“you have erred, perhaps” [COPP] We have John H. Watson, M.D. to thank for the Sherlock Holmes stories, and we typically take them at face value. That is, we trust that Watson was telling us the truth. While Sherlock Holmes complimented Watson for his choice of cases, he also had criticisms of Watson's writing, taking issue with his storytelling pr…

“gone—stolen, vanished” [BRUC] A few episodes ago, we investigated various items that clients brought to Sherlock Holmes and items that acted as vital physical clues. It was something of a show-and-tell. This time, we're flipping the idea on its head and considering various stories where something—or someone—goes missing. What and who will be it? T…

“no ghosts need apply” [SUSS] 'Tis the season! The season for monsters and ghosts, that is. And who better to treat us with a discussion of monsters, ghosts, and various biblioventures designed to make our skin crawl than Ed Pettit from The Rosenbach? It's not just the ghosts of Charles Dickens and the monsters of Robert Louis Stevenson, though. Ed…

“no ghosts need apply” [SUSS] 'Tis the season! The season for monsters and ghosts, that is. And who better to treat us with a discussion of monsters, ghosts, and various biblioventures designed to make our skin crawl than Ed Pettit from The Rosenbach? It's not just the ghosts of Charles Dickens and the monsters of Robert Louis Stevenson, though. Ed…

“with a strength for which I should hardly have given him credit” [STUD] There were a number of individuals who exhibited strength in the Sherlock Holmes stories, to varying degrees. But which of them would you classify as the strongest? One of our listeners had an idea as to who it might be, so we surveyed the Canon and found a handful of others t…

“the loss of the old black boot” [HOUN] Brown boot, black boot — these two items of Sir Henry Baskerville's went missing at the Northumberland Hotel shortly after he arrived in London. And they begin to put Sherlock Holmes on the scent of The Hound of the Baskervilles. However, there's a wrinkle regarding the old black boot that persists throughout…

“the summit of St. Paul’s” [SIGN] After one episode, we find ourselves back in Minnesota — this time, talking with longtime author Larry Millett about his latest Shadwell Rafferty book, Mysterious Tales of Old St. Paul. Those who have followed the nine previous books will have a good sense of this 1890s-era saloon owner who perished in the ninth bo…

“the summit of St. Paul’s” [SIGN] After one episode, we find ourselves back in Minnesota — this time, talking with longtime author Larry Millett about his latest Shadwell Rafferty book, Mysterious Tales of Old St. Paul. Those who have followed the nine previous books will have a good sense of this 1890s-era saloon owner who perished in the ninth bo…

“not the name of a young woman, Watson” [SUSS] Here's a strange one. We hear of the Matilda Briggs in one story. Do you know which story and what it was associated with? This entry in our Travel Series takes us on a mysterious sea voyage that inspired Arthur Conan Doyle to write a short story and then borrow a real name from this true tale and plan…

“Look at that!” [3STU] Sherlock Holmes had clients of all kinds. Some that visited him with vague fears. Others that were concerned about missing documents. But when he had cases and clients that included a little show-and-tell — where a physical object was displayed — well, that is just a Trifle. And listen closely, because we ask for some input f…

“You are here as a spy” [ILLU] In Spy Hunter, it’s 1914 and Sherlock Holmes has been murdered. Nobody knows who did it, but Wiggins, former Baker Street Irregular and Holmes' protégée, suspects a German spy. This is where H.B. Lyle's fourth installment in his Irregular series picks up. Ben joined us to share his journey as a writer focused on histo…

“You are here as a spy” [ILLU] In Spy Hunter, it’s 1914 and Sherlock Holmes has been murdered. Nobody knows who did it, but Wiggins, former Baker Street Irregular and Holmes' protégée, suspects a German spy. This is where H.B. Lyle's fourth installment in his Irregular series picks up. Ben joined us to share his journey as a writer focused on histo…

“She responded beautifully” [SCAN] Occasionally — very occasionally — there are flaws in Sherlock Holmes's reasoning. Or, if not flaws, then something that doesn't quite hold up when we put our own magnifying lens against it. There is one such example in "A Scandal in Bohemia," as pointed out by a listener. One we had never considered before, but o…

“To a collector of fairy tales” [HOUN] Of the many things we know about Sherlock Holmes — or think we know about him — his knowledge of chemistry and his violin-playing skills are probably most closely associated with him. However, in 1952, Remsen Ten Eyck Schenck pulled the evidence together and compared it with what merely passed as opinion in a …

“two tickets for the theatre” [BRUC] Jeffrey Hatcher, BSI ("The Five Orange Pips") and Steve Hendrickson have teamed up for a new Sherlock Holmes play in which we find one mystery, separated by 25 years. Holmes has the first crack at it, followed by Hercule Poirot decades later. Appropriately enough, it is called Holmes Poirot. And it premieres in …

“two tickets for the theatre” [BRUC] Jeffrey Hatcher, BSI ("The Five Orange Pips") and Steve Hendrickson have teamed up for a new Sherlock Holmes play in which we find one mystery, separated by 25 years. Holmes has the first crack at it, followed by Hercule Poirot decades later. Appropriately enough, it is called Holmes Poirot. And it premieres in …

“his attitude and manner told their own story” [SCAN] The tragedies on September 11 ensured that it is a date that will forever be stamped in the history books. What to do when it coincides with an episode drop date for Trifles on our monthly travel series? As we glanced through the Sherlock Holmes canon, we found that a number of trips and voyages…

“his attitude and manner told their own story” [SCAN] Last month, we lost prolific Sherlockian David Stuart Davies. But prolific doesn't quite cover it. He was insightful and delightful, he amused and schmoozed, he wrote and spoke, created and debated, was always elated. In his memory, we're taking a deeper look at his article "First Encounters of …

“there appeared a long telegram” [SECO] Nicholas Meyer's first Sherlock Holmes book, The Seven Per-Cent Solution, became and remains the high-water mark for Sherlock Holmes pastiches. So when he edits another one of Dr. Watson's recovered manuscripts, it's always worthwhile. The latest is Sherlock Holmes and the Telegram from Hell, published by Mys…

“there appeared a long telegram” [SECO] Nicholas Meyer's first Sherlock Holmes book, The Seven Per-Cent Solution, became and remains the high-water mark for Sherlock Holmes pastiches. So when he edits another one of Dr. Watson's recovered manuscripts, it's always worthwhile. The latest is Sherlock Holmes and the Telegram from Hell, published by Mys…

“he had actually won as much as four hundred” [EMPT] It's hard to believe, but we've managed to notch our 400th episode of Trifles. And we can't think of a better way to celebrate than by highlighting some of our favorite episodes from throughout the show. We put our usual amount of consideration and thinking into this effort, and we think it's som…

“private revenge” [CHAS] In "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton," Watson tells us that a woman with a "dark, handsome, clear-cut face" lifted her veil and "emptied barrel after barrel into Milverton’s body," leaving him dead on the floor. But in the Summer 2024 issue of The Baker Street Journal (Vol. 74, No. 2), Carla Coupe wonders if Wats…

“culminated in that moment of revelation” [3GAR] As an educator, Tracy Revels makes sure her students have fun learning. Which would explain why at her college, students can take one of her classes about Sherlock Holmes. But Tracy's own love of learning and reading gave rise to another outlet for her fascination with Sherlock Holmes: writing. Her S…

“culminated in that moment of revelation” [3GAR] As an educator, Tracy Revels makes sure her students have fun learning. Which would explain why at her college, students can take one of her classes about Sherlock Holmes. But Tracy's own love of learning and reading gave rise to another outlet for her fascination with Sherlock Holmes: writing. Her S…

“‘journeys end in lovers’ meetings,’ as the old play says” [EMPT] When it came to London, Sherlock Holmes preferred to stay put. That's what Paul Gore-Booth would have us believe. When he assessed the many tales, he found that most happened in London and its immediate suburbs. But Gore-Booth went one further: he conjectured about the locales of var…

“I did it clumsily” [DANC] Sherlock Holmes was a man of great precision. We learn about his attention to detail and his preferences for improving the art of detection from the very first time we meet him. But there were instances of clumsiness — his own and from others — that crop up throughout the Canon. It's just a Trifle. Do you have a topic you…

“I am much more anxious” [MISS] Four episodes ago, we began a discussion about anxiety in the Sherlock Holmes stories. We managed to make from A Study in Scarlet up through The Hound of the Baskervilles. What about the rest of the Canon? Worry not! We continue the journey from The Return through The Case-Book. While Sherlock Holmes shows some anxie…

“we have our story-teller here” [SIGN] Glen Miranker is always good for a story. And more times than not, his stories involve fascinating items from his extensive collection. In this episode, we had a chance to talk with Glen about This Work of Storytelling: Arthur Conan Doyle's speech to the Authors' Club, London, June 29, 1896, published by Wesse…