382 episodes

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.

Sherlock Holmes: Trifles Sherlock Holmes Podcasts

    • Arts

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.

    Will the Real Devil's Foot Stand Up?

    Will the Real Devil's Foot Stand Up?

    “kept as a secret among them” [DEVI]   

     
    When Dr. Leon Sterndale said there was only one known specimen of radix pedis dioaboli – devil's foot root – in a laboratory in Buda, it was clear that it was a poison unknown to science.  
    Just what was it that was "used as an ordeal poison by the medicine-men in certain districts of West Africa"? Dr. Robert Ennis had an idea related to a substance we know well today, based on his observations in emergency rooms. And it’s anything but a Trifle.

    All of our supporters are eligible for our monthly drawings for Baker Street Journals and certain tiers receive thank you gifts. Join our community today.

    Become a Patron!


     
    Links / Notes  
    The eBSJ All of our social links: linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com Join our community on Patreon or Substack to hear bonus material and be eligible for drawings.   
      Music credits
    Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra 
    Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band 
    Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
     
     
     

    • 23 min
    The Second Collaboration

    The Second Collaboration

    “His collaboration may be very necessary” [ILLU]   

     
    There's a curious phrase in the beginning of A Study in Scarlet that requires a little more consideration. Do you know what it is? John Ball, Jr. did. 
    And his theory about what that phrase signified is an intelligent and plausible one, lifted from a 1954 issue of The Baker Street Journal and The Baker Street Reader. Along the way, we uncover a surprising fact about Ball. And it’s anything but a Trifle.

    All of our supporters are eligible for our monthly drawings for Baker Street Journals and certain tiers receive thank you gifts. Join our community today.
     

    Find Trifles wherever you listen to podcasts.

     
    Links / Notes John Ball Jr. (Wikipedia) The Baker Street Reader (Abebooks) The eBSJ All of our social links: linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com Join our community on Patreon or Substack to hear bonus material and be eligible for drawings.    Music credits
    Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra 
    Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band 
    Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
     
     
     

    • 25 min
    To Go to Norwood

    To Go to Norwood

    “we shall certainly have to go to Norwood” [SIGN] 
    The latest in our travel series takes us to Norwood. In particular, the Norwood in The Sign of Four. Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, and Mary Morstan take a cab to a seedier part of London, and then a four-wheeler south to Norwood.
    How long would it have taken them? And what else might we find in this London suburb? Michael Harrison assists with an essay from In the Footsteps of Sherlock Holmes, and it’s just a Trifle.
     
    All of our supporters on Substack and Patreon are eligible for our monthly drawings for Baker Street Journals and certain tiers on Patreon receive thank you gifts. 
    Find Trifles wherever you listen to podcasts.

     
    Links / Notes In the Footsteps of Sherlock Holmes by Michael Harrison
    The Crystal Palace Fire
    All of our social links: linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
    Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com
     
    Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra 
    Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band 
    Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

    • 22 min
    The Manor House Case

    The Manor House Case

    “consult me over that Manor House case” [GREE] 
     
    In addition to fascinating cases and clients, the Sherlock Holmes stories saw some wonderful house names. How did some of them get their names?
     
    We look at the history of house names, call out the story names that were also house names, and mention a few of our favorite lesser-known country houses in the Canon. It's just a Trifle.
     
    Oh, and just for our Patreon and Substack supporters, we have some additional analysis in a bonus episode.

    All of our supporters are eligible for our monthly drawings for Baker Street Journals and certain tiers receive thank you gifts. Join our community today.
     

    Find Trifles wherever you listen to podcasts.

     
    Links / Notes History of UK House Names English Country House Names Explained Experience Sherlock Holmes Filming Locations Up Close All of our social links: linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com Join our community on Patreon or Substack to hear bonus material and be eligible for drawings.    Music credits
    Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra 
    Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band 
    Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
     
     
     

    • 22 min
    B Is for Biscuit

    B Is for Biscuit

    “one of biscuits” [GLOR] 
     
    It's not often we find ourselves with a Muppets crossover, but after stumbling across a few trifling references in the Sherlock Holmes stories, we began to think about the Cookie Monster in Baker Street.
     
    Of course, there were no cookies in Baker Street. Only biscuits. Where might we find mentions of biscuits in the Canon? And what do we know about their variety and history? It's just another treat – a Trifle.
     
    Oh, and just for our Patreon supporters, we have a link to a very special Cookie Monster-themed Sherlockian item.

    All of our supporters are eligible for our monthly drawings for Baker Street Journals and certain tiers receive thank you gifts. Join our community today.
     

    Find Trifles wherever you listen to podcasts.

     
    Links / Notes Playlist: Trifles episodes about food All of our social links: linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com Join our community on Patreon or Substack to hear bonus material and be eligible for drawings.  Music credits
    Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra 
    Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band 
    Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
     
     
     

    • 25 min
    The Effect of Trades on the Body

    The Effect of Trades on the Body

    “the weaver by his tooth or the compositor by his thumb” [COPP] 
     
    On the third week of every month, we look at a piece of Sherlockian scholarship in a series we call "Mr. Sherlock Holmes the Theorist." In this episode, the article "The Effect of Trades on the Body" by Remsen Ten Eyck Schenck from Vol. 3, No. 1 of The Baker Street Journal in 1953 serves as our anchor.
     
    Schenck offers a look at one of the monographs Holmes mentioned in The Sign of Four and proceeds to compare it with medical literature to draw conclusions about Holmes's work. And it's just a Trifle.

    Don't miss the bonus material we have for you - available on both Patreon and Substack.

    All of our supporters are eligible for our monthly drawings for Baker Street Journals and certain tiers receive thank you gifts. Join our community today.

    Become a Patron!



    Find Trifles wherever you listen to podcasts.

     
    Links / Notes Find Schenck's article in the eBSJ Episode 43 - Sherlock Holmes' Monographs All of our social links: linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com Join our community on Patreon or Substack to hear bonus material and be eligible for drawings.    Music credits
    Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra 
    Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band 
    Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
     
     
     

    • 30 min

Top Podcasts In Arts

Fiete Gastro - Der auch kulinarische Podcast
Tim Mälzer / Sebastian E. Merget / RTL+
The Food Programme
BBC Radio 4
The New Yorker: The Writer's Voice - New Fiction from The New Yorker
WNYC Studios and The New Yorker
Snap Judgment
Snap Judgment and PRX
The New Yorker: Fiction
WNYC Studios and The New Yorker
I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere
Scott Monty & Burt Wolder

You Might Also Like

I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere
Scott Monty & Burt Wolder
The Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes Podcast
The Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes Podcast
Doings of Doyle - The Arthur Conan Doyle Podcast
doingsofdoyle
The Watsonian Weekly
The John H. Watson Society
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Loyal Books
1001 Sherlock Holmes Stories & The Best of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle