“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)
• All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com

“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
• All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com

“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)
• All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
• 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).

• All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com

“I went into the back yard” [BLUE]

The third week of the month means we look at a piece of Sherlockian scholarship — particularly one that may not be as widely read or generally available to most Sherlock Holmes fans.

This month, we're looking at Bernard Davies' "The Back Yards of Baker Street," which appeared in James Edward Holroyd's Seventeen Steps to 221B. Step with us through the alleyways of 1895 to see if we can make a proper identification. It's just a Trifle.

• Seventeen Steps to 221B by James Edward Holroyd (Abebooks)
• All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com

“You have done your best to get an innocent man hanged.” [NORW]

Capital punishment in the United Kingdom evolved over a period of time. From the mid-17th century through 1820, the Bloody Code tracked some 200 crimes punishable by death.

In which Sherlock Holmes stories do we hear about capital punishment, and under England's laws of the late Victorian period, who would have been eligible for death by hanging? It's just a Trifle.

• Capital punishment in the United Kingdom (Wikipedia)
• 11 Ridiculous Crimes That Carried the Death Penalty Before Queen Victoria (Ranker)
• Other episodes mentioned:
• • Episode 301 - Sherlock Holmes and Australians
• All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com