Sherlock Holmes: Trifles

"you could not celebrate him without being known yourself" [HOUN]

With mid-March upon us, we thought it was high time to investigate some of the Irish connections in the Sherlock Holmes stories. From the obvious to the subtle, we go from Belfast to Waterford to Skibbereen, across the pond to America, and back again.

Short stories and novels alike, there are glimpses of the Emerald Isle in a number of hiding places in the Canon. Did we miss any? Well, you'll just have to tell us.

Please subscribe to us on iTunes or Google Play, and consider supporting our efforts through Patreon or PayPal.

• No links this episode

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

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"you could not celebrate him without being known yourself" [HOUN] 

With mid-March upon us, we thought it was high time to investigate some of the Irish connections in the Sherlock Holmes stories. From the obvious to the subtle, we go from Belfast to Waterford to Skibbereen, across the pond to America, and back again. 

Short stories and novels alike, there are glimpses of the Emerald Isle in a number of hiding places in the Canon. Did we miss any? Well, you'll just have to tell us.

Please subscribe to us on iTunes or Google Play, and consider supporting our efforts through Patreon or PayPal.

• No links this episode

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

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"He was clad in his dressing gown" [CREE]

You'll find Sherlock Holmes lounging in his dressing gown in no fewer than 14 of the original stories. And yet, its color changed from story to story. Sherlock Holmes's dressing gown was alternatively purple, blue and mouse — how can this be?

We discuss the possibilities that scholars have put forth over the course of many decades and even add our own conjecture. Add in a quick primer on what dressing gowns are and what Victorian / Edwardian habits were that required them, and you've got the best podcast episode about dressing gowns and Sherlock Holmes you've ever heard.

A tip of the deerstalker goes to Bill Hyder, BSI, whose 1995 BSI Dinner publication "TRIFLES" contained this very topic.

Please subscribe to us on iTunes or Google Play, and consider supporting our efforts through Patreon or PayPal.

• Dressing Gowns: Loungewear of Old

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

--

"He was clad in his dressing gown" [CREE]

You'll find Sherlock Holmes lounging in his dressing gown in no fewer than 14 of the original stories. And yet, its color changed from story to story. Sherlock Holmes's dressing gown was alternatively purple, blue and mouse — how can this be?

We discuss the possibilities that scholars have put forth over the course of many decades and even add our own conjecture. Add in a quick primer on what dressing gowns are and what Victorian / Edwardian habits were that required them, and you've got the best podcast episode about dressing gowns and Sherlock Holmes you've ever heard.

A tip of the deerstalker goes to Bill Hyder, BSI, whose 1995 BSI Dinner publication "TRIFLES" contained this very topic.

Please subscribe to us on iTunes or Google Play, and consider supporting our efforts through Patreon or PayPal.

• Dressing Gowns: Loungewear of Old

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

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"embrace the true faith" [STUD]

We see glimpses of religion in a number of stories, from plot devices to red herrings, saintly inferences to clever disguises. What role did religion play in the Sherlock Holmes stories?

And Arthur Conan Doyle's own faith had some bearing on what we see as well. It's a chat about religion, faith, and their multitude of instances in the Canon.

• The Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes

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

"embrace the true faith" [STUD] 

We see glimpses of religion in a number of stories, from plot devices to red herrings, saintly inferences to clever disguises. What role did religion play in the Sherlock Holmes stories?

And Arthur Conan Doyle's own faith had some bearing on what we see as well. It's a chat about religion, faith, and their multitude of instances in the Canon.

• The Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes

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

"it is a very sweet little problem" [BERY]

One of the more comical openings to a story occurred in "The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet," in which the banker Alexander Holder raced his way through to snow to 221B Baker Street, which he followed by beating his head against the wall.

You don't get much more dramatic than that. But when it comes to reporting the crime, would the criminal, Holder, or the owner of the beryl coronet have been more at risk if the details came to light? After all, the coronet was a public holding and its absence could have been an embarrassment.

• "The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet"
• Coronet

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

"it is a very sweet little problem" [BERY] 

 
One of the more comical openings to a story occurred in "The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet," in which the banker Alexander Holder raced his way through to snow to 221B Baker Street, which he followed by beating his head against the wall.

You don't get much more dramatic than that. But when it comes to reporting the crime, would the criminal, Holder, or the owner of the beryl coronet have been more at risk if the details came to light? After all, the coronet was a public holding and its absence could have been an embarrassment.

• "The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet"
• Coronet

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

"what's amiss with the names?" [VALL]

One of the most puzzling passages in the Sherlock Holmes stories is when Mrs. Watson referred to her husband, the good Doctor, as "James." However, we know that his given name is John. What could be afoot here?

Was it a typo? An impostor? A slip of the tongue? We review some of the longstanding theories and even provide a few of our own to see if we might get to the bottom of this mystery.

• "The Adventure of the Man with the Twisted Lip"
• Sherlock Holmes: A Study in Sources by Donald A. Redmond

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

"what's amiss with the names?" [VALL] 

One of the most puzzling passages in the Sherlock Holmes stories is when Mrs. Watson referred to her husband, the good Doctor, as "James." However, we know that his given name is John. What could be afoot here?

Was it a typo? An impostor? A slip of the tongue? We review some of the longstanding theories and even provide a few of our own to see if we might get to the bottom of this mystery.

• "The Adventure of the Man with the Twisted Lip"
• Sherlock Holmes: A Study in Sources by Donald A. Redmond

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