Sherlock Holmes: Trifles: July 2025

Wednesday, July 23, 2025

Episode 447 - Playing Tricks with the Law of England

“play tricks with me and I’ll crush you” [ABBE]

Was Sherlock Holmes too lenient with how he handled some of the criminals he defeated? There are a number whom he caught and set free, flouting the law in the process.

Inspired by a recent article in The Baker Street Journal, we look at examples in a handful of stories and compare the fates of the accused in each. Did they get what they deserved? It's much more than just a Trifle.

If you have a question for us, please email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your inquiry on the show, we'll send you a thank you gift.

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 | 35.3 MB 24:39

Music credits

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

Wednesday, July 16, 2025

Episode 446 – Untangling the Skein

Scott Monty 2:21 PM 0

“another thread which I have extricated out of the tangled skein” [HOUN]

It has long been accepted that the original title of A Study in Scarlet was meant to be A Tangled Skein. While there is no surviving manuscript of the first Sherlock Holmes story, a single page of notes has long served as Sherlock Holmes's "birth certificate."

However, Matt Hall discovered a letter in Sydney, Australia that proves otherwise. His research is presented in Vol. 37 No. 2 of The Sherlock Holmes Journal. And it's much more than just a Trifle.

If you have a question for us, please email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your inquiry on the show, we'll send you a thank you gift.

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

Download | 35.3 MB 24:39

Music credits

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

Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Episode 445 – £100

Scott Monty 2:21 PM 0

“put £100 down in front of him” [BLUE]

Humans are suckers for round numbers. And 100 seems like a perfectly reasonable one to settle on. It's the first three-digit number (in Arabic numbers, that is; Romans were happy to hit a C note).

When it comes to £100 in the Sherlock Holmes stories, it's a figure often associated with some sort of scam — enough to get attention and secure the trust of the mark. Which stories feature £100 and what were the circumstances? It's just a Trifle.

If you have a question for us, please email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your inquiry on the show, we'll send you a thank you gift.

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

Download | 35.3 MB 24:39

Music credits

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

Wednesday, July 2, 2025

Episode 444 – John H. Watson—Word-Painter

Scott Monty 2:21 PM 0

“I had painted” [TWIS]

The Morley-Montgomery Award-winning article we're discussing this month is by H.C. Potter from Vol. 26, No. 2 of The Baker Street Journal.

In it, Potter looks at Watson's prosaic way of setting the scene for us. He selects excerpts from a number of stories to prove his case. Was he successful in backing up his claims? It's just a Trifle.

If you have a question for us, please email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your inquiry on the show, we'll send you a thank you gift.

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

Download | 35.3 MB 24:39

Music credits

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