Sherlock Holmes: Trifles

"a man might as well live in Russia" [VALL]

The connections between Sherlock Holmes an Russia—in the Sherlock Holmes stories themselves, as least—would seem to be limited. Yet it provides much information for a robust discussion.

From exported goods to crimes from two decades previous, we encounter a smattering of mentions of the Land of Rus. What do they tell us about Sherlock Holmes? And what was happening in the world at the time? It's just a Trifle.

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• Russia leather
• Little Russia
• The eBSJ
• A Russian Sherlock Holmes cartoon and another animated Russian Sherlock Holmes in translation
• The Wrong Passage
• Other episodes mentioned in this episode:
• • I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Episode 50: Golden Passage
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There are plenty of instances of maritime transportation in the Sherlock Holmes stories. But when it comes to pleasure crafts, we're left with a scant few.

The use various boats for leisure and sporting activities is present sporadically throughout the Canon, so you have to pay attention. We investigate these few instances, plus a supposition. It is of course a trifle.

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• The Boat Race
• Interview with Robert Stephens in Michael Pointer's Playing Sherlock Holmes: Interviews with John Wood, Robert Stephens, and Christopher Lee. (Amazon)
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• The Baker Street Journal

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In the last episode, Robert Katz, BSI began to take us through his theory of where Dr. Watson spent his early years. He used the facts given to us by Watson himself, combined with the reasoning of Sherlock Holmes to arrive at some conclusions.

This week, he brings us the other half of the story: after Watson moved from Australia to America, he tells us about the connection with Henry Ward Beecher and Watson's heroics on U.S. soil.

It's just a trifle.

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• The Baker Street Journal

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--

We know little about Dr. Watson's life, aside from what he managed to tell us. Yes, he was in the Army's medical department. Yes, he was wounded. And he needed to find a flatmate to be able to afford London on his pension.

But what about beyond that? Sherlock Holmes was able to make some inferences from a watch that Watson's brother bequeathed to him. There are a few other clues here and there to give us a scent to pick up. And Robert Katz, BSI joins us to begin to weave those threads together.

It's just a trifle.

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--

South America and its exotic tropical climate is about as far removed from the dampness of England as one can find. Its collective countries stand in juxtaposition to proper Victorian customs, and anything in the Sherlock Holmes stories that touches South America is suspect.

We look at some of the men and women associated with the continent that is mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, and the implications for each story.

It's just a trifle.

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When traveling or settling into a city for a bit, Victorians had options. Hotels were commonplace, but could be expensive. So what's a reasonable alternative? A boarding house!

There were two stories in which mysterious boarders caught the attention of Sherlock Holmes, and his visits with their landladies proved fruitful for Watson's writing. What do we know about these, and other instances of boarding houses in the Sherlock Holmes stories?

It's just a trifle.

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• Boarding house (Wikipedia)
• Lodging Houses (The Dictionary of Victorian London)
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--

Rack 'em up! Our monthly discussion of games and sports turns to billiards.

While the game itself is mentioned once in a significant way, there are a number of times when a room dedicated to the activity pops up in the Sherlock Holmes stories. What is it about billiards that captured English attention during this time period?

It's just a trifle.

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• Cue sports (Wikipedia)
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The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia

--

As early as A Study in Scarlet, we discover that Sherlock Holmes "was as sensitive to flattery on the score of his art as any girl could be of her beauty." Then once again toward the end of the Canon, in "The Red Circle," Watson reminds us that "Holmes was accessible upon the side of flattery."

We previously covered some of the insults and invective that Holmes had to endure. But what about praise? What about epithets that were acclamatory rather than derogatory. It is just a trifle.

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• Episode 91 - How Insulting
• Steve Clarkson's The Canonical Compendium
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--

From golf clubs to gentlemen's clubs...

Ask any Sherlockian to name a club in the Canon and they'll invariably say the Diogenes Club (that's right after Tonga's club. You don't have to be a Penang lawyer to get that one.). And there were a number of fictional clubs as well.

But one club that gets just a passing mention is Watson's club. Which one was it? Speculation abounds, so we gave it a shot. It's just a trifle.

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• The Gentlemen's Clubs of London (Amazon)
• List of gentlemen's clubs in London (Wikipedia)
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--

"It is always a joy to meet an American." [NOBL]

Americans have been avid fans of Sherlock Holmes since the earliest days. The novels were pirated and the short stories were syndicated to reach millions of American readers.

And Sherlock Holmes himself was a fan of Americans. There's a wide variety of Americans and American locales that popped up in the Canon quite frequently. And those are worth trifling over.

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