Episode 237 – The Evolution of Sherlock Holmes

“Let me show you the evolution of this case” [WIST]  

In our last episode, we discussed the subtle yet undeniable change in the nature of the relationship between Sherlock Holmes and Inspector Lestrade. But what about the evolution of Holmes himself?

What aspects of his character changed over the course of his career, from a 20-something during his first case at university to his final case four decades later? What remained the same? It's just a Trifle. 

Download | 13.4 MB, 26:49

Sherlock Holmes: Trifles · The Evolution of Sherlock Holmes

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles237
• Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com
• Support us on Patreon

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• 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 236 – Holmes & Lestrade Through the Years

“That you, Lestrade?” [EMPT]  

One might say that Sherlock Holmes and Inspector G. Lestrade had a contentious relationship. While this may be the popular stereotype between the two professionals, a long-term assessment doesn't bear this out.

Listener Ron Lies has shared a paper of his that takes us through the Holmes-Lestrade relationship chronologically, and things may be a little different than they appear. It's just a Trifle. 

Download | 19.4 MB, 34:46

Sherlock Holmes: Trifles · Holmes & Lestrade Through the Years

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles236
• Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com
• Support us on Patreon

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• 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 235 – Two Maids A-Missing

“Altogether there are eight maids” [MUSG]  

Two stories. Two jewels. Two lady's maids. And two strikingly similar circumstances.

In "The Blue Carbuncle" and "The Six Napoleons," published just 11 years apart, we can find some remarkable parallels that result in the disappearance of minor players who were involved in critical plot points. It's just a Trifle. 

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Sherlock Holmes: Trifles · Two Maids A-Missing

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles234
• "Two Maids A-Milking" by William Hyder, The Baker Street Journal, Vol. 70, No. 4
• "The Twelve Gifts of Christmas" by Allan Sherman

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• 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 234 Secret Societies

“some secret society, some implacable organization” [VALL]  

Screenshot: YouTube

We know the Mafia, the KKK, and other named secret societies permeate the Sherlock Holmes stories. They add to the mystery and mystique of the plots.

But what were some of the lesser-known secret societies? And were they really that secret? It's just a Trifle. 

Download | 12.5 MB, 24:45

Sherlock Holmes: Trifles · Secret Societies

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• This episode: ihose.co/trifles234
• Vehmgericht
• Carbonari

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• 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 233 – Lab Rats

“the direct nature of the experiment” [BRUC]  

It's the third week of the month, and that means it's time for our Exotic Animals feature! When you hear "rat" anywhere near the Sherlock Holmes stories, there are three possible conclusions: the Giant Rat of Sumatra, Ballarat, or...

Lab rats, which is our topic of discussion. While lab rats aren't literally mentioned in the Canon, there are some figurative ones. What were they? We look at those, plus the history of animal experimentation in medicine. It's just a Trifle. 

Oh, and check this out: we have a bonus audio track just for our Patreon supporters. Become one today to unlock it.

Download | 13.1 MB, 26:18

Sherlock Holmes: Trifles · Lab Rats

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles232
• "Animal Testing and Medicine," by Rachel Hajar, M.D., Heart Views, Jan-Mar 2011, via National Library of Medicine

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• The Baker Street Journal

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra

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

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Episode 232 – The Best Sherlock Holmes Stories

“The best possible” [NOBL]  

In Episode 231, we left you with a bit of a cliffhanger. The show was filled with answers to questions from listeners, and one asked about our favorite Sherlock Holmes stories. 

Rather than boring you with only our personal preferences, we got into a history of the best Sherlock Holmes stories, first as judged by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself, and later by multitudes of Sherlockians. It's just a Trifle. 

Download | 10.2 MB, 21:40

Sherlock Holmes: Trifles · The Best Sherlock Holmes Stories

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles232
• Randall Stock's The Best of Sherlock Holmes site
• Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's list of 12 best Sherlock Holmes stories (LitHub)
• Poll of the best Sherlock Holmes stories as run in The Baker Street Journal

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• 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 231 – Your Questions, Answered

“they are pretty sure to ask questions anyhow, so it would be as well to have answers” [RETI]  

We're doing something a little different for this episode. There are certain elements about the Sherlock Holmes stories that are just too trifling out of which to create an entire episode. So we turned to you.

We're answering questions that you have submitted, hopefully providing more clarity than less. If this works well, we'll do it again. It's just a Trifle. 

Download | 13.4 MB, 28:26

Sherlock Holmes: Trifles · Your Questions, Answered

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles231
• "John Barrington Cowles" by Arthur Conan Doyle
• Schlock Holmes: The Complete Bagel Street Saga by Robert L. Fish
• I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Episode 181: The Daily Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes quotes)
• The full I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere archive: ihose.co/ihoseshows

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• 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 230 – Luck and the Canon

“That is very fortunate” [SCAN]  

Sherlock Holmes didn't believe in superstition, the supernatural, or random guesses. He was a detective who dealt in facts and data.

And yet, the canon of Sherlock Holmes stories is littered with coincidences (happy or otherwise) and instances of luck. How did these play into the stories and Holmes's ability to solve them? It's just a Trifle. 

Download | 14.1 MB, 28:42

Sherlock Holmes: Trifles · Luck in the Canon

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles230
•  Scott's presentation to the Sherlockians of Baltimore (YouTube)

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• The BSI Press

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra

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

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Episode 229 – Cormorants

“the whole story concerning the politician, the lighthouse, and the trained cormorant” [VEIL]  

Image credit: Cormorant, from the Game Birds series (N40) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes, 1888-90 (Metropolitan Museum, Public Domain CC0)

There is one scant mention of a cormorant in the Sherlock Holmes stories — in one of Watson's enticing throwaway lines of a case which we'll never read. In "The Veiled Lodger," he tells us about the case involving a trained cormorant that might be revealed to the public.

But what is a cormorant? Can it really be trained? It's the third week of the month, and that means we discuss exotic animals in the Canon. It's just a Trifle. 

Download | 9.4 MB, 19:37

Sherlock Holmes: Trifles · Cormorants

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles229
• Stunning images of Chinese fishermen using cormorants to catch fish (The Atlantic)
• More photos of cormorants catching fish (Arkin Space)
• Not mentioned in the episode, but The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes on Radio 4 featured this untold tale. 
  

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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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Episode 228 – Eyeglasses in the Canon

“I stooped to the eyepiece and focussed for my vision.” [SHOS]  

Given Arthur Conan Doyle's training in the field of eye medicine, it's no surprise that we find a number of Sherlock Holmes characters who wear glasses.

In fact, an entire story is named after a set of eyewear. Who were some of the bespectacled band in the Sherlock Holmes stories? It's just a Trifle. 

Download | 11.4 MB, 21:47

Sherlock Holmes: Trifles · Eyeglasses in the Canon

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles228
• What Did Victorians Make of Spectacles? (Wellcome Library Blog via Wayback Machine)
• Arthur Conan Doyle's medical career (Wikipedia)
• "The Bespectacled Band" (I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere)
• Trifles Episode 46 - A History of Pince-Nez

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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 227 – More Messages

“the sending of general messages” [VALL]   

Sherlock Holmes was an inveterate message sender and receiver. The many notes, letters, telegrams, cryptogram, and other forms of communication that passed by his view made for key clues in some cases.

We wondered how things might have turned out differently in certain cases if the frequency of messages were different. And how, in certain cases, Holmes duped the messengers. It's just a Trifle. 

Download | 12 MB, 24:47

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles227

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• The Baker Street Journal

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Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra

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

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Episode 226 – Money Woes

“I am a poor man” [PRIO]  

Time and again, we find people in the Sherlock Holmes stories who are having money problems. As in money problems drastic enough to cause them to make unfortunate decisions.

Who were some of these people, and what hard choices did they make? We have a few of them; it's just a Trifle. 

Download | 12.6 MB, 25:45

Sherlock Holmes: Trifles · Money Woes

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• This episode: ihose.co/trifles225

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• The BSI Press

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Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra

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Episode 225 — Viper / Wiper

“like a viper's tooth” [DYIN]  

Here we are again, ready to tackle the monthly topic of exotic animals. So naturally, we turn to the wiper. Wait, the what?

Suffice it to say that the oddly-identified snake does have a place in the Sherlock Holmes stories, although way down at the East End. Oh, and there's the little matter of a Great War publishing machine. It's just a Trifle. 

Download | 9.9 MB, 20:57

Sherlock Holmes: Trifles · Viper / Wiper

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• This episode: ihose.co/trifles225

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• The BSI Press

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra

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Episode 224 — The Crimes of Sherlock Holmes

“It is fortunate for this community that I am not a criminal.” [BRUC]   

Sherlock Holmes certainly ran with a rough crowd. Burglars, murderers, blackmailers, thieves, spies, kidnappers, and even politicians. Given his store of criminal knowledge, what stopped him from becoming a criminal himself?

Wait just a moment; while his cause was justice, his practice wasn't always on the right side of the law. Thanks to a suggestion from Erik Deckers, we're examining the criminality of Sherlock Holmes. It's just a Trifle.

Download | 14.7 MB, 27:57

Sherlock Holmes: Trifles · The Crimes of Sherlock Holmes

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• This episode: ihose.co/trifles224

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Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra

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Episode 223 – Brain Fever

“a sharp touch of brain-fever” [MUSG]  

Inspired by two sources of Sherlockian medical scholarship, we decided to discuss brain fever. What was brain fever, medically speaking?

And why does it only rear its head in Victorian literature? Was it an actual affliction, or just a literary device? It's just a Trifle.

Download | 13.4 MB, 27:18

Sherlock Holmes: Trifles · Brain Fever

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles223
• Did Victorians Really Get Brain Fever? (JSTOR Daily)
• Reference: "Brain Fever" by Stephen Tolins, The Baker Street Journal, Vol. 41, No. 2 (1991)
• Nerve and Knowledge: Doctors, Medicine, and the Sherlockian Canon (BSI Press)

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Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra

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

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