Sherlock Holmes: Trifles

Welcome to Season 2 of Trifles. We'll be working through some of the questions we ask in our show introductions this season, including a number of recurring them…

"compliments of the season" [BLUE] 

"The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" is one of the more well-known stories in the Canon. And yet we're presented with a few trifling issues, including the color…

Peace in the canon. Reading the Sherlock Holmes stories to find peace is something like going to Casablanca for the water. 

     "But there are no waters in…

"what a chorus of groans, cries and bleatings" [REDC] 

Agony column. Agony column? To the modern reader, that term might be unfamiliar. Well, at least it would be unfamiliar with the reader who is …

When Cyril Overton sent a telegram to Sherlock Holmes, proclaiming the status of Godfrey Staunton, it was met with puzzlement. And even after Ov…

"you have been caught in the act" [BERY]

One of the general bits of enjoyment of the Sherlock Holmes stories is the denouement in which Sherlock Holmes apprehends the criminal. In some instances, he …

Family. For many, it's a part of the holiday season. And with Thanksgiving coming up tomorrow in the United States, it's a perfect opportunity t…

For many of us, the first time we encounter the word "pince-nez" is in the Sherlock Holmes stories. But for many of us, we very likely saw pince-nez on cha…

"his military challenge" [STUD] 

November 11 marks Veterans Day in the United States, when we honor our men and women who have served in the military. From the very first Sherlock Holmes story, we're…

"The world is big enough for us." [SUSS] 

With Halloween just behind us, it's natural to reflect on the supernatural. The Hound of the Baskervilles and "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire" loom la…

"Why do you not write them yourself?" [ABBE] 

Aside from the untold tales which are hinted at occasionally by Watson, the most intriguing writings in the Canon are those penned by Sherlock Holmes him…

In "The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor," Lord Robert St. Simon assumed that Holmes was going up in the world by taking him on as a client; Holmes rep…

The second week of October marks the remembrance of Christopher Columbus in the U.S.. Long thought to be the individual who "discovered" America, we've come to…

"this terrible secret society" [FIVE] 

The Ku Klux Klan famously plays a role in "The Adventure of the Five Orange Pips." To British audiences, the 'K.K.K.' note would have seemed mysterious - someth…

During the earliest days of the Sherlock Holmes stories, photography was still in its infancy. And yet, we are greeted with a number of instances in which photogr…

"I have no idea what he intends to go in for" [STUD] 

It's our Back to School Blowout Sale! Okay, not really. But since it's September and class is in session, we thought it would be the perfect time…

"I was already in debt to my tradesmen" [COPP] 

With Labor Day just behind us, what do we find in the Sherlock Holmes stories in the ways of the working class? Holmes said that the public could hardl…

 "The Greek Interpreter" gives us our first glimpse of Mycroft Holmes, through the meeting with him at the Diogenes Club. But it's the introduction of the peculiar M…

"The Cardboard Box" opens with an iconic diversion on a hot August day on Baker Street. And while the story was published in The Strand Magazine just follow…