Sherlock Holmes: Trifles

"Holmes pointed to the street lamp" [SIXN] It's impossible to think about Victorian London without imagining street lamps. We're most familiar with the gas-powered versions, but there were other iterations before. What was the origin of London's famous gas-lamps, and which Sherlock Holmes stories do they feature in? It's just a Trifle. We also have an announcement about a special episode only for our Patreon supporters. Be sure you're on board to take part in that. Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles258
• Boulevardier recipe
• Inspiration from "A Light on the Problem" by Nicholas Utechin from "Occasionally to Embellish"
• The gas-lamp scene in Charlie Chaplin's Easy Street
• A history of gas-lamps
• Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com
• Support us on Patreon

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 --

"she confessed with distress" [LADY] Sherlock Holmes took on clients of all sorts, often when they were puzzled, had nowhere else to turn, or were particularly worried. And three ladies in particular in the Canon were worried. But they stand head and shoulders above some of the other female victims we find. Who are they and in which stories do they appear? It's just a Trifle. We also have an announcement about a special episode only for our Patreon supporters. Be sure you're on board to take part in that. Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles257
• Previous episodes mentioned:
• • Episode 185 - The Women of Influence
  • Episode 190 - The Working Girls
  • Episode 194 - The Ladies in Waiting
  • Episode 199 - The Victims
• Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com
• Support us on Patreon

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 --

"a love-story or an elopement" [SIGN] We don't think of the Sherlock Holmes stories as being romances, and yet there are elements of romance that find their way into these tales about complicated human relationships at all levels. We look across a handful of stories to tease out the romantic elements and love interests in them. It's just a Trifle. We also have an announcement about a special episode only for our Patreon supporters. Be sure you're on board to take part in that. Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles256
• Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com
• Support us on Patreon

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 --

"a fierce old bird of prey" [SPEC] Birds are part of British life. Such is the reality of living on an island. And there were a great variety of birds we hear about in the Sherlock Holmes stories. While many of them were commonplace and part of the hunting and dining habits in Victorian England, there were others that were a little more exotic. It's just a Trifle. We also have an announcement about a special episode only for our Patreon supporters. Be sure you're on board to take part in that. 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. Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles255
• Inspired by Donald Jewell's A Few Hours to the Birds: A Monograph on Birds and Birding in the Time of Sherlock Holmes, Volume 2 in The Sherlock Holmes Natural History Series (Pinchin Lane Press, 1991)
• Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com
• Support us on Patreon

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 --

"You're crazy!" [DANC] Sherlock Holmes had his eccentricities, without a question. Many scholars over the years have debated his mental health, with a wide variety of diagnoses. But there has been a suggestion that a physical condition in Holmes and its treatment may very well have masked another disorder—one of the mind rather than the body. It's just a Trifle. Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles254
• Inspired by "Was Sherlock Holmes Crazy?" by Gideon Hill, BSI ("Dr. Hill Barton") in 70 Years By Gaslamp - The Illustrious Clients' Sixth Casebook
• Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com
• Support us on Patreon

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 --

"to produce his meretricious finales" [BLAN] There are a number of times in the 60 Sherlock Holmes stories when Holmes criticizes Watson's efforts as a writer. Holmes takes the view of a practitioner, while Watson is trying to reach a different audience. Indeed, it's when Holmes himself attempts to fill in for Watson that he finds just how difficult it is. Were Watson's conclusions meretricious, or were they in service of Holmes's abilities? It's just a Trifle. Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles253
• Inspired by "Meretricious Effects?" by Vincent W. Wright in 70 Years By Gaslamp - The Illustrious Clients' Sixth Casebook
• Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com
• Support us on Patreon

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 --

"hereditary tendencies of the most diabolical kind" [FINA] Family matters a great deal in the Sherlock Holmes stories, although we don't discover anything about Holmes and his family background until halfway through the stories that make up The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, where we meet Mycroft. And yet, there were many instances in which family bloodlines gave Holmes an indication of what he was looking for. It's just a Trifle. Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles252
• Inspired by "Pooled Resources" on I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere
• Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com
• Support us on Patreon

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 --

"a pin, a cork, and a card" [HOUN] When it came to exotic insects, butterflies were all the rage in Victorian England. They were sought after by naturalists and collectors, to become part of collections in studies as well as institutions. We have a few collectors in the Canon who made it their business to pin butterflies to cork and display them. Here's what we know about them and about their hobby. It's just a Trifle. 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. Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles251
• Inspired by Donald Girard Jewell's Butterflies & Blind Beetles, #4 in the Sherlock Holmes Natural History Series
• Norm MacDonald's moth joke (YouTube)
• Other episodes mentioned:
• • I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Episode 226: Sherlockian Collecting
• Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com
• Support us on Patreon

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 --

"extraordinary stories about your financial ability" [STOC] Money was occasionally a concern for Sherlock Holmes. But when, and more importantly, why? All of those police engagements were likely pro bono work, after all. His relationship with Watson began over the need to economize, and over the course of his career, he enjoyed some remarkably wealthy individuals as clients. It's just a Trifle. 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. Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles250
• Inspired by Ian McQueen's Sherlock Holmes Detected
• "Thinking About Money in the Sherlock Holmes Stories" by Christopher Redmond (I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere)
• Previous money-related episodes mentioned:
• • Episode 75: Fiscal Holmes
  • Episode 121: Old Money
  • Episode 201: Expenses
  • Episode 226: Money Woes
• Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com
• Support us on Patreon

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 --

"Have you noticed anything amiss with them of late?" [SILV] "The Three Gables" isn't likely to be found on anyone's "best of" list of Sherlock Holmes stories. It arrives late in the Canon, and rather weakly at that. But it is worth pointing out a few items within that are rather curious. One might even call them a Trifle. 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. Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles249
• Inspired by Bob Byrnes' work in Baker Street Essays, Vol 1 No. 1
• Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com
• Support us on Patreon

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 --