Sherlock Holmes: Trifles

"modern gramophones are a remarkable invention" [MAZA]

When you glance across the Sherlock Holmes stories, there really aren't that many instances of children. Some of the tales are just not suitable for little ears, after all.

But there were key instances in which children played a vital role in the plot or moving the action forward. We explore some of those, as well as the warning signs that you might want to spend a little more (or less) time with the young ones. It is just a Trifle...

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles98
• Trifles Episode 80

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

"Children, my dear boy, children." [GREE]

When you glance across the Sherlock Holmes stories, there really aren't that many instances of children. Some of the tales are just not suitable for little ears, after all.

But there were key instances in which children played a vital role in the plot or moving the action forward. We explore some of those, as well as the warning signs that you might want to spend a little more (or less) time with the young ones. It is just a Trifle...

Have you left us a rating and review on iTunes yet? You don't need to own an Apple device, and every review helps more people find the show. And please consider supporting our efforts through Patreon or PayPal.

Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles97
• RadioPublic
• The Four Stages of Cruelty - William Hogarth

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

"Disguised, and under an assumed name" [STUD]

Sherlock Holmes was a master of disguises. They allowed him to infiltrate areas that would have otherwise been off-limits or situations in which he would have been discovered.

What were some of the incarnations he undertook? Can you remember the four named aliases he assumed? It is just a Trifle...

Have you left us a rating and review on iTunes yet? You don't need to own an Apple device, and every review helps more people find the show. And please consider supporting our efforts through Patreon or PayPal.

Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles96
• RadioPublic

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra

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

Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

"a small monograph upon the uses of dogs in the work of the detective" [CREE]

There are a handful of dogs sprinkled throughout the Sherlock Holmes stories. And while a few of them are used in a traditional police-tracking way, the great detective found other uses for them.

Whether friendly, hostile, or just plain silent, dogs were vital to helping Sherlock Holmes solve some of his cases. It's just a Trifle...

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles95
• RadioPublic
• The Cynological Mr. Holmes: Conanical Canines Considered: Dog-Lore and Dog-Love in the Sherlockian Saga by Michael Harrison

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra

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

Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

"the peculiar persecution of John Vincent Harden" [SOLI]

The famous year of 1895 holds many wonders. Many of the cases in The Return of Sherlock Holmes took place in this year, and as you would imagine, many of the untold tales are mentioned during that timeframe.

And it would seem that if one has three names — John Hector McFarlane, John Scott Eccles, or in this case John Vincent Harden — there's some dirty work afoot. How is it that a tobacco millionaire can come to be persecuted in a peculiar way? It's just a Trifle...

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles93
• RadioPublic
• Sherlock Holmes: The Peculiar Persecution of John Vincent Harden by Dan Andriacco
• I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Episode 141: Baker Street Beat

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra

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

Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

"Pray take a seat" [MAZA]

As we glance around the sitting room at 221B Baker Street, the famous lodgings of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, there's no lack of seating. In fact, one might have the pick of any number of seating styles.

From armchair to basket chair, settees to sofas, we explore the seating arrangements found in Sherlock Holmes's flat. We discuss who sat where and when, and how one particular chair gave away a criminal. These are just Trifles...

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles93
• Wessex Press
• Archie and Edith Bunker's chairs at the American History Museum
• Christopher Morley: Minty's Varsity Chair
• I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Episode 153: The Rooms at 221B Baker Street

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra

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

Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

"he could send some telegrams" [PRIO]

"My correspondence certainly has the charm of variety," said Sherlock Holmes in "The Noble Bachelor." He could have been easily referring to the medium as well as the message. For Holmes was an inveterate sender and receiver of telegrams. What was the messaging industry like in those days? And why did Holmes have Watson read his correspondence to him from time to time? That's what we explore in this episode of Trifles.

Have you left us a rating and review on the podcast player of your choice yet? Every review helps more people find the show. And please consider supporting our efforts through Patreon or PayPal.

Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles92

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra

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

Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

"either a very bad joke or an insult" [SILV]

We occasionally hear "Mr. Cocksure" and "jack-in-office" thrown about as epithets in the Sherlock Holmes stories. But by and large, there is very little profanity in these Victorian and early Edwardian detective tales.

But Sherlock Holmes manages to insult and put down some of his rivals, in a decidedly cool and casual way. Explore the sometimes harsh language that was meant to insult in this episode of Trifles.

Have you left us a rating and review on the podcast player of your choice yet? Every review helps more people find the show. And please consider supporting our efforts through Patreon or Substack.

Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles91

Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

"come on to the Continent with me" [FINA]

Watson occasionally accompanied Sherlock Holmes onto the Continent (i.e., Europe), but there were many other instances when Holmes's work took him there without Watson. And we, along with Watson, were later treated to tantalizing hints as to what happened.

What were some of these places and what were the untold and exotic tales that Sherlock Holmes was involved with? They are the topic of this episode of Trifles.

Have you left us a rating and review on the podcast player of your choice yet? Every review helps more people find the show.

And please consider supporting our efforts through Patreon or PayPal.

Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles90
• Episode 66: Sherlock Holmes's Honorifics
• The Alternative Sherlock Holmes: Pastiches, Parodies, and Copies
• The Island of Uffa identification by James O'Leary via Doyleockian

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra

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

Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

"off to violin-land, where all is sweetness and delicacy and harmony" [REDH]

One of the most off-hand but arresting comments that Sherlock Holmes made was that he owned a Stradivarius violin. That he had purchased for a mere 55 shillings!

What do we know of Stradivarius instruments, and about Holmes's own ability on the violin?

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And please consider supporting our efforts through Patreon or Substack.

Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles89
• Stradivarius (Wikpedia)
• The tale of Roman Totenberg's stolen Stradivarius (NPR)
• Top image via the Falk Archive - KFA

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra

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

Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0