"the faded script" [HOUN] We've all had experience listening to Sherlock Holmes audio programs. Right? RIGHT?? And just as we have favorite screen adaptations, we also have our special audio heroes as well. Rathbone and Bruce, Gielgud and Richardson, Shelley and Hobbes, Merrison and Williams... they all bring to mind a feeling of nostalgia for the stories. But there are many original episodes that have gone missing. And our guest, Ian Dickerson, has managed to track down some of the original scr...
Jan 15, 2018•1 hr 6 min•Season 11Ep. 136
"that glamour of mystery and of experience" [VALL] Generations of Sherlockians are the beneficiaries of the poems penned by Helene Yuhasova. Yet this enigmatic individual has remained something of a legendary, even ethereal presence in the history of the Baker Street Irregulars. Who was Helene Yuhas(ova)? And were the poems, later ascribed to Edgar W. Smith of the Baker Street Irregulars, actually written by her? Whatever became of this this prolific poetess laureate, this Founding Mother? Sonia...
Dec 30, 2017•1 hr 15 min•Season 10Ep. 135
"Beacons of the future!" [NAVA] Sherlock Holmes appreciated education. He admired the "[c]apsules with hundreds of bright little seeds in each" as he and Watson passed by the board-schools on the way out to Briarbrae in "The Naval Treaty." And he famously said, "Education never ends. It is a series of lessons with the greatest for the last," in "The Red Circle." So it is entirely appropriate the The Beacon Society, the Sherlockian group that recognizes and supports exemplary efforts of bringing ...
Dec 15, 2017•54 min•Season 10Ep. 134
"the Colonel possessed a varied collection" [CROO] There are certain hallmarks of good collectors that make them stand out. One is that they enjoy the hunt as much as they enjoy the treasure. Another is that they enjoy sharing their plunder with others who appreciate the significance of such items. It's no mistake that we're using terms piratical to describe the Dan Posnansky, BSI ("Colonel Hayter") approach to collecting. For his collection includes the largest number of assembled pirated editi...
Nov 30, 2017•1 hr 6 min•Season 10Ep. 133
"full of spirits and energy" [GLOR] Bonnie MacBird returns to the show, this time to regale us with her own adventures that came with writing Unquiet Spirits, her latest Sherlock Holmes novel from HarperCollins. The book is a sequel to the popular Art in the Blood, and follows Sherlock Holmes's adventures in England, Scotland and France in the months following The Hound of the Baskervilles. In preparing for this work, Bonnie did some traveling of her own and manages to weave her own tale of intr...
Nov 15, 2017•1 hr•Season 10Ep. 132
"Fixing the Nets" [HOUN] When decided to give up after 22 years, there was great uncertainty about its future. Would it be abandoned, archived, deleted or sustained? And who would handle any of the monumental work of modernizing the site that had its humble beginnings in 1994? Enter Liza Potts, an associate professor at Michigan State University. Potts runs the (Writing, Information and Design Experience) there and just so happened to like Sherlock Holmes. But she had no idea what was in store f...
Oct 30, 2017•1 hr 23 min•Season 10Ep. 131
"a gang in Chicago" [DANC] The 75th anniversary of a Sherlockian organization is a fine time to reflect on its history. So we did just that with Don Terras, BSI ("The Politician, the Lighthouse, and the Trained Cormorant") from his unique perch near an actual lighthouse. The Hounds of the Baskerville (sic) has its roots in Chicago, thanks to one of the "Holy Three" of early Sherlockian giants, Vincent Starrett. There are about a score of other groups in and around Chicagoland, and Don takes us o...
Oct 15, 2017•1 hr 16 min•Season 10Ep. 130
"he soon acquired a great popularity" [VALL] Peggy Perdue, BSI ("Violet Westbury") has held the enviable position of librarian in charge of the Arthur Conan Doyle Collection at the Toronto Reference Library for over a decade. In that role, she's seen remarkable developments and has made some intriguing acquisitions. She has ascended to a new role, but before doing so, she oversaw the development and launch of the new Pop Sherlock exhibit. As IHOSE is dedicated to the intersection of Sherlock Hol...
Sep 30, 2017•1 hr 11 min•Season 10Ep. 129
"a case of ancient coins" [3GAR] Dr. Watson was once on the receiving end of a rebuke by Baron Adelbert Gruner in "The Adventure of the Illustrious Client," Gruner upbraided Watson (who was incognito as Dr. Hill Barton, avid collector of Chinese pottery). When he admitted that he had not read Gruner's definitive book on the subject, he hid behind his profession: “I am a very busy man. I am a doctor in practice.” “That is no answer. If a man has a hobby he follows it up, whatever his other pursui...
Sep 15, 2017•1 hr 2 min•Season 10Ep. 128
"this is my special hobby" [STUD] Every once in a great while, a book with special significance is published in the world of Sherlock Holmes fans. When the Canon was completed and the stories appeared in the first version of The Complete Sherlock Holmes; when Vincent Starrett brought forth scholarship and fun in The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes; when William S. Baring-Gould, BSI ("The Gloria Scott") took a stab at compiling research and chronologies in The Annotated Sherlock Holmes; and now a...
Aug 30, 2017•1 hr 16 min•Season 10Ep. 127
"they are an extraordinarily astute couple" [VALL] Harold and Theodora Niver (that's Tyke and Teddie to all who know them), are a unique couple, even by Sherlockian standards. They've had an abiding love of Sherlock Holmes, Jack the Ripper and Dracula for most of their adult lives, they live at Baskerville Hall, and founded and ran the Men on the Tor, a Connecticut Sherlock Holmes society. [Which just so happens to be the group where Scott first got his start in Sherlockian societies.] But one t...
Aug 15, 2017•1 hr 26 min•Season 10Ep. 126
"a field for those peculiar qualities which my friend possessed" [FIVE] Curtis Armstrong, BSI ("An Actor, and a Rare One") is known by many names. Miles Dalby, Charles De Mar, Herbert Viola, Scooter, Metatron, and of course, Booger. But around these parts, he is known as a keen Sherlockian who has been part of our little corner of the universe since his grade school days. His memoir tells a series of tales that will be of interest to those who only know him through his remarkable career in show ...
Jul 30, 2017•1 hr 23 min•Season 10Ep. 125
"seared into my memory" [SPEC] Richard Lancelyn Green, BSI ("The Three Gables"), who died in March 2004, was the world's leading expert on the life and works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He amassed one of the finest collections of Conan Doyle, and specifically, Sherlock Holmes material in private hands and had intended to produce a three-volume biography on Conan Doyle. He was not yet 30 when he co-edited the towering A Bibliography of A. Conan Doyle in 1983. He served a term as Chairman of the Sh...
Jul 15, 2017•1 hr•Season 10Ep. 124
"a pair of professional beauties" [STUD] We like to interview people who are doing interesting things related to Sherlock Holmes. have included authors, publishers, society leaders, entertainers and more. But there's one show that some listeners requested that we historically ignored. And that is a show in which we talk about ourselves. We thought that rather than simply running off at the mouth at random, it might be more in line with what you've come to expect if we interviewed each other. And...
Jun 30, 2017•1 hr 12 min•Season 10Ep. 123
"actors in this drama" [SECO] Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. Their names are forever linked, just as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are. And it is their remarkable seven-year collaboration that we discuss in this episode. You've seen their likenesses in still photos. You've probably heard their voices in audio recordings. And you've had a chance to see their films from the late 1930s and early 1940s, whether in the theater, as a Saturday afternoon matinee on television, public TV pledge drive, ...
Jun 15, 2017•1 hr 38 min•Season 10Ep. 122
"in the northern provinces" [SIGN] The Baker Street Irregulars International Series continues to forge ahead, as it published its sixth volume at the end of 2016. Joining the ranks of other countries and regions that whose scholarly works have been compiled and published by the BSI is none other than Canada. Joining us to talk about from the BSI International Series is one of the co-editors, Peter Calamai, BSI ("The Leeds Mercury"), MBt, C.M. Peter is one half of the editing team that took on th...
May 30, 2017•1 hr 18 min•Season 10Ep. 121
"something which had never before intruded" [VALL] You probably remember the first time you came across Sherlock Holmes. Whether it was a Saturday afternoon matinee of a Basil Rathbone film, or a cracking open The Hound of the Baskervilles for the first time, you were hooked. But have you stopped to think about all of the firsts in the Canon? That is, what are some of the groundbreaking things that Sherlock Holmes introduced to the world of detection and detective fiction? From techniques to tec...
May 15, 2017•1 hr 2 min•Season 10Ep. 120
"he braced himself to tell his story" [BERY] It's always a treat to have guests on our show when we air interviews. But two interviews in a single show? It just isn't done! Until now, that is. We were pleased to see Lynsday Faye, BSI ("Kitty Winter") at an event at Otto Penzler's Mysterious Bookshop, launching her newest book The Whole Art of Detection. We managed to take her gently by the elbow and lead her away from her admiring fans to have a few words. Those words included "Watson," "Doyle,"...
Apr 30, 2017•43 min•Season 10Ep. 119
"have even contributed to the literature of the subject" [REDH] We know that the field of writings about Sherlock Holmes has been plowed thoroughly for over 100 years. In fact, it began as far back as 1902, according to some research, being thrust into the limelight with the Oxford lectures of Fr. Ronald Knox. Publications like the Baker Street Journal and the Sherlock Holmes Journal have been cranking out their issues multiple times a year since the mid-20th century, and other regular periodica...
Apr 15, 2017•1 hr•Season 10Ep. 118
"it is the only personal introduction" [SUSS] "Just what the world needs," you tell yourself. "Another biography of Arthur Conan Doyle." Full disclosure: we thought the same thing. Until we read Arthur and Sherlock by Michael Sims. And then our attitudes changed. And then even more so after having a conversation with the author. Fortunately, we recorded that conversation and we're sharing it with you here. Michael shared with us the impact of books on his young mind, his journey to writing, and ...
Mar 30, 2017•1 hr 17 min•Season 10Ep. 117
"not enough to hold her back" [YELL] You can't swing a dead cat without hitting a Sherlock Holmes news item these days. Wait — perhaps that's not the best metaphor. How about "you can't turn around without seeing a Sherlock Holmes story." Much better. We decided to pick a handful of news (and non-news) stories related to Sherlock Holmes and go to town. From Stephen Fry's recent audio recordings of the stories to using the Canon as a modern-day text for would-be Joseph Bells in training, to Briti...
Mar 15, 2017•1 hr 7 min•Season 10Ep. 116
"we appeared to be two theatre-goers" [CHAS] Tim Greer, BSI ("The Ragged Shaw") joins us for this episode in which we explore some of the intricacies and challenges of producing Sherlock Holmes on the stage. For anyone who's been to a major gathering of Sherlockians in the last few years, Tim should be no stranger. From his home base in Memphis to 221B Con and the BSI Weekend, he's been seen in exquisite and faithful costumes inspired by William Gillette, Jeremy Brett an Basil Rathbone. Tim is a...
Feb 28, 2017•1 hr 15 min•Season 10Ep. 115
"Has anything escaped me?" [HOUN] There's a reason Vincent Starrett wrote "Here, though the world explode, these two survive,/ And it is always eighteen ninety-five." Whether it was in the 1940s or today, the world offers a up a variety of stressors and developments that cause one to wish to simply forget about it all for a while. Hence, the concept of escapism. The pastime of Sherlock Holmes is a form of escapism, and we explore what it means, the origin of the phrase, and how it differs from p...
Feb 15, 2017•1 hr 9 min•Season 10Ep. 114
" dancing across the paper" [DANC] The opportunity to see an original Conan Doyle manuscript up close and to transcribe it word for word is a rare one. Which is why Ray Betzner, BSI ("The Agony Column") jumped at the opportunity and buttonholed David Morrill, BSI ("Count Von Kramm") to assist with the editing Dancing to Death, the latest volume in the Baker Street Irregulars Manuscript Series, which covers "The Adventure of the Dancing Men." Ray tells us about his budding interest in Sherlock Ho...
Jan 30, 2017•56 min•Season 10Ep. 113
"their celebrated colleague" [VALL] It's 2017 and we're back from the BSI Weekend, with tales of friends, listeners, authors and more. Things we learned included Bonnie MacBird's next Sherlock Holmes novel that involves whisky; a future edition of a Sherlock Holmes companion from Cambridge University Press; the Society of Illustrators has a wonderful cafe, where we held the annual meeting of the Three Hours for Lunch Club, and subsequently, we'll be recommending Frederic Dorr Steele as a future ...
Jan 15, 2017•58 min•Season 10Ep. 112
"Yes, Mr. Holmes, I teach music." [SOLI] It's our final show of 2016, we welcome Karen Wilson to the program to discuss a variety of musical associations of hers with Sherlock Holmes. From teaching to composing to performing, she does it all, and incorporates that into her Sherlockian pursuits. We're treated to one of the best toasts of the year, "Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street," performed for us by Karen. It was inspired by "Alexander Hamilton" from the hit musical Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miran...
Dec 30, 2016•59 min•Season 9Ep. 111
"It is for the convenience of these that the Diogenes Club was started" [GREE] Sherlockian societies are literally everywhere. — we'll wait. And just as there are many things that make them unique, there are just as many that bind them together. Whether it's traditions, geography, frequency, or program style, Sherlock Holmes is at the center of it all. And while Sherlock and his brother Mycroft felt right at home at the Diogenes Club, which was created for the most unsociable and unclubbable men...
Dec 16, 2016•56 min•Season 9Ep. 110
"Holmes crouched down behind the screen" [HOUN] Every four years, the Baker Street Irregulars host a conference of sorts. We shared with you some of our impressions from the Chautauqua conference in . This time, we step back to the conference immediately preceding it - Behind the Canonical Screen, which took place in Los Angeles at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television in 2012. We're joined by Lyndsay Faye, BSI ("Kitty Winter"), ASH and Ashley Polasek, ASH, who co-edited the book conta...
Nov 30, 2016•1 hr 5 min•Season 9Ep. 109
"If a man has a hobby, he follows it up" [ILLU] One of the perennially favorite sets of episodes is the Sherlockian 101 series we did (originally Episode 4 and Episode 5). Many of our longtime listeners may have heard these, but some may not have listened to them in a while. And we recognize that we may have new listeners who may not have gone through our extensive back catalog. Therefore, we decided to resurrect and combine these episodes into one larger show to help you understand just what go...
Nov 15, 2016•1 hr 16 min•Season 9Ep. 108
"Excellent, Watson! You scintillate today." [ILLU] In 2017, we'll celebrate the 10th anniversary of , appropriately called "a family reunion for Sherlockians." In this episode, we're fortunate to be able to speak with the founder of the event, Jacquelynn Morris, BSI ("The Lion's Mane"). From an AOL discussion board to membership in one of Maryland's finest Sherlockian societies, we hear about Jacquelynn's first meeting with Sherlock Holmes and the many people who have influenced her along the wa...
Oct 30, 2016•1 hr 6 min•Season 9Ep. 107
