“another thread which I have extricated out of the tangled skein” [HOUN]

It has long been accepted that the original title of A Study in Scarlet was meant to be A Tangled Skein. While there is no surviving manuscript of the first Sherlock Holmes story, a single page of notes has long served as Sherlock Holmes's "birth certificate."

However, Matt Hall discovered a letter in Sydney, Australia that proves otherwise. His research is presented in Vol. 37 No. 2 of The Sherlock Holmes Journal. And it's much more than 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.

• The Sherlock Holmes Journal
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“put £100 down in front of him” [BLUE]

Humans are suckers for round numbers. And 100 seems like a perfectly reasonable one to settle on. It's the first three-digit number (in Arabic numbers, that is; Romans were happy to hit a C note).

When it comes to £100 in the Sherlock Holmes stories, it's a figure often associated with some sort of scam — enough to get attention and secure the trust of the mark. Which stories feature £100 and what were the circumstances? 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.

• Related: Episode 121 - Old Money
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“I had painted” [TWIS]

The Morley-Montgomery Award-winning article we're discussing this month is by H.C. Potter from Vol. 26, No. 2 of The Baker Street Journal.

In it, Potter looks at Watson's prosaic way of setting the scene for us. He selects excerpts from a number of stories to prove his case. Was he successful in backing up his claims? 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.

• The Morley-Montgomery Award
• The Morley-Montgomery Award series of episodes (Patreon | Substack)
• H.C. Potter's obituary (The New York Times)
• David McCullough: Painting with Words (IMDb)
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“traces of the ancient people” [HOUN]

When Watson noted a "difficult and dangerous quest" on "the forbidden moor" in The Hound of the Baskervilles. The moor played an outsized role in that story, providing the perfect setting for this gothic tale of terror, greed, and mystery.

What is the moor really like? How does the Canonical version differ from reality? Listener Nelson Pigeon wrote in to ask, and we answer. 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.

• The Hound of the Baskervilles: Hunting the Dartmoor Legend by Philip Weller
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“What, in heaven’s name, was it?” [HOUN]

One of the most famous Sherlock Holmes stories, The Hound of the Baskervilles, tells a terrifying story of a dog that most certainly did something in the night-time.

But what do we know about the actual canine? In a Morley-Montgomery Award-winning article in 1975, Michael L. Burton dispels myths and narrows down the likely breed. It's just a Trifle.

• The Morley-Montgomery Award
• The Morley-Montgomery Award series of episodes (Patreon | Substack)
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• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com

“I am a bit of an archaeologist myself” [3GAR]

We find ourselves digging into a reference in "The Devil's Foot" in this episode, with the help of a pair of Sherlockian scholars.

Poul and Karen Anderson explore the truth behind Sherlock Holmes's claim to be researching the origins of the ancient Cornish language. Where might the language have originated from? It's just a Trifle.

We also continue conversing about one of our sidebars in this episode in a separate bonus clip just for our supporters (Patreon | Substack).

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