Sherlock Holmes: Trifles

The beginning of April dependably brings April Fools' Day. And while there weren't outright hi-jinks in the Sherlock Holmes stories, there were a fair share of instances where individuals were fooled.

You might think that it's Watson who's fooled frequently, but there were a number of times when Sherlock Holmes himself had the wool pulled over his eyes. We explore examples that add up to a little more than a Trifle...

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• The Baker Street Journal

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The opening of The Valley of Fear introduced us to a mysterious individual: Porlock, who sent a cryptic note to Sherlock Holmes to warn him of doings afoot at Birlstone.

Sherlock Holmes didn't look into Porlock's identity too closely, but we do have a number of clues and inferences that may lead us to an identification. Or that may at least narrow things down a bit. It's just a Trifle...

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The Irish make scant appearances across the earlier Sherlock Holmes stories, but once we pass The Valley of Fear, it's as if Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's brogue has been released onto the pages.

We explore some of those instances — including the subtle and passing ones early on — and just how Sherlock Holmes found himself inside of an Irish secret society in America.

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• The Adventure of the Stalwart Companion by H. Paul Jeffers

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We continue our monthly investigation into Games and Sports in the Sherlock Holmes stories, and in this case, we turn our attention to a card game. Specifically, whist.

There aren't too many instances of card games in the Canon, but whist comes up a couple of times. How was it played? We discuss that, and something of a trifle with respect to the game of whist that was discovered in "The Devil's Foot."

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• Whist (Wikipedia)
• I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere
• Let's Make a Deal (George Carlin)

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"volumes of poetry" [ENGR]

When we think of poetry, it's a style of writing that transports us, particularly emotionally, to another plane of existence. Poetry is like the rose over which Sherlock Holmes had a moment of reverie in "The Naval Treaty":

"But this rose is an extra. Its smell and its color are an embellishment of life, not a condition of it."

Holmes wasn't known for his poetic moments. In the story that proceeded the excerpt above ("The Greek Interpreter"), Holmes admonished Watson for projecting humility onto Holmes:

"To the logician all things should be seen exactly as they are, and to underestimate one's self is as much a departure from truth as to exaggerate one's own powers."

So there wasn't much room for poetry in the Sherlock Holmes stories. We manage to pick out a few of the finer points. They are, as usual, a Trifle...

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• The Detective Who Will Never Die

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A look at some of the villains in the Sherlock Holmes stories, beginning with the first real heavy that we encounter.

Sherlock Holmes said "When a doctor goes wrong, he is the first of criminals." And Dr. Grimesby Roylott did not disappoint: he killed a man and served hard time for it, had a temper, kept wild animals, associated with gypsies, and more. Perhaps it's just a bit more than a Trifle...

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Italians seem to surround us in the Sherlock Holmes stories. Restaurants, music, artisans, and of course criminals.

But Sherlock Holmes himself had some familiarity with Italy, both before and after his experience at the Reichenbach Falls. How far does this association with Italy go? Well, it's just a Trifle...

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• The Napoleon Bust Business Again
• Italy and Sherlock Holmes
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Sherlock Holmes, boxer? We don't often consider Sherlock Holmes for his boxing abilities, yet Watson very clearly noted his talent in that field in the very first story.

But Holmes wasn't the only boxer in the Canon. We repeatedly see mentions of the sport made official by the Marquess of Queensbury, as both tangential mentions and more central parts of the stories. But we'll try to keep this discussion of boxers brief. After all, it is a Trifle...

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They pop up here and there around the Canon quite infrequently. However, you can be sure that when a governess is featured in a Sherlock Holmes story, she's part of the plot.

What was this profession, and what did the ladies in these roles do? What was their station in life? We explore these questions, which shed light on why they might have found themselves in sticky situations from time to time in this episode of Trifles.

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For well over 100 years, Sherlock Holmes has been seen in advertisements around the world. The fact is: Sherlock Holmes sells. He's good for brands.

There are a number of instances of brands that were mentioned within the Sherlock Holmes stories themselves. What are they? Well, we enumerate them, plus provide a few "what-ifs" ourselves in this episode of Trifles.

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