifles255
  • Inspired by Donald Jewell's A Few Hours to the Birds: A Monograph on Birds and Birding in the Time of Sherlock Holmes, Volume 2 in The Sherlock Holmes Natural History Series (Pinchin Lane Press, 1991)
  • Find us on FacebookTwitterInstagram and YouTube
  • Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com
  • Support us on Patreon

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Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra
Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band

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Thursday, November 11, 2021

“You’re crazy!” [DANC] 



Sherlock Holmes had his eccentricities, without a question. Many scholars over the years have debated his mental health, with a wide variety of diagnoses.

But there has been a suggestion that a physical condition in Holmes and its treatment may very well have masked another disorder—one of the mind rather than the body. It's just a Trifle.




Download | 9.5 MB, 20:29


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Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra
Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band

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Wednesday, November 3, 2021

to produce his meretricious finales” [BLAN] 



There are a number of times in the 60 Sherlock Holmes stories when Holmes criticizes Watson's efforts as a writer. Holmes takes the view of a practitioner, while Watson is trying to reach a different audience.

Indeed, it's when Holmes himself attempts to fill in for Watson that he finds just how difficult it is. Were Watson's conclusions meretricious, or were they in service of Holmes's abilities? It's just a Trifle.




Download | 13 MB, 25:48


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Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra
Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band

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Wednesday, October 27, 2021

hereditary tendencies of the most diabolical kind” [FINA] 

Source: YouTube


Family matters a great deal in the Sherlock Holmes stories, although we don't discover anything about Holmes and his family background until halfway through the stories that make up The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, where we meet Mycroft.

And yet, there were many instances in which family bloodlines gave Holmes an indication of what he was looking for. It's just a Trifle.




Download | 10.6 MB, 21:21


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Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra
Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band

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Wednesday, October 20, 2021

“a pin, a cork, and a card” [HOUN]  




When it came to exotic insects, butterflies were all the rage in Victorian England. They were sought after by naturalists and collectors, to become part of collections in studies as well as institutions.

We have a few collectors in the Canon who made it their business to pin butterflies to cork and display them. Here's what we know about them and about their hobby. It's just a Trifle.




Download | 12.2 MB, 24:35


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Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra
Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band

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Wednesday, October 13, 2021

 “extraordinary stories about your financial ability” [STOC] 



Money was occasionally a concern for Sherlock Holmes. But when, and more importantly, why? All of those police engagements were likely pro bono work, after all.

His relationship with Watson began over the need to economize, and over the course of his career, he enjoyed some remarkably wealthy individuals as clients. It's just a Trifle.




Download | 11.5 MB, 22:54


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Have you left us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts yet? You don't need to own an Apple device, and every review helps more people find the show. 



Links / Notes


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Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra
Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band

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Wednesday, October 6, 2021

 Have you noticed anything amiss with them of late?” [SILV] 



"The Three Gables" isn't likely to be found on anyone's "best of" list of Sherlock Holmes stories. It arrives late in the Canon, and rather weakly at that.

But it is worth pointing out a few items within that are rather curious. One might even call them a Trifle.




Download | 11.7 MB, 23:26



Find Trifles wherever you listen to podcasts:


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Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra
Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band

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Wednesday, September 29, 2021

 it was her plot as much as mine” [ABBE] 

Image credit: YouTube


From the realm of conjecture: what if the star-crossed lovers in "The Adventure of Abbey Grange" and "The Problem of Thor Bridge" weren't simply victims of circumstance? What if the damsels in distress weren't being unfairly persecuted? 

That is, what if they plotted the demise of the hated member of their love triangle and were able to fool Sherlock Holmes? It's just a Trifle.




Download | 12 MB, 24:06



Find Trifles wherever you listen to podcasts:


Have you left us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts yet? You don't need to own an Apple device, and every review helps more people find the show. 



Links / Notes


Sponsor


Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra
Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band

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Wednesday, September 22, 2021

“Maybe you collect yourself, sir” [EMPT] 



Sherlock Holmes shared his reading interests on occasion, and they tended to be wide and varied. Some of them were for professional development purposes, yet others seem to exist to expand his thinking.
 
Was Sherlock Holmes a book collector? And if he was, what kind of care did he take for his volumes? It's just a Trifle.




Download | 12.4 MB, 25:06


Find Trifles wherever you listen to podcasts:


Have you left us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts yet? You don't need to own an Apple device, and every review helps more people find the show. 



Links / Notes


Sponsor


Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra
Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band

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Our Team

Scott Monty and Burt Wolder are both members of the Baker Street Irregulars, the literary society dedicated to Sherlock Holmes. They have co-hosted the popular show I Hear of Everywhere since June 2007.

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