“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   --  

Sherlock Holmes: Trifles

Butterflies

 “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   --    

Financially Speaking

 “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   --        

Something Amiss in The Three Gables

 “it was her plot as much as mine” [ABBE]  From the realm of conjecture: what if the star-crossed lovers in "The Adventure of Abbey Grange" and "The Problem of Thor Bridge" weren't simply victims of circumstance? What if the damsels in distress weren't being unfairly persecuted?    That is, what if they plotted the demise of the hated member of their love triangle and were able to fool Sherlock Holmes? 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/trifles248 Inspired by Bob Byrnes' work in Baker Street Essays, Vol 1 No. 1 and Vol II No. 1. Previous episodes mentioned:  Episode 245: How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? Episode 180: The Eternal Triangle 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   --        

Plotting Lovers

“Maybe you collect yourself, sir” [EMPT]  Sherlock Holmes shared his reading interests on occasion, and they tended to be wide and varied. Some of them were for professional development purposes, yet others seem to exist to expand his thinking.   Was Sherlock Holmes a book collector? And if he was, what kind of care did he take for his volumes? 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/trifles247 Sherlock Holmes: Rare Book Collector by Madeline Stern “Ex Libris Sherlock Holmes” by Howard Collins in Profile by Gaslight “The Empty Bookshelf: or, the Missing Three Quartos: Reasonable Editions at a Comfortable Price” by Robert D. Madison, The Baker Street Journal, Vol. 71, No. 2 (2021) Previous episode mentioned: Episode 62: Reference Sources 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   --        

Sherlock Holmes, Book Collector

“pinned like a beetle on a card” [BLAC]  It's the third week of the month, and that means it's the exotic animal episode. Last month we covered worms, and we mentioned the slow-worm, which Mr. Sherman said kept the beetles down.   A listener called in with a comment on that episode, and it led to this one, where we look at this detestable insect, its place in Victorian England, and how it spread. 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/trifles246 Inspired by Donald Jewell's Butterflies and Blind Beetles: Vol. 4 of the Sherlock Holmes Natural History Series German cockroach (Wikipedia) Croton bug (Epehemeral New York) Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com Support us on Patreon   Sponsor The e-BSJ   Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0   --        

Beetles

“passionate, whole-hearted, tropical, ill-balanced” [THOR]    Maria Gibson (nee Pinto) was a troubled woman. What could have driven her to her final acts? Is she a victim? A villain? A sympathetic character?    If anything she was less two-dimensional than she is typically assumed to be. Could her demise have indeed been a murder rather than a suicide? 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/trifles245 Inspired by Bob Byrnes' Baker Street Essays, Vol. II, Issue 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   --        

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?

“a general practitioner with very limited experience and mediocre qualifications” [DYIN]    We know Watson had a serious medical career before he met Holmes. But what do his qualifications mean? And aside from the brandy, how did his training come in handy?   Helen Simpson's "The Medical Career of John H. Watson" in H.W. Bell's Baker Street Studies provides some insight into what Watson was telling us and what he wasn't. 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/trifles244 Baker Street Studies by H.W. Bell (Amazon) Previous episodes mentioned: Episode 87: The Good Doctor 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   --        

Watson's Medical Career

“some arm-chair lounger who evolves” [STUD]  From a humble beginning to the heights of international fame and importance, the career of Sherlock Holmes was a rocket ride. And his personal relationships took an opposite ride.   This is the third and final entry in this series on the evolution of Sherlock Holmes. And it's anything but 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/trifles243 Episode 237: The Evolution of Sherlock Holmes, Part 1 Episode 239: The Evolution of Sherlock Holmes, Part 2 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   --      

The Evolution of Sherlock Holmes, Part 3

“Why does fate play such tricks with poor, helpless worms?” [BOSC]   On the third episode of every month in Season 5, we explore exotic animals in the Sherlock Holmes canon. This month's animal is a rare one: worms.   While you may be thinking the only reference is the remarkable worm unknown to science that left Isadora Persano stark staring mad, there are a few others. But just a Trifle more.   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/trifles242 Poor Helpless Worms I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Episode 158: The International Exhibition of Sherlock Holmes 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   --      

Worms

“window-breaking Furies” [VALL]   Windows are everywhere in the Sherlock Holmes stories. But in certain cases, they form an essential part of the plot. In some cases, it may be transparent. In others, not so much. Whether they're decorative, a passage of one form or another, or are broken in the course of a crime, some windows serve a purpose in the Canon. It's just a Trifle.   Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles241 Mullioned windows 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 Window into Windows

“It is full of old houses which are named after the men who built them centuries ago.” [SUSS]   Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a master storyteller. He gave us memorable characters and plots that painted a picture over the course of the entire Canon. But more than plot or characters, place played an outsized role. What does the geography in the Sherlock Holmes stories tell us? It's just a Trifle. And for our Patreon supports, we have another bonus clip. For as little as $1 a month, you can join this growing group of insiders.   Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles240 Triangle Shirtwaist Fire A Quick Succession of Subjects David Hammer 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   --    

I Know That Country, Holmes

“evolved from his own inner consciousness” [BOSC]  In Episode 237, we looked at how Holmes's personality traits changed over the course of his career. We're back for another look using four separate stories, each 10 years apart. What can the Canon tell us about the ways Holmes's interests, tastes, enthusiasms, relationships, reputation, and more changed during his long career? 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/trifles239 Other episodes mentioned: Episode 224: The Crimes of Sherlock Holmes Episode 237: The Evolution of Sherlock Holmes 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   --    

The Evolution of Sherlock Holmes, Part 2

“Cyanea! Cyanea!” [LION]   In the third week of every month in our fifth season, Trifles looks at exotic animals. We turn to the sea this time, examining jellyfish. And this episode brought us into contact with an old publication: the Catalogue of an Exhibition Held at Abbey House, Baker Street, London, May–September 1951. For those intimately familiar with the Sherlock Holmes stories, there is only one story in which we find a jellyfish. For those not familiar, spoiler alert. It is just a Trifle. And don't forget to check out the bonus audio content if you're a Patreon supporter. If you're not, what a great excuse to join us!   Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles238 Jellyfish (Wikipedia) Lion's mane jellyfish washed up on shore in Maine (Twitter) 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   --    

Jellyfish

“Let me show you the evolution of this case” [WIST]   In our last episode, we discussed the subtle yet undeniable change in the nature of the relationship between Sherlock Holmes and Inspector Lestrade. But what about the evolution of Holmes himself? What aspects of his character changed over the course of his career, from a 20-something during his first case at university to his final case four decades later? What remained the same? It's just a Trifle.    Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles237 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   --    

The Evolution of Sherlock Holmes

You know the plots, but what about the minutiae? We delve into the Sherlock Holmes stories and answers questions that arise, clarify muddy details, and look into some of the period terminology in this weekly podcast.

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Sherlock Holmes: Trifles

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