Épisodes

  • The Crown Diamond

    The Crown Diamond
    Sep 25 2025

    “What good are you going to get out of your diamond?” [MAZA]


    We're back in the theater for another Sherlock Holmes story in our series on the Apocrypha of Sherlock Holmes. It seems that Conan Doyle saw great potential in other mediums (not just the seance type, either).

    The Crown Diamond: An Evening With Sherlock Holmes is clearly a rehash of the short story "The Mazarin Stone." Or was thought to be, anyway. That is, until James Montgomery, BSI ("The Red Circle") discovered it in an exercise book and determined the publication order. And it's just a Trifle.

    If you have a question for us, please email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your inquiry on the show, we'll send you a thank you gift.

    Don't forget to listen to "Trifling Trifles" — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode. This is a benefit exclusively for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack). Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to this episode here or wherever you get podcasts
    Links
    • The Crown Diamond (Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia)
    • Exercise book containing The Crown Diamond (Toronto Public Library)
    • Episode 290: James Montgomery (I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere)
    • All of our social links: https://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
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    23 min
  • Lhassa & Mecca

    Lhassa & Mecca
    Sep 17 2025

    “amused myself by visiting Lhassa...looked in at Mecca” [FINA]

    The Great Hiatus, as the interval between "The Final Problem" and "The Empty House" is known, has inspired a great deal of speculation and interpretation, thanks to Sherlock Holmes's brief and tantalizing account of his time away. Edgar Smith took it on in his famous essay (as referenced in Episode 334), but Don Pollock took aim at the fawning acceptance in his own analysis in a 1975 issue of The Baker Street Journal. It's just a Trifle. If you have a question for us, please email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your inquiry on the show, we'll send you a thank you gift. Don't forget to listen to "Trifling Trifles" — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode. This is a benefit exclusively for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack). Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to this episode here or wherever you get podcasts
    Links
    • The Baker Street Journal
    • Trifles Episode 334 - The Great Hiatus
    • All of our social links: https://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
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    22 min
  • The Lumber Room

    The Lumber Room
    Sep 10 2025

    “lumbering upon its way” [DEVI]

    Across the Sherlock Holmes stories, we find a few mentions of what seems to be a strange and magical place in English residences: the lumber room. In old country houses and in the city at 221B Baker Street, as well as in descriptions of the mind, the lumber room is a place that deserves a little exploration. And it's just a Trifle. Thanks to Kaj for the suggestion for this episode. If you have a question for us, please email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your inquiry on the show, we'll send you a thank you gift. Don't forget to listen to "Trifling Trifles" — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode. This is a benefit exclusively for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack). Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to this episode here or wherever you get podcasts

    Links
    • All of our social links: https://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
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    21 min
  • The Location of Baskerville Hall

    The Location of Baskerville Hall
    Sep 4 2025

    “I was able to reach Baskerville Hall” [HOUN]



    There are a handful of locations in the Sherlock Holmes stories that are regularly sought out by fans. Of course 221B Baker Street is at the top of the list, along with the Reichenbach Falls. For those who venture to the west, Baskerville Hall is always a source of inspiration. But where exactly was it? Scholars have been debating that subject for decades, and in 1979 Howard Brody, BSI ("Anstruther") won the Morley-Montgomery Award for his paper that attempted to settle the matter. It's just a Trifle. If you have a question for us, please email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your inquiry on the show, we'll send you a thank you gift. Don't forget to listen to "Trifling Trifles" — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode. This is a benefit exclusively for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack). Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to this episode here or wherever you get podcasts

    Links
    • The Morley-Montgomery Award
    • The Morley-Montgomery Award series of episodes (Patreon | Substack)
    • Baskerville Hall Hotel
    • All of our social links: https://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
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    30 min
  • The Stonor Case

    The Stonor Case
    Aug 27 2025

    “took to the stage” [TWIS]


    When faced with four months of an empty theater in a six-month lease in 1910, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle did the only thing he could on a moment's notice: he turned to Sherlock Holmes.

    The Stonor Case (later renamed The Speckled Band) went into production and is considered part of the group of stories categorized as apocryphal. While the name was the same as the short story, there were departures from the original. This and many tales about this play are all a Trifle.

    If you have a question for us, please email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your inquiry on the show, we'll send you a thank you gift.

    Don't forget to listen to "Trifling Trifles" — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode. This is a benefit exclusively for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack). Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to this episode here or wherever you get podcasts
    Links
    • The Stonor Case / The Speckled Band (Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia)
    • H.A. Saintsbury (Wikipedia)
    • Lyn Harding (Wikipedia)
    • All of our social links: https://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
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    29 min
  • John H. Watson Never Went to China

    John H. Watson Never Went to China
    Aug 20 2025

    “Well, but China?” [REDH]

    Our recent episode about real people who inspired characters in the Sherlock Holmes stories spills over into this episode for our monthly Mr. Sherlock Holmes the Theorist-themed episode.

    Jay Finley Christ wrote a piece in 1949 that wasn't widely published until 1975 (if one can call the audience of Baker Street Miscellanea wide). Prof. Christ takes on John Dickson Carr's biography and other Sherlockians, debunking a myth about the inspiration for Dr. Watson. And it's just a Trifle.

    If you have a question for us, please email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your inquiry on the show, we'll send you a thank you gift.

    Don't forget to listen to "Trifling Trifles" — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode. This is a benefit exclusively for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack). Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to this episode here or wherever you get podcasts
    Links
    • Jay Finley Christ — An Old Irregular (IHOSE)
    • Baker Street Miscellanea
    • All of our social links: https://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
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    22 min
  • The Fabulous Originals

    The Fabulous Originals
    Aug 13 2025

    “There are the originals” [LAST]

    Sherlockians go to great pains to "play the game," meaning that Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were real. If we can drop the mask for a moment, we all know they were creations of one Arthur Conan Doyle.

    We also know that every author is inspired by people, names, and places around them. So too was Conan Doyle when he created certain characters. Who were some of the characters in the Canon who were inspired by real people? It's just a Trifle.

    If you have a question for us, please email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your inquiry on the show, we'll send you a thank you gift.

    Don't forget to listen to "Trifling Trifles" — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode. This is a benefit exclusively for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack). Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to this episode here or wherever you get podcasts
    Links
    • The Fabulous Originals: Lives of Extraordinary People who Inspired Memorable Characters in Fiction by Irving Wallace
    • Literary Characters Drawn from Life by Earle Walbridge
    • All of our social links: https://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
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    28 min
  • St. Saviour's, Near King's Cross

    St. Saviour's, Near King's Cross
    Aug 6 2025

    “entirely mistaken” [CHAS]

    The Morley-Montgomery Award-winning article we're discussing this month is by the legendary Jack Tracy, author of The Encyclopedia Sherlockiana and founder of Gaslight Publications.

    "St. Saviour's, Near King's Cross" appeared in Vol. 27, No. 4 of the Baker Street Journal in 1977 and looked specifically at the church where Mary Sutherland was supposed to marry Hosmer Angel. Previous Sherlockian scholars were unaware of some hidden London history that Tracy was able to uncover. And it's just a Trifle.

    If you have a question for us, please email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your inquiry on the show, we'll send you a thank you gift.

    Don't forget to listen to "Trifling Trifles" — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode. This is a benefit exclusively for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack). Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to this episode here or wherever you get podcasts
    Links
    • The Morley-Montgomery Award
    • The Morley-Montgomery Award series of episodes (Patreon | Substack)
    • All of our social links: https://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
    Voir plus Voir moins
    26 min