Episode 433 – On Stage and Off

“before my biographer had come to glorify me” [GREE]

Once again, we find ourselves in a "Mr. Sherlock Holmes the theorist"-themed episode, where we look at a piece of old scholarship. This time, we share a chapter from William S. Baring-Gould's groundbreaking biography of Sherlock Holmes.

Chapter V "On Stage and Off in England and America: 1879–1881" finds us in the two years leading up to Holmes and Watson meeting each other, while Holmes was beginning to run low on funds. His decision would mean a remarkable set of experiences ahead. It's just a Trifle. 

And we have some bonus content related to a particular footnote of Baring-Gould's in this chapter. It's available exclusively for our supporters.

Another "Trifling Trifles" episode — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode — is coming your way in a few days. As a reminder, this is exclusively for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack).

Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to this episode here or wherever you get podcasts

Download | 27.6 MB 28:26

Links

• Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street: A Life of the World's First Consulting Detective by William S. Baring-Gould (Abebooks)
• Other episodes mentioned:
• Episode 124 - Odd Jobs
• Episode 130 - Watson's Club
• Episode 412 - A Touch of the Dramatic
• All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com 

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra
Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band.
Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Continue Reading

Episode 432 – The Man with the Watches (The Apocrypha Part 2)

“I would read as easily as I do the apocrypha” [VALL]

The second in our series on the Apocrypha of Sherlock Holmes — stories that are not in the original Canonical 60 but that have some relevant interest. In this case, we have a story written by Arthur Conan Doyle in 1898 and set in 1892 involving the mysterious death of a passenger on a train. The murderer is nowhere to be found and the man has an unusual number of watches on his person.

A "well-known criminal investigator" writes a letter to the press with an explanation. We briefly discuss the story and the many theories as to the authorship of those letters over the years by numerous Sherlockians. It's just a Trifle. 

This season, we've added "Trifling Trifles" — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode — as an additional channel of content exclusively for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack).

Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to this episode here or wherever you get podcasts

Download | 26.9 MB 23:05

Please leave us a rating and review on iTunes or Google Play, and consider supporting our efforts through Patreon or Substack.

Links

• The Story of the Man with the Watches (Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia)
• 5. The Man with the Watches & The Lost Special (Doings of Doyle)
• All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com 

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra
Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band.
Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Continue Reading

Episode 431 – The Alleged Use of Cocaine by Mr. Sherlock Holmes

“you are mistaken about my alleged agents” [MAZA] 

Along with the calabash pipe, deerstalker cap, and Inverness cape, one of Sherlock Holmes's traits is the use of cocaine. But should it be?

William H. Miller, M.D. F.A.C.P. won the Morley-Montgomery Award for his article in Vol. 19, No. 3 of The Baker Street Journal in which he asserted that we're mistaken in believing that Sherlock Holmes used cocaine. Don't believe us? Well, it's just a Trifle.

All of our supporters are eligible for our monthly drawings for Baker Street Journals and bonus content. Join our community on Patreon or Substack today.

This season, we've added "Trifling Trifles" — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode — as an additional channel of content exclusively for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack).

Do you have a topic you'd like to recommend? Email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com and if we use your idea on the air, we'll send you a thank-you gift.

Download | 23.9 MB, 25:22

Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to us wherever you listen to podcasts.

Links / Notes

• Morley-Montgomery Award Winners
• Previous episodes referenced:
• Episode 84 - The Morocco Case
• Episode 269 - The Seven Per-Cent Solution
• All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com 

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra 

Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band 

Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Continue Reading

Episode 430 – North American Businesses

“the great North American Continent” [STUD] 

Picking up where we left off in Episode 428 ("British Businesses"), we're moving to the other side of the pond and doing a survey of businesses in North America that were mentioned in the Sherlock Holmes stories.

Since there are decidedly fewer scenes and stories that took place in North America, we have far fewer to choose from. But not so few as to leave us without something interesting to say! It's just a Trifle.

All of our supporters are eligible for our monthly drawings for Baker Street Journals and bonus content. Join our community on Patreon or Substack today.

This season, we've added "Trifling Trifles" — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode — as an additional channel of content exclusively for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack).

Do you have a topic you'd like to recommend? Email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com and if we use your idea on the air, we'll send you a thank-you gift.

Download | 28.11 MB, 26:00

Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to us wherever you listen to podcasts.

Links / Notes

• Previous episodes referenced:
• Episode 21 - Pubs and Taverns, Part 1
• Episode 22 - Pubs and Tavers, Part 2
• All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com 

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra 

Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band 

Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Continue Reading

Episode 429 – The Mathematics of Mrs. Watson

“As to your dates, that is the biggest mystification of all.” [CREE] 

It's not often that we get a piece of Sherlockian scholarship that had its origin in a mainstream publication. And in this case, it's from one of the original Sherlockians.

In 1932, Ronald Knox set out to review two new Sherlockian books, but he managed to turn it into an essay that was a master class in chronology. It's just a Trifle.

And stay tuned, as we have some bonus content on Ronald Knox for our supporters.

All of our supporters are eligible for our monthly drawings for Baker Street Journals and bonus content. Join our community on Patreon or Substack today.

This season, we've added "Trifling Trifles" — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode — as an additional channel of content exclusively for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack).

Do you have a topic you'd like to recommend? Email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com and if we use your idea on the air, we'll send you a thank-you gift.

Download | 28.11 MB, 26:00

Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to us wherever you listen to podcasts.

Links / Notes

• Ronald Knox and Sherlock Holmes: The Origin of Sherlockian Studies
• Baker Street Miscellanea
• All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com 

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra 

Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band 

Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Continue Reading

Episode 428 – British Businesses

“preoccupied with business matters” [COPP] 

If you came across the name of a business in the Sherlock Holmes stories, do you think you could identify which story it came from? What about the type of business it was?

We put your Canonical skills to the test in this episode as we quiz you (and each other!) on some familiar and not-so-familiar business names from the Great Britain of Sherlock Holmes. It's just a Trifle.

All of our supporters are eligible for our monthly drawings for Baker Street Journals and bonus content. Join our community on Patreon or Substack today.

This season, we've added "Trifling Trifles" — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode — as an additional channel of content exclusively for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack).

Do you have a topic you'd like to recommend? Email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com and if we use your idea on the air, we'll send you a thank-you gift.

Download | 28.11 MB, 26:00

Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to us wherever you listen to podcasts.

Links / Notes

• Bush Up Your Shakespeare (YouTube)
• Previous episodes mentioned:
• Episode 286 - Strange Businesses
• Episode 419 - Partnerships
• All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com 

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra 

Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band 

Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Continue Reading

Episode 427 – My Biblical Knowledge Is a Trifle Rusty

“There is nothing in which deduction is so necessary as in religion,” [NAVA] 

The Morley-Montgomery Award-winning article this month is "My Biblical Knowledge is a Trifle Rusty" by Henry T. Folsom, BSI ("The Golden Pince-Nez"), from The Baker Street Journal, Volume 15, No. 3. 

Rev. Folsom took the opportunity as a practitioner of the faith to examine the religious beliefs (or lack thereof) of Sherlock Holmes. Was he an atheist? Was he a believer? And if so, what form did it take? It's just a Trifle.

All of our supporters are eligible for our monthly drawings for Baker Street Journals and bonus content. Join our community on Patreon or Substack today.

This season, we've added "Trifling Trifles" — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode — as an additional channel of content exclusively for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack).

Do you have a topic you'd like to recommend? Email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com and if we use your idea on the air, we'll send you a thank-you gift.

Download | 24.4 MB, 26:00

Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to us wherever you listen to podcasts.

Links / Notes

• The Morley-Montgomery Award
• All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com 

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra 

Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band 

Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Continue Reading

Episode 426 - The Field Bazaar (The Apocrypha Part 1)

“I would read as easily as I do the apocrypha” [VALL] 

We're starting a short series on the Apocrypha of Sherlock Holmes: stories that are not in the Canonical 60 but that have some relevant interest.

The first installment is "The Field Bazaar," written by Arthur Conan Doyle in 1896 for his alma mater. It's a short item and it provides some insights into the habits of Holmes and Watson. And it's just a Trifle.

All of our supporters are eligible for our monthly drawings for Baker Street Journals and bonus content. Join our community on Patreon or Substack today.

This season, we've added "Trifling Trifles" — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode — as an additional channel of content exclusively for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack).

Do you have a topic you'd like to recommend? Email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com and if we use your idea on the air, we'll send you a thank-you gift.

Download | 24.4 MB, 26:00

Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to us wherever you listen to podcasts.

Links / Notes

• The Field Bazaar 
• All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com 

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra 

Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band 

Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Continue Reading

Episode 425 – Disguise Is Key

“see through a disguise” [HOUN] 

The third episode of every month is a look into a piece of Sherlockian scholarship, and this time it brings us to Vol. 64 No. 3 of The Baker Street Journal from 2014 with a piece by Maria Fleischhack, BSI ("Rache").

In this article, Maria looks at various Germans in the Sherlock Holmes stories and tracks the disguises or aliases they used, in conjunction with Conan Doyle's own attitude toward Germans and Germans' attitudes toward the English. It's just a Trifle.

All of our supporters are eligible for our monthly drawings for Baker Street Journals and bonus content. Join our community on Patreon or Substack today.

This season, we've added "Trifling Trifles" — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode — as an additional channel of content exclusively for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack).

Do you have a topic you'd like to recommend? Email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com and if we use your idea on the air, we'll send you a thank-you gift.

Download | 20.1 MB, 21:38

Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to us wherever you listen to podcasts.

Links / Notes

• The Baker Street Journal
• Previous episode mentioned: Episode 108 - Germans and Sherlock Holmes 
• All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com 

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra 

Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band 

Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Continue Reading

Episode 424 – Banks in the Canon

“drawn on six different banks” [VALL] 

Banks and bankers are important to Sherlock Holmes. From clients to necessary fiduciaries, they represent an essential part of the real and Canonical worlds.

Which banks are mentioned? What bankers do we meet? And what about one very specific bank to which we owe a debt of gratitude? It's just a Trifle.

All of our supporters are eligible for our monthly drawings for Baker Street Journals and bonus content. Join our community on Patreon or Substack today.

This season, we're adding "Trifling Trifles" — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode — as an additional channel of content exclusively for our paying subscribers. Don't miss it!

Do you have a topic you'd like to recommend? Email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com and if we use your idea on the air, we'll send you a thank-you gift.

Download | 21.9 MB, 23:34

>

Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to us wherever you listen to podcasts.

Links / Notes

• Jay Finley Christ — An Old Irregular 
• All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com 

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra 

Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band 

Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Continue Reading

Episode 423 – The Methods of Sherlock Holmes

“You know my methods. Apply them!” [HOUN] 

In 1893, a curious entry appeared in the Tit-Bits magazine: an examination paper on the methods of Sherlock Holmes. A cash prize was offered to the winner (whom we know).

The author of the quiz, though? That's been unknown for nearly a century and a half. Until Michael Meer came along and made an identification that earned him the Morley-Montgomery Award for 2024. It's just a Trifle.

All of our supporters are eligible for our monthly drawings for Baker Street Journals and bonus content. Join our community on Patreon or Substack today.

This season, we're adding "Trifling Trifles" — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode — as an additional channel of content exclusively for our paying subscribers. Don't miss it!

Do you have a topic you'd like to recommend? Email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com and if we use your idea on the air, we'll send you a thank-you gift.

Download | 27.4 MB, 23:52 

>

Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to us wherever you listen to podcasts.

Links / Notes

• The Morley-Montgomery Award
• Previous episodes mentioned:
• Episode 163 - Victorian Vegetarians
• All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com 

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra 

Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band 

Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Continue Reading

Episode 422 – Baritsu

“the Japanese system of wrestling” [EMPT] 

When Sherlock Holmes defeated Professor Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls, he had a secret weapon: his knowledge of a certain style of Japanese wrestling.

Of course, we don't find this out until his return, and even then, Watson (or is it Holmes?) conveys the wrong name. It's just a Trifle.

All of our supporters are eligible for our monthly drawings for Baker Street Journals and bonus content. Join our community on Patreon or Substack today.

This season, we're adding "Trifling Trifles" — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode — as an additional channel of content exclusively for our paying subscribers. Don't miss it!

Do you have a topic you'd like to recommend? Email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com and if we use your idea on the air, we'll send you a thank-you gift.

Download | 27.4 MB, 23:52 

>

Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to us wherever you listen to podcasts.

Links / Notes

• Bartitsu (Wikipedia)
• The Bartitsu Club
• The Bartitsu Society: Preserving and Extending the Martial Arts Legacy of Edward William Barton-Wright
• Bartitsu: The Gentlemanly Art of Self-Defence (YouTube)
• All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com 

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra 

Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band 

Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Continue Reading

Episode 421 – Turkish Baths

“the sweat was pouring down my face” [BLUE] 

Turkish baths come up in just two of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Quick—without looking it up, can you name which? We know Watson enjoys both of them; Holmes joins him for one.

In this episode, we discuss the origins and history of the Turkish bath, and specifically focus on the Victorian Turkish bath. Sit back and relax. This is just a Trifle.

All of our supporters are eligible for our monthly drawings for Baker Street Journals and bonus content. Join our community on Patreon or Substack today.

This season, we're adding "Trifling Trifles" — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode — as an additional channel of content exclusively for our paying subscribers. Don't miss it!

Do you have a topic you'd like to recommend? Email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com and if we use your idea on the air, we'll send you a thank-you gift.

Download | 32.4 MB, 33:52 

>

Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to us wherever you listen to podcasts.

Links / Notes

• Victorian Turkish baths (Wikipedia)
• In Hot Water with Watson (Margie Deck)
• Everything You Need to Know Before Your First Turkish Bath Experience (Matador Network)
• Soupy Sales sings "Pachalafaka" (YouTube)
• All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com 

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra 

Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band 

Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Continue Reading

Episode 420 – Who Wasn't Jack the Ripper

“when you have eliminated the impossible whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth” [SIGN] 

In our monthly discussion of an old piece of Sherlockian scholarship, we find ourselves in the back alleys of Whitechapel, discussing Jack the Ripper and Sherlock Holmes. 

Our source of this discussion is not one but two back-to-back articles from The Baker Street Journal, Vol. 17, No. 4 from 1967. The first is "Who Wasn't Jack the Ripper" by Bruce Dettman, and the second is "Jack in Abyss" by Bruce Kenedy. Both are just Trifles.

Just for our supporters: photos of William S. Baring-Gould's Sherlock Holmes Society of London tie and supporting documentation. Bruce Kennedy inherited the tie and it is now in Scott's collection. See them on Patreon or Substack.

All of our supporters are eligible for our monthly drawings for Baker Street Journals and bonus content. Join our community on Patreon or Substack today.

This season, we're adding "Trifling Trifles" — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode — as an additional channel of content exclusively for our paying subscribers. Don't miss it!

Do you have a topic you'd like to recommend? Email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com and if we use your idea on the air, we'll send you a thank-you gift.

Download | 32.4 MB, 33:52 

Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to us wherever you listen to podcasts.

Links / Notes

• The Baker Street Journal
• All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com 

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra 

Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band 

Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Continue Reading

Episode 419 – Partnerships

“We shall then take you into partnership” [SIGN] 

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are forever linked, thanks to that first meeting at Bart's. They were both looking for someone with whom to share rooming expenses, but found themselves thrust together on some of Sherlock Holmes's greatest cases, becoming one of history's greatest partnerships.

But what of business partnerships that are scattered throughout the Canon? Some of them are obvious and memorable, while others are obscure and forgettable. It's just a Trifle.

Do you have a topic you'd like to recommend? Email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com and if we use your idea on the air, we'll send you a thank-you gift.

All of our supporters are eligible for our monthly drawings for Baker Street Journals and certain tiers receive thank you gifts. Join our community on Patreon or Substack today.

This season, we're adding "Trifling Trifles" — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode — as an additional channel of content exclusively for our paying subscribers. Don't miss it!

Download | 32.4 MB, 33:52 

Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to us wherever you listen to podcasts.

Links / Notes

• All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com 

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra 

Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band 

Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Continue Reading

Episode 418 – The Origin of 221B Worship

“a singular set of people, Watson” [WIST] 

Image credit: The Baker Street Irregulars

This podcast is a by-product of being active in the world of Sherlockians. But how did Sherlock Holmes societies first gain footing? What was the origin?

In the inaugural episode of our new series on Morley-Montgomery Award winners (exceptional Sherlockian scholarship from The Baker Street Journal), Robert Keith Leavitt puts pen to paper in 1961 on what had only been an oral tradition until that time, putting everything in perspective for our little hobby. It's probably a little more than a Trifle.

Do you have a topic you'd like to recommend? Email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com and if we use your idea on the air, we'll send you a thank-you gift.

All of our supporters are eligible for our monthly drawings for Baker Street Journals and certain tiers receive thank you gifts. Join our community on Patreon or Substack today.

In Season 9, we'll be adding "Trifling Trifles" — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode — as an additional channel of content exclusively for our paying subscribers. Don't miss it!

Download | 32.4 MB, 33:52 

Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to us wherever you listen to podcasts.

Links / Notes

• The Morley-Montgomery Award
• All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com 

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra 

Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band 

Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Continue Reading