Episode 165 – Shaky Foundations in The Norwood Builder

“work which will cut deep at the very foundations” [GOLD] 

"The Adventure of the Norwood Builder" first appeared in print in 1903 as part of The Return of Sherlock Holmes. It was the second story in the collection, after Sherlock Holmes was resurrected from what many thought was a watery grave.

We can forgive the muddled minds of the time then, for missing a couple of key points in "The Norwood Builder." Key points that, had Holmes been on his game, would have given the whole charade away. It's just a trifle.

Download | 11.7 MB, 25:37

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles165

Sponsor

• The Baker Street Journal

Music credits

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

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Episode 164 – Was Sherlock Holmes an American?

“I saw the American stamp” [DANC] 

For all of his familiarity with American cities, American police forces, American language and attire, Sherlock Holmes may very well have been American.

A number of scholars have taken up the argument, including Christopher Morley in his famous essay. Even President Franklin Roosevelt tried his hand at it. It's just a trifle.

Download | 7.1 MB, 15:37

      

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles164
• A Baker Street Folio: Five Letters About Sherlock Holmes from Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Abebooks.com)

Sponsor

• The BSI Press

Music credits

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

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Episode 163 – Victorian Vegetarians

“the City and Suburban Bank, the Vegetarian Restaurant” [REDH] 

We have plenty of instances of animal flesh on the side-board, whether it's a couple of brace of grouse, Henry Baker's Christmas goose, or a joint of beef.

There was one lone vegetarian restaurant mentioned in the Canon. It had a real-life inspiration. But what else do we know about vegetarianism in Victorian times? It's just a trifle.

Download | 7.9 MB, 17:19

     

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles163
• The Strand Magazine and Sherlock Holmes by Robert Veld (Wessex Press)
• Veggie Victorians (History Extra)
• The famous "pea-squashing" scene in Murder By Decree

Sponsor

• The Baker Street Journal

Music credits

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

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Episode 162 – Black History in the Canon

“should not gossip about there being a black child in the neighborhood.” [YELL] 

Steve Dixie in "The Three Gables," Lucy Hebron in "The Yellow Face," and the unnamed mulatto in "Wisteria Lodge" are notable black people in the Canon. Actually, they're the only ones. What does this say about Arthur Conan Doyle's attitude and treatment toward them?

We know about the shocking way he chose to portray Steve Dixie – at least shocking by our standards. What were prevailing attitudes of the day? And how does Conan Doyle fare? It's just a trifle.

Download | 11.8 MB, 25:46

     

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles162
• Black British People in the 19th Century (Wikipedia)
• IHOSE Episode 44: Watson and Holmes (New Paradigm Studios)
• IHOSE Episode 81: Mycroft Holmes (Kareem Abdul Jabbar)

Sponsor

• The Baker Street Journal

Music credits

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

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Episode 161 – The Final Mycroft Problem

“I had only one confidant—my brother Mycroft.” [EMPT] 

Why did Mycroft put himself in harm's way for Sherlock Holmes when the latter faced his arch-nemesis Professor Moriarty? Mycroft put Sherlock up for a night, drove the brougham that took Watson to Waterloo, and kept the rooms up at 221B during the hiatus that ensued.

But why didn't Moriarty go after Mycroft? What made him think that "the British government" didn't know about his activities? We explore the role of Mycroft Holmes in "The Final Problem." It's more than a trifle.

Download | 9.3 MB, 20:23

     

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles161

Sponsor

• The Baker Street Journal

Music credits

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

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Episode 160 – Army Coaches

“enormous sums of money” [SILV]  

Here's one of those things that lends itself to the title of this podcast. We were thinking about Professor Moriarty and his ignominious fall from grace. After he left the university where he was Mathematical Chair, he came to London, where he became an army coach.

Army coach? That brought a number of things to mind. But surprisingly little has been written about it. We explore this trifle and reach a couple of reasonable conclusions.

Download | 10.1 MB, 21:59

    

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles160
• British Army During the Victorian Era (Wikipedia)
• "Professor James Moriarty, 1836-91" by Nicholas Utechin (The Baker Street Journal, Vol. 24, No. 2)

Sponsor

• The Baker Street Journal

Music credits

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

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Episode 159 – The Date of The Sign of Four

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

With Season 4, we're starting a new monthly series that we're calling "Mr. Sherlock Holmes the Theorist." Each month, we'll be taking a look at what some early Sherlockian scholars had to say about certain trifling elements in the Sherlock Holmes stories.

In this case, we're looking at "The Date of The Sign of Four" from H.W. Bell's Baker Street Studies, first published in 1934. Bell wrote one of the earliest chronologies of the Canon. Was he right? It's just a trifle.

Download | 12.2 MB, 26:36

  

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles159
• Baker Street Studies by H.W. Bell
• The Grand Game from the BSI Press

Sponsor

• The BSI Press

Music credits

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

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Episode – 158 British Food

“cuisine is a little limited” [NAVA]  

We find a smattering of food references throughout the Sherlock Holmes stories. But which can be considered consummate British dishes?

We don't come across toad in the hole, bubble and squeak, or cock-a-leekie soup, but there are other meals that are considered British. And by more than the virtue of appearing in British stories. Which food might this be? It's more than a trifle.

Download | 14.3 MB, 31:14

 

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles158
• Episode 42: A Noble Supper
• I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Episode 103: Al and Julie Rosenblatt
• Superb English Plum Pudding (Epicurious)
• William Banting (Wikipedia)
• Food Timeline: Sandwiches
• Dining With Sherlock Holmes by Julia Carlson Rosenblatt
• The Sherlock Holmes Cookbook by John Farrell and Sean Wright

Sponsor

• The Baker Street Journal

Music credits

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

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Episode 157 – Fog

“befogged in mind” [SIGN]  

Weather conditions not only play a part in the settings of the Sherlock Holmes stories, but in some cases, they determine the plots as well.

Fog, London and Baker Street seem to go hand in hand in 1890s London, but London's fogs are more than weather conditions. How did fog color Sherlock Holmes's view of the criminal world, and which stories saw an impact from this misty and mysterious phenomenon? It's just a trifle.

Download | 11.9 MB, 26:04

 

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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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles157
• Great Smog of London (Wikipedia)
• Pea-souper (Wikipedia)

Sponsor

• The Baker Street Journal

Music credits

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

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Episode 156 – Sherlock Holmes, Sportsman

“I am a born sportsman” [LAST]  

In a lifetime crammed with high adventure, Sherlock Holmes's brilliant achievements in crime detection obscured his remarkable skills as an athlete. He was an expert with singlestick and foil, a fine boxer, equally accomplished with rifle and small arms and had a knowing eye for horseflesh.

In this final installment in our 2019 series on games and sports, we turn to William S. Baring-Gould, the subject of this year's Baker Street Journal Christmas Annual, and talk through his landmark article for Sports Illustrated article from 1963, "Sherlock Holmes, Sportsman." It's just a trifle.

Download | 14.2 MB, 30:58

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles156
• "Sherlock Holmes, Sportsman" by William S. Baring-Gould from May 25, 1963 (Sports Illustrated)
• William S. Baring-Gould (Wikipedia)
• The Baker Street Journal Christmas Annual
• Get your own "Signs of Four" merchandise from our store. Over 20 designs to choose from on mugs and a variety of colored t-shirts. This store closes at the end of 2019.

Sponsor

• The Baker Street Journal

Music credits

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

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Episode 155 – Bohemians and Sherlock Holmes

“his whole Bohemian soul” [SCAN]  

The last in our series of episodes on international interactions with Sherlock Holmes brings us to the now-defunct kingdom of Bohemia. It was so important that it got its own scandal.

What do we know about this land from which the masked king came? And of the adjective "Bohemian"? How did Bohemians come to signify the unconventional? It's just a trifle.

Download | 12.4 MB, 27:03

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles155
• Bohemia (Wikipedia)
• Get your own "Signs of Four" merchandise from our store. Over 20 designs to choose from on mugs and a variety of colored t-shirts. HURRY! Get your holiday orders in now. This store closes at the end of 2019.

Sponsor

• The BSI Press

Music credits

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

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Episode 154 – Minus Watson, Part 2

“I was alone.” [BLAN] 

Sherlock Holmes was occasionally without his Boswell. Watson was married at least twice – some scholars even claim there was a third Mrs. Watson.

Was Holmes truly affected by Watson's absence? There is a subtle time lapse that may give away how Holmes dealt with a matrimonial Watson. And a look at how Holmes dealt with solitude earlier in his life. It's just a trifle.

Download | 8.1 MB, 17:35

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles154
• Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street: A Life of the World's First Consulting Detective by William S. Baring-Gould
• Get your own "Signs of Four" merchandise from our store. Over 20 designs to choose from on mugs and a variety of colored t-shirts. HURRY! Get your holiday orders in now. This store closes at the end of 2019.

Sponsor

• The Baker Street Journal

Music credits

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

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Episode 153 – Minus Watson, Part 1

“the only selfish action which I can recall in our association” [BLAN] 

Sherlock Holmes was a loner. An independent consultant. An automaton. But he also shared rooms with Dr. Watson off and on for over 20 years.

When Watson went off and got married, how did this affect Holmes, really? And Watson had how many wives? It's just a trifle.

Download | 6.8 MB, 14:56

 

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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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles153
• Baker Street Elementary – One Is the Loneliest Number
• Get your own "Signs of Four" merchandise from our store. Over 20 designs to choose from on mugs and a variety of colored t-shirts. HURRY! Get your holiday orders in now. This store closes at the end of 2019.

Sponsor

• The Baker Street Journal

Music credits

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

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