Aug 29, 2018

"the good doctor took us to the yew alley" [HOUN]  

John H. Watson, M.D., late of the Army Medical Department, had a number of medical practices throughout the Sherlock Holmes stories. He waffled between being a flat-sharing colleague of Holmes and a doctor with his own thriving practice.

From Paddington to...

Aug 22, 2018

"any other spirit but rum" [BLAC]  

We're accustomed to thinking about Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson being associated with whiskey and brandy. But there are plenty of other kinds of alcohol in the Canon.

More than the infamous Imperial Tokay of "His Last Bow," or the ancient and cobwebby bottles, there are some...

Aug 16, 2018

"I shall run over to Camberwell and call upon Mrs. Cecil Forrester" [SIGN] 

We know what you're thinking: The Sign of Four wasn't an unpublished case. You, as a Trifles listener, are very astute. We should have expected nothing less.

Aug 8, 2018

"neat morocco case" [SIGN] 

We all know that Sherlock Holmes used drugs. "A seven-per-cent solution" of cocaine is what he recommended to Watson in The Sign of Four.

But in the prelude to that, we're told that Holmes took "his hypodermic syringe from its neat morocco case." This case must have graced the interior of...

Aug 1, 2018

"I trust you have no objection to tobacco smoke" [SIGN] 

Sherlock Holmes is probably the most famous smoker in the world. But in popular culture, he's always pictured with a pipe. The Canon tells us that he also smoked cigars and cigarettes.

What was the frequency with which he smoked each? Did he tend to favor one...