Serpents, sinister step-fathers, and sisters dying in the dead of night. “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” is usually considered one of the best Holmes stories—and one of Doyle’s favorites. Sarah & Marisa discuss Gothic heroines, racist red herrings, fear and the British empire, and geographically confused baboons.

Question of the episode: What's your favorite locked room mystery? Share it with us in a voice memo at [email protected], or let us know on Twitter.

A transcript of this episode is available here: https://www.howeverimprobablepodcast.com/transcripts

Content warning: We discuss the story's allusions to sexual and domestic abuse in this episode, as well as the two murders by a poisonous snake. Contains discussion of abuse, racism, colonization, death and violence, and incest.

Find transcripts, recommended reading and more on our website:

https://www.howeverimprobablepodcast.com/

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"The Adventure of the Speckled Band, from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

“Holmes,” I cried, “I seem to see dimly what you are hinting at. We are only just in time to prevent some subtle and horrible crime.”

“Subtle enough and horrible enough. When a doctor does go wrong he is the first of criminals."

This episode is read by Kira Apple! Kira is the voice of Jack St. James on Superstition and the Narrator on The Way We Haunt Now. When she's not voice acting, Kira is writing her PhD dissertation on belonging in speculative audio fiction and working part-time at an independent feminist bookstore and an animal hospital. She loves playing video games, crocheting, and wrangling her four cats: Magrathea, Hazelnut, Ichabod Crane, and Mr. Tumnus.

Website: kiraapple.com

Twitter: @KiraAppleVA

Content warning: Depictions of domestic death - specifically poison, abuse, racism, violence, and snakes.

Find transcripts, recommended reading and more on our website:

https://www.howeverimprobablepodcast.com/

https://twitter.com/improbablepod

Want to read more mysteries? More pastiches? More Doyle? Visit our Bookshop.org page to find our curated bookshelves of Doyle’s other works, our favorite Holmes pastiche stories, scholarship on detective fiction, and books we feel carry the spirit of the stories. Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores - and purchasing books this way also supports our podcast. 

Find our Bookshop affiliation here: https://bookshop.org/shop/howeverimprobable 

Contact us: https://twitter.com/improbablepod 

https://www.howeverimprobablepodcast.com/further-reading

Mortuary meet-cutes, the science of deduction, and murderous Mormans. Join Marisa and Sarah to discuss A Study In Scarlet - the story that famously introduced us to Holmes and Watson. Do you really know Sherlock Holmes like you think you might? What does this tale tell us about Holmes, Watson, and what’s coming in the following fifty-nine stories? And what’s the deal with the Mormons anyway?

Question of the episode: What's your favorite adaption of how these two characters (or any versions of them) meet in fiction? Share it with us in a voice memo at [email protected], or let us know on Twitter. 

Content warning: Discussion of murder and violence, and the death of an animal. Mentions of PTSD. 

A transcript of this episode is available here: https://www.howeverimprobablepodcast.com/transcripts

Find transcripts, recommended reading and more on our website:

https://www.howeverimprobablepodcast.com/

https://twitter.com/improbablepod

A Study In Scarlet Part II

Chapter 6: A Continuation Of The Reminiscences of John Watson, M.D.

Chapter 7: Conclusion

“You should publish an account of the case. If you won’t, I will for you.”

This episode is narrated by Alma Roda-Gil. Alma is a freelance goth begrudgingly living in the UK. They write about culture and are currently rewatching (and crying at) CBS' Elementary. You can find them on Twitter at @knifefemme  or peruse their portfolio here.

Content warning: Depictions of murder and violence, including poison and animal death.

Find transcripts, recommended reading and more on our website:

https://www.howeverimprobablepodcast.com/

https://twitter.com/improbablepod

A Study In Scarlet Part II

Chapter 3: John Ferrier Talks With The Prophet

Chapter 4: A Flight For Life

Chapter 5: The Avenging Angels

“I am Jefferson Hope,” he said. “You remember me.”

This episode is narrated by Kyle Carey Miller. Kyle is a proud graduate of Wright State University, where he earned his BFA in Acting with an Emphasis in Musical Theatre. Kyle has worked around the country including at the Texas Shakespeare Festival, Short North Stage, and Renaissance Performing Arts.  An avid Sherlock fan—especially of the BBC series—Kyle is thrilled to be narrating the works of legendary author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for However Improbable Podcast.

Content warning: Depictions of murder and violence, including poison and animal death.

Find transcripts, recommended reading and more on our website:

https://www.howeverimprobablepodcast.com/

https://twitter.com/improbablepod

A Study In Scarlet Part II

Chapter 1: On The Great Alkali Plain

Chapter 2: The Flower Of Utah

"From the Sierra Nevada to Nebraska, and from the Yellowstone River in the north to the Colorado upon the south, is a region of desolation and silence."

This episode is narrated by Kyle Carey Miller. Kyle is a proud graduate of Wright State University, where he earned his BFA in Acting with an Emphasis in Musical Theatre. Kyle has worked around the country including at the Texas Shakespeare Festival, Short North Stage, and Renaissance Performing Arts. Favorite Credits include: The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Heather’s the Musical, Macbeth, La Cage Aux Folles, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, War of the World’s, and More than a Muse. An avid Sherlock fan—especially of the BBC series—Kyle is thrilled to be narrating the works of legendary author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for However Improbable Podcast.

Content warning: Depictions of murder and violence, including poison and animal death.

Find transcripts, recommended reading and more on our website:

https://www.howeverimprobablepodcast.com/

https://twitter.com/improbablepod

A Study In Scarlet Part I

Chapter 5: Our Advertisement Brings A Visitor

Chapter 6: Tobias Gregson Shows What He Can Do

Chapter 7: Light In The Darkness

“The last link,” he cried, exultantly. “My case is complete.”

This episode is narrated by Alma Roda-Gil. Alma is a freelance goth begrudgingly living in the UK. They write about culture and are currently rewatching (and crying at) CBS' Elementary. You can find them on Twitter at @knifefemme  or peruse their portfolio here.

Content warning: Depictions of murder and violence, including poison and animal death.

Find transcripts, recommended reading and more on our website:

https://www.howeverimprobablepodcast.com/

https://twitter.com/improbablepod

A Study In Scarlet Part I

Chapter 3: The Lauriston Garden Mystery

Chapter 4: What John Rance Had To Tell

“There’s the scarlet thread of murder running through the colourless skein of life, and our duty is to unravel it, and isolate it, and expose every inch of it…”

This episode is narrated by Alma Roda-Gil. Alma is a freelance goth begrudgingly living in the UK. They write about culture and are currently rewatching (and crying at) CBS' Elementary. You can find them on Twitter at @knifefemme  or peruse their portfolio here.

Content warning: Depictions of murder and violence, including poison and animal death.

Find transcripts, recommended reading and more on our website:

https://www.howeverimprobablepodcast.com/

https://twitter.com/improbablepod

A Study In Scarlet Part I

Chapter 1: Mr. Sherlock Holmes

Chapter 2: The Science of Deduction

“I have my eye on a suite in Baker Street,” he said, “which would suit us down to the ground. You don’t mind the smell of strong tobacco, I hope?”

A Study In Scarlet is a 1887 detective novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The story marks the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, who would become the most famous detective duo in popular fiction. But they started - like so many people do - as strangers who just couldn’t pay their rent.

This episode is narrated by Alma Roda-Gil. Alma is a freelance goth begrudgingly living in the UK. They write about culture and are currently rewatching (and crying at) CBS' Elementary. You can find them on Twitter at @knifefemme  or peruse their portfolio here.

Content warning: Depictions of murder and violence, including poison and animal death.

Find transcripts, recommended reading and more on our website:

https://www.howeverimprobablepodcast.com/

https://twitter.com/improbablepod