Sherlock Holmes: Trifles: May 2025

Wednesday, May 28, 2025

Episode 439 – The Archaeological Holmes

“I am a bit of an archaeologist myself” [3GAR]

We find ourselves digging into a reference in "The Devil's Foot" in this episode, with the help of a pair of Sherlockian scholars.

Poul and Karen Anderson explore the truth behind Sherlock Holmes's claim to be researching the origins of the ancient Cornish language. Where might the language have originated from? It's just a Trifle.

We also continue conversing about one of our sidebars in this episode in a separate bonus clip just for our supporters.

Don't forget to listen to "Trifling Trifles" — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode. This is a benefit 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 | 29 MB 31:06

Music credits

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

Wednesday, May 21, 2025

Episode 438 – The Back Yards of Baker Street

Scott Monty 2:21 PM 0

“I went into the back yard” [BLUE]

The third week of the month means we look at a piece of Sherlockian scholarship — particularly one that may not be as widely read or generally available to most Sherlock Holmes fans.

This month, we're looking at Bernard Davies' "The Back Yards of Baker Street," which appeared in James Edward Holroyd's Seventeen Steps to 221B. Step with us through the alleyways of 1895 to see if we can make a proper identification. It's just a Trifle.

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

Download | 27 MB 28:53

Music credits

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

Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Episode 437 –Capital Punishment

Scott Monty 2:21 PM 0

“You have done your best to get an innocent man hanged.” [NORW]

Capital punishment in the United Kingdom evolved over a period of time. From the mid-17th century through 1820, the Bloody Code tracked some 200 crimes punishable by death.

In which Sherlock Holmes stories do we hear about capital punishment, and under England's laws of the late Victorian period, who would have been eligible for death by hanging? It's just a Trifle.

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

Download | 27 MB 28:53

Music credits

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

Wednesday, May 7, 2025

Episode 436 – The Solitary Man-Uscript

Scott Monty 11:17 PM 0

“so ardent a bicyclist must be full of energy” [SOLI]

The latest installment in our review of Morley-Montgomery Award-winning articles is by Andrew Jay Peck, BSI ("Inspector Baynes"): "The Solitary Man-Uscript" from Vol. 22, No. 2 of The Baker Street Journal in 1972.

Just who was the Solitary Cyclist? There are two cyclists in the story, and one is a young lady simply trying to get to her train safely; the other is a bearded man with sunglasses hunched over his handlebars. Only one of them can be our cyclist. It's just a Trifle.

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 | 18.7 MB 19:53

Music credits

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