“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…

“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…

“she seems indeed to be on a very different level” [SCAN] There is one woman in the entire Canon of Sherlock Holmes stories that we can instantly recall as an adventuress. You know who we're talking about. Can you think of at least one other off the top of your head? We'll help with that. Plus, we'll explore just how the term "adventuress" evolved …

“concealed it at Mapleton” [SILV] This month's Mr. Sherlock Holmes the Theorist episode goes back to 1949 to Volume 4, Number 1 of The Baker Street Journal and Jay Finley Christ's article "Silver Blaze: An Identification (as of 1893 A.D.). Here Christ looks at what contemporary readers of the Strand would have thought of Watson's tale, specifically…

“quick insight into character” [BERY] As Americans, it is always a joy to meet an Englishman, and doubly so if he portrays Sherlock Holmes. Luke Barton has done that not only on stage but in audiobooks as well. Our conversation with Luke explores how he has prepared for his many appearances as Holmes on stage — including one production in which he …

“quick insight into character” [BERY] As Americans, it is always a joy to meet an Englishman, and doubly so if he portrays Sherlock Holmes. Luke Barton has done that not only on stage but in audiobooks as well. Our conversation with Luke explores how he has prepared for his many appearances as Holmes on stage — including one production in which he …

“I flatter myself that I could find my way about.” [HOUN] Dartmoor and its surroundings provided the perfect setting for The Hound of the Baskervilles. Not only did the area have a sense of history (and prehistory) about it, but the sparse surroundings added to the mystique. And the wonderful part is that if we were to set foot there in 2024, we wo…

“weighed down with some great anxiety” [FIVE] Where would Sherlock Holmes be without fear and anxiety? It was a common state of mind for a number of his clients, but Holmes himself also exhibited anxious behavior from time to time. In which stories can we find anxiety? Don't be nervous; we have 10 examples. But there are still more to come that wil…

“remarkably rich tenor voice” [VALL] Following the feedback we got from our previous Legends of the BSJ episode on Edgar W. Smith, we thought we'd continue with another. This time, it's James Montgomery, BSI ("The Red Circle"), who was a frequent correspondent with Smith. Montgomery played an important role in the development of the Baker Street Jo…

“remarkably rich tenor voice” [VALL] Following the feedback we got from our previous Legends of the BSJ episode on Edgar W. Smith, we thought we'd continue with another. This time, it's James Montgomery, BSI ("The Red Circle"), who was a frequent correspondent with Smith. Montgomery played an important role in the development of the Baker Street Jo…

“I sent down to Stamford's for the ordnance map” [HOUN] In a number of instances in the Sherlock Holmes stories, we find ourselves guided by maps. Not only as critical elements of the plot, but also as visual aids to readers. In which stories do we find maps? And what about those that required floorplans to be sketched out as well? It's just a Trif…

“he is a remarkable linguist” [GREE] Sherlock Holmes has been translated into scores of languages all around the world (just ask Don Hobbs). But what languages was he fluent in or have passing familiarity with? This is the question Dean W. Dickensheet tackles in Vol. 10 No. 3 of The Baker Street Journal in his article "Sherlock Holmes - Linguist." …

“we turned our faces westward” [SIXN] While Sherlock Holmes is a perennial British subject, his influence in and by America cannot be denied. Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes were admirers of the United States, and A West Wind, a recent BSI Press book, delves into that relationship. Co-editors Ray Betzner, BSI ("The Agony Column") and Tom Horrocks, …

“we turned our faces westward” [SIXN] While Sherlock Holmes is a perennial British subject, his influence in and by America cannot be denied. Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes were admirers of the United States, and A West Wind, a recent BSI Press book, delves into that relationship. Co-editors Ray Betzner, BSI ("The Agony Column") and Tom Horrocks, …

“seventeen years of age” [SIGN] Mycroft Holmes spoke for all of us in "The Greek Interpreter" when he greeted Dr. Watson with the fateful line: “I hear of Sherlock everywhere since you became his chronicler.” And yes, in our minds, we'll always hear that line in the voice of the inimitable Charles Gray in the Granada series — a sound clip that serv…

“We have three years of the past to discuss” [EMPT] Once again, we pack our Gladstone bags and prepare for an episode where we travel. This time, we head to Sussex Downs and then across the Atlantic to New York in some of the early years of Sherlock Holmes's retirement. What brings us there is from the fertile imagination of Les Klinger, who posits…

“his age, and an affliction” [STOC] The panoply of elderly individuals in the Sherlock Holmes stories is impressive: Mr. Frankland, the old crank in The Hound of the Baskervilles, the miserly Josiah Amberley in "The Retired Colourman," Old Mr. Farquhar, the previous owner of Watson's practice. But there were many others, some of whom go almost unno…

“do but get into the clutches” [BOSC] We've held off a bit on the traditional interview with the editor of the BSI Manuscript Series this season — not for any lack of interest, but simply for scheduling reasons — but we hope it's worth the wait. Steve Doyle, BSI ("The Western Morning News") is the editor of Clutches of a Fiend, the BSI Manuscript e…

“do but get into the clutches” [BOSC] We've held off a bit on the traditional interview with the editor of the BSI Manuscript Series this season — not for any lack of interest, but simply for scheduling reasons — but we hope it's worth the wait. Steve Doyle, BSI ("The Western Morning News") is the editor of Clutches of a Fiend, the BSI Manuscript e…

“the flooring was also thoroughly examined” [SPEC] Cocoanut matting, bearskin rug, carpets — there are a number of notable floor coverings mentioned in the Sherlock Holmes stories. But flooring itself is less notable. Case in point: linoleum, which appears as a passing mention in just three stories, was a popular alternative at the time. What do we…