I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere

"with the big book under my arm" [STOC] If you've been with us for a while, you'll have heard about Otto Penzler, BSI ("The King of Bohemia") before. He was our guest on Episode 17 when we talked about book collecting. Otto is back with us to talk about the genesis of The Big Book of Sherlock Holmes Stories, the largest anthology of stories about Sherlock Holmes to date, as well as the rest of his enterprises. We learn about what goes into selecting (and discarding) stories that make up the nine Big Book anthologies under the Vintage Crime/Black Lizard label from Random House. As if Otto's considerable and copious editing doesn't keep him busy enough, the additional Otto Penzler Enterprises include the Mysterious Press and the Mysterious Bookshop. From a dozen books a year via the Press, an epublishing platform, and proprietary publishing just for the bookstore. What impressed is that that Otto's business acumen, timing and good fortune tend to converge across his enterprises, making him quite successful at what he does — despite any misgivings about his memory. Otto manages to survive our "Mental Exaltations" quiz program, which he plays on behalf of a lucky listener, who will go home with a copy of The Big Book of Sherlock Holmes. We know we're mediocre at telling you about supporting us via Patreon. Make sure you listen to the end of the show for someone who knows what he's talking about. A special thank you to Mary Miller and Christian Mongaard for your continued extraordinary support! Sponsors This episode includes our two longtime sponsors that deserve your attention: The Wessex Press, featuring Sherlock Holmes, Conan Doyle and The Bookman, and The Baker Street Journal, where you should get your annual subscription in now to secure all four issues - now accepting 2016 subscriptions. Would you care to become a sponsor? You can find more information here. Notes: 1:46 Welcome and Happy New Year 5:12 The Return of Otto 5:42 Otto has a flashback 8:00 The beginning of the Big Book Series 10:58 Approaching the task of compiling a Big Book 22:55 Why wait so long before doing a Sherlock Holmes Big Book? 27:45 The Mysterious Press 29:08 MysteriousPress.com e-publishing platform 31:40 A brief interlude, with thanks to John Rabe 40:15 Proprietary publishing - books only available in The Mysterious Bookshop 48:00 Everybody comes to Otto's — The Mysterious Bookshop 52:04 Doing business in the shadow of the World Trade Center in NYC 58:21 What Otto is collecting these days 1:06:12 Sign up for Otto's email newsletter 1:09:30 Mental Exaltation 1:15:21 Old haunts in the city that influenced book buying habits Download [Save As] | File size 39.4 MB, 1:24:05 Links: Otto Penzler on Episode 17 of I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Elmore Leonard's Comfort to the Enemy and Up in Honey's Room The Mysterious Press, an imprint of Grove Atlantic The Mysterious Bookshop Otto's newsletter - sign up! The Big Book of Sherlock Holmes Stories (Amazon) Others in the Big Book Series The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps The Black Lizard Big Book of Black Mask Stories The Vampire Archives: The Most Complete Volume of Vampire Tales Ever Published The Big Book of Ghost Stories The Big Book of Adventure Stories The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries The Black Lizard Big Book of Locked Room Mysteries The I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Patreon page Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard and Scoop.it sites at ihose.co/flipsherlock and ihose.co/scoopsherlock, as well as on the The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+ (now over 2,800 members), as well as through our accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. Please subscribe to us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher or Spreaker and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (comment AT ihearofsherlock DOT com), call us at (774) 221-READ (7323). --

"an extraordinarily astute couple" [VALL] Anyone who has been following Sherlock Holmes on television and in popular culture over the last five years or so should be familiar with the names Steven Moffat and Sue Vertue. Steven is showrunner, writer and producer for Sherlock and Doctor Who, and Sue is a producer of a number of programs, including Doctor Who and Sherlock, as well as of numerous British television comedies. Steven and Sue met at the Edinburgh Television Festival in 1996 and joined Hartswood Films, where Steven wrote a comedy based on their budding relationship, which became Coupling. And it is their coupling on Sherlock that we speak with them. On January 1, 2016, the world premiere of Sherlock: The Abominable Bride happens on BBC One and PBS. This is the first time the show has aired on the same day in both countries, and the excitement is palpable. The setting is London in 1895 and the trailers have shown a dark and mysterious atmosphere. We take the time to discuss the making of show with Steven and Sue, as well as surprises, challenges and delights along the way. We ask the question everyone has been dying to know: how much longer will Sherlock go on? And we get an answer! We also learn a surprising fact about Sue (!) and get some great send-off advice from Steven, with much great information in between. We have a dual feature for this episode's Gas-Lamp: an actual Editor's Gas-Lamp from Vol. 11, No. 4 (1961) called "Yes, Virginia, There Is a Sherlock Holmes" by Julian Wolff. And Jay Finley Christ's classic poem "The Old Tin Box." We know we're mediocre at telling you about supporting us via Patreon. Make sure you listen to the end of the show for someone who knows what he's talking about. A special thank you to Mary Miller and Christian Mongaard for your extraordinary support! Sponsors This episode includes our two longtime sponsors that deserve your attention: The Wessex Press, featuring Sherlock Holmes, Conan Doyle and The Bookman, and The Baker Street Journal, where you should get your annual subscription in now to secure all four issues and a very special Christmas Annual about The Seven Per-Cent Solution. Interested in becoming an advertiser? You can find more information here. Notes: 1:46 Welcome and hear what Scott got Burt for the holidays 3:05 One item worth mentioning from the Gift Guide 8:00 Our Facebook hack 9:56 Listener mail 11:01 Steven Moffat and Sue Vertue introduction 12:32 Welcome Steven and Sue 16:00 Some surprising information about Sue 19:50 What sent them back to 19th century London? 24:45 How much longer Sherlock will go on 26:47 Other stories that might be the subject for future episodes 30:25 One message for Sherlockians from Steven Moffat 32:56 You won't want to miss this 38:47 Post-interview chat, Twitter chat during Sherlock: The Abominable Bride 46:41 The Editor's Gas-Lamp 1:04:28 Getting in touch 1:06:18 Scott and Burt get a little help Links: Get ready for The Abominable Bride Don't forget our Sherlockian Gift Guide - pick out your gifts now! ihearofsherlock.com/merchandise The Penguin Deluxe Edition of Sherlock Holmes: The Novels, with Michael's introduction Michael Dirda on IHOSE Episode 38 Conan Doyle Sues Own Estate from Beyond the Grave concludes with "Case Closed" The Great Unrecorded Cases in Watson's Tin Box The I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Patreon page Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard and Scoop.it sites at ihose.co/flipsherlock and ihose.co/scoopsherlock, as well as on the The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+ (now over 2,800 members), as well as through our accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. Please subscribe to us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher or Spreaker and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (comment AT ihearofsherlock DOT com), call us at (774) 221-READ (7323). --

"its neat morroco case" [SIGN] Those Sherlockians who came to the hobby from the 1970s onward will be familiar with the name Nicholas Meyer, BSI ("A Fine Moroccan Case"). His book The Seven Per-Cent Solution became a runaway hit in 1974 and 1975, eventually becoming a movie for which Meyer himself wrote the screenplay. The 2015 Baker Street Journal Christmas Annual Together Again for the First Time, which celebrates the four decades since the book and film appeared. A master storytelling, Nick Meyer brings us behind the scenes of becoming a Sherlockian at the tender age of 11, followed closely with his first film, the influence of music, musicals and film in his budding career and how he lost Sherlock Holmes and found him again. We hear all about what it was like to take a manuscript from concept to publication and the challenges of agents, publishers, the Conan Doyle Estate and others along the way. And then the thrill of casting selections and adapting the book for the screen, even though writing for the screen is vastly different than for the printed page. It's rare that a pastiche has as much impact as Meyer's book — or was as popular as the original stories. We explore how his early and rabid consumption of the writings about the Writings (as well as a degree of hubris) allowed him to approximate Doyle's style and be a stickler for details. His craft even granted him an invitation to the BSI dinner in 1975 — but he turned it down (!); and how his opportunity to direct Young Sherlock Holmes dissipated — you'll find out why when you tune in. Nick was also a great sport and managed to make it through our "Mental Exaltations" quiz relatively unscathed. The Easter egg this time brings you Nick Meyer's secret on how wearing a tie led to an acting role for him. But which film? Join the ranks of others and become a regular supporter our show through Patreon. You choose the amount you feel comfortable with. A master storytelling, Nick Meyer brings us behind the scenes of becoming a Sherlockian at the tender age of 11, followed closely with his first film, the influence of music, musicals and film in his budding career and how he lost Sherlock Holmes and found him again. We hear all about what it was like to take a manuscript from concept to publication and the challenges of agents, publishers, the Conan Doyle Estate and others along the way. And then the thrill of casting selections and adapting the book for the screen, even though writing for the screen is vastly different than for the printed page. It's rare that a pastiche has as much impact as Meyer's book — or was as popular as the original stories. We explore how his early and rabid consumption of the writings about the Writings (as well as a degree of hubris) allowed him to approximate Doyle's style and be a stickler for details. His craft even granted him an invitation to the BSI dinner in 1975 — but he turned it down (!); and how his opportunity to direct Young Sherlock Holmes dissipated — you'll find out why when you tune in. Nick was also a great sport and managed to make it through our "Mental Exaltations" quiz relatively unscathed. The Easter egg this time brings you Nick Meyer's secret on how wearing a tie led to an acting role for him. But which film? Join the ranks of others and become a regular supporter our show through Patreon. You choose the amount you feel comfortable with. A special thank you to Mary Miller and Christian Mongaard for your extraordinary support! Notes: 1:44 Welcome, friends! 4:08 Thank you 6:11 Introduction to Nicholas Meyer 10:01 Nicholas Meyer, BSI ("A Fine Moroccan Case") joins us 42:20 An important interlude 48:49 Whatever happened to Sally? 57:07 The Conan Doyle Estate again 1:03:35 The BSI Dinner invitation arrives - but with conditions 1:12:30 From page to screen 1:44:56 "Mental Exaltation" 1:50:15 Wrap up 1:53:50 A change in our status Links: The Seven Per-Cent Solution (book) - Amazon The Seven Per-Cent Solution (film) - Amazon Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Time After Time Houdini (TV Miniseries) Don't forget our Sherlockian Gift Guide - pick out your gifts now! ihearofsherlock.com/merchandise BSI Weekend announcement - site updated The I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Patreon page Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard and Scoop.it sites at ihose.co/flipsherlock and ihose.co/scoopsherlock, as well as on the The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+ (now over 2,800 members), as well as through our accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. Please subscribe to us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher or Spreaker and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (comment AT ihearofsherlock DOT com), call us at (774) 221-READ (7323). Sponsors This episode includes our two longtime sponsors that deserve your attention: Wessex Press (check out ) and The

As the holiday shopping season nears, we thought it was a great time to create a shopping guide for the Sherlock Holmes fan in your life. If you're into Sherlock Holmes in any way, it's likely that you have a wish list. Whether it's an early edition of the stories, a complete collection of Arthur Wontner films, a Sherlock Holmes chess set, or something else. We recently asked your assistance in creating the ultimate Sherlockian gift guide, and you responded in force. We took those suggestions and ran with them, and created a show to highlight some of the many things for the Sherlock Holmes fanatic in your life, whether it's you or a loved one. Of course, we cover the latest Sherlock Holmes news and enjoy a little banter to boot. We also mention a contest — leave us a review on iTunes and show us the proof (screenshot or similar) — and we'll enter you for a chance to win a 1950s-era Baker Street Journal Christmas Annual. Listen closely and you may hear who our next interview guest is. And remain on the lookout for our regular Easter Egg feature. As a reminder, consider supporting our show through Patreon, for as little as $1 per episode. And thank you to Mary Miller and Christian Mongaard for your extraordinary support! We've been enjoying your photos and plan to post a number of them soon, so if you want to be part of this effort, please purchase as many of of our 221B or 1895 oval stickers as you like and then send us a picture of where you've put it. Notes: 1:35 Hello 3:45 Just the two of us 7:07 iTunes review and contest 8:26 The Sherlock Holmes News 21:21 Our holiday gift recommendations, powered by our readers and listeners, beginning with books. 41:50 Recommended DVDs 47:15 Ephemera: physical objects 59:56 What Burt and Scott want 1:07:02 Wrapping up Links: Our Sherlockian Gift Guide - pick out your gifts now! ihearofsherlock.com/merchandise Stan Lee was inspired by Sherlock Holmes BSI Weekend announcement - site updated The new home of the William Gillette Luncheon (and a history of the event) Elementary Season 4 has begun, with John Noble as Morland Holmes, Sherlock's father. Sherlock: The Abominable Bride will air on January 1 in the US and UK, and will have limited theatrical releases around the globe. A spooky tour of Dartmoor, courtesy of The Guardian. The I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Patreon page Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard and Scoop.it sites at ihose.co/flipsherlock and ihose.co/scoopsherlock, as well as on the The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+ (now over 2,800 members), as well as through our accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. Please subscribe to us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher or Spreaker and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (comment AT ihearofsherlock DOT com), call us at (774) 221-READ (7323). Sponsors This episode includes our two longtime sponsors that deserve your attention: Wessex Press (check out ) and The Baker Street Journal, where you should get your annual subscription in now to secure all four issues and a very special Christmas Annual about The Seven Per-Cent Solution. Interested in becoming an advertiser? You can find more information here.

"the sister of Vernet, the French artist" [GREE] Did you ever have a chance to talk with someone with whom you immediately felt a connection? That's exactly how Bonnie MacBird impressed us when we chatted with her about her new book Art in the Blood in this latest interview episode of I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere. From her most amazing experience on her recent book tour to her first meeting with Sherlock Holmes (at a remarkable age!), to how she found her inspiration for the novel, Bonnie shares her very considered and unique perspective on the immortal detective. Listen in to hear about an artist's temperament and how it affects the craft, including her other mediums, and how she intended to bring Sherlock Holmes to her readers through her own personal Sherlockian inspirations. Our Gas Lamp is inspired by a comment from Nick Martorelli and is taken from The Baker Street Journal Vol. 6, No. 3 (1956), in which Edgar Smith wrote "On Canonicity." Listen closely and you may hear who our next interview guest is. And remain on the lookout for our regular Easter Egg feature. As a reminder, consider supporting our show through Patreon, for as little as $1 per episode. And thank you to Mary Miller and Christian Mongaard for your extraordinary support! We've been enjoying your photos and plan to post a number of them soon, so if you want to be part of this effort, please purchase as many of of our 221B or 1895 oval stickers as you like and then send us a picture of where you've put it. Notes: 1:33 Hi! 2:32 Revisiting the new show format 3:30 An introduction to Bonnie MacBird 4:37 Beginning our conversation with Bonnie 6:00 Bonnie's favorite moment from the tour 26:35 An important message 37:01 Bonnie's annotations and artwork 46.02 What it means to be a "professional enthusiast" 49:30 Bonnie's next signing at Stanford 51:25 The Editor's Gas Lamp 58:15 A sincere thank you Download [Save As] | File size 30.4 MB, 1:05:00 Links: Bonnie MacBird's website Follow Bonnie MacBird on Twitter: @macbird The post about Stephen Fry's retirement from QI Bonnie's "Klingeresque" annotations The limited edition from Otto Penzler, including artwork by Bonnie MacBird The I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Patreon page Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard and Scoop.it sites at ihose.co/flipsherlock and ihose.co/scoopsherlock, as well as on the The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+ (now over 2,800 members), as well as through our accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. Please subscribe to us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher or Spreaker and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (comment AT ihearofsherlock DOT com), call us at (774) 221-READ (7323). Sponsors This episode includes our two longtime sponsors that deserve your attention: Wessex Press (check out the Dreams of Future Past: The Science Fiction Worlds of Arthur Conan Doyle and H.G. Wells) and The Baker Street Journal, where you should get your annual subscription in now to secure all four issues and a very special Christmas Annual about The Seven Per-Cent Solution. Interested in becoming an advertiser? You can find more information here.

"Holmes was accessible upon the side of flattery" [REDC] We all know that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Sherlock Holmes is no stranger to either, and with a growing database that includes some tens of thousands of work, it's easy to think that Sherlock Holmes is probably the most imitated literary character in history. We take the time in this show to explore some of the motivations behind pastiches — as well as the cliched ingredients in so many pastiches (Mrs. Hudson, Mycroft Holmes, Professor Moriarty, cocaine, the Baker Street Irregulars, Jack the Ripper, real historical figures, etc.) and what makes them work — or in many cases, not. But more than that, we announce a new format to I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere episodes. Beginning with Episode 82, we're going to be splitting the show into two episodes per month. One show will be a featured interview and Gas-Lamp, while the other will be a show with the news, the quiz, and commentary related to the interview show that it precedes. In this case, our pastiche commentary is a prelude to one of the most exciting and anticipated pastiches of the year, Bonnie Macbird's Art in the Blood. This is our first show with a musical guest, and we're pleased to introduce Jessica Lisette to the Sherlockian world. She performs her new hit single "Elementary," which makes its debut today. You can see her video embedded below. Our "Mental Exaltation" quiz, so adeptly written by Nick Martorelli, challenges listener Jenn Zuko to win a copy of Bonnie Macbird's Art in the Blood. Will she manage to pull it off? As a reminder, consider supporting our show through Patreon, for as little as $1 per episode. We've been enjoying your photos and plan to post a number of them soon, so if you want to be part of this effort, please purchase as many of of our 221B or 1895 oval stickers as you like and then send us a picture of where you've put it. Notes: 3:36 How to find our past episodes: the ihose DOT co code. 4:50 Supporting the show — just like Mary Miller 7:00 Announcing the new IHOSE format 10:02 The Sherlock Holmes news 21:45 The Pope makes news while in the United States 24:21 Jessica Lisette joins us to sing "Elementary" 38:30 Our sponsors — including the latest Sherlock Holmes brand ad 43:40 Commentary: pastiches 55:41 Mental Exaltation 1:02:22 Wrap up comments And as usual, you might want to be sure you pay attention for a special Easter egg somewhere in the show... Links: Jessica Lisette Music The Sherlock Holmes Society of London remembers Jeremy Brett (photo album) Is it really possible to have too many Sherlock Holmes books? An interview with the Sherlock Holmes Society of India's Secretary General A review of Dan Andriacco and Kieran McMullen's The Egyptian Curse Otto Penzler's Big Book of Sherlock Holmes Stories The new trailer to the Sherlock special The I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Patreon page Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard and Scoop.it sites at ihose.co/flipsherlock and ihose.co/scoopsherlock, as well as on the The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+ (now over 2,800 members), as well as through our accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. Please subscribe to us on Tunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher or Spreaker and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (comment AT ihearofsherlock DOT com), call us at (774) 221-READ (7323). Sponsors This episode includes our two longtime sponsors that deserve your attention: Wessex Press (check out the Murder in the Vatican: the Church Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes) The Baker Street Journal, where you should get your annual subscription in now to secure all four issues and a very special Christmas Annual about The Seven Per-Cent Solution. Interested in becoming a sponsor? You can find more information here. --

"Some of my most interesting cases have come to me in this way through Mycroft." [GREE] If asked, who would you say is the biggest Sherlock Holmes fan? Prior to January 2015, we would not have said Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. But when he made a surprise appearance at the 2015 BSI Dinner and we had a chance to speak with him we discovered it was in fact he. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse have written a new book called Mycroft Holmes, due out next week. We won't give too much away, but it chronicles the early career of Sherlock Holmes's older brother, at the age of 23. You'll find the classic Oxford-Cambridge boat race, the grimy streets of London, cigars, a sea voyage and much more. It's a very interesting, insightful and surprising look into what went into the beginnings of this mystical figure from the original Sherlock Holmes stories. We've got a couple of listener comments to share before getting to "Mental Exaltation," in which we welcome a listener to the show to play. And please be sure to check out our Patreon, which means you can become a regular supporter of our show. We close out with an original Editor's Gas-Lamp, "The Softer Holmes" from Vol. 7, No. 1 of the Baker Street Journal, which reflects on the softer Mycroft we find in Abdul-Jabbar's book. We've already been getting some photos in, but if you do purchase one of our 221B or 1895 oval stickers, please send us a picture of where you've put it. Notes: 1:30 Introductory remarks and witty banter 3:30 News (check out our new high-tech news theme music!) 21:45 Ray Jessel performs at the 2010 BSI Dinner 35:40 Interview with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse 1:21:02 Sponsors - including one you shouldn't miss 1:26:45 Announcing our Patreon effort 1:29:05 Listener comments 1:32:21 Our quiz show "Mental Exaltation" 1:41:47 The Editor's Gas-Lamp 1:46:27 Final comments And as usual, you might want to be sure you pay attention for a special Easter egg somewhere in the show... Download [Save As] | File size 51.6 MB, 1:52:12 Links: Sherlock Holmes - a Musical Mind - BBC Prom 41 Sherlock Holmes and the Internet of Things The Conan Doyle Estate, Ltd. has triumphed over Miramax And the inevitable happened: Conan Doyle Sues Own Estate From Beyond the Grave The I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Patreon page Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard and Scoop.it sites at ihose.co/flipsherlock and ihose.co/scoopsherlock, as well as on the The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+ (now over 2,800 members), as well as through our accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. Please subscribe to us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher or Spreaker and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (comment AT ihearofsherlock DOT com), call us at (774) 221-READ (7323). Sponsors This episode includes two sponsors that deserve your attention: Wessex Press (check out the new Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle in the Newspapers Volume 1) The Baker Street Journal, where you should get your annual subscription in now to secure all four issues and a very special Christmas Annual about The Seven Per-Cent Solution. Interested in becoming a sponsor? You can find more information here. --

"this exhibition of the great detective" [VALL] If you were tasked with writing about the significance of Sherlock Holmes in popular culture, how would you go about it? After all, it's been a topic of numerous books throughout the years and we're currently awash in Sherlock Holmes books, shows, websites and the rest. Journalist Zach Dundas took a very unconventional approach with his book The Great Detective: The Amazing Rise and Immortal Life of Sherlock Holmes. It's a combination travelogue, memoir and cultural biography that brings us through the Sherlock Holmes chronologically. Zach joins us to talk about the writing process and the Sherlock Holmes bug that bit him so many years ago. Along the way, you might even encounter a familiar name or two. We examine the dual nature of Arthur Conan Doyle and the striking differences - and similarities - between him and his unfortunate father, Charles Altamont Doyle. But more than that, we discuss the enigmatic nature of the legendary author and examine his increasing fervor over Spiritualism. All of this and the growing fascination with Sherlock Holmes by increasingly larger numbers of people. We of course have our usual roundup of Sherlock Holmes news, from Laura Linney professing her early love of Sherlock Holmes to battles of copyright ,and debates among Sherlockians. That plus our usual set of sponsors (including one very special one) and the Mental Exaltation quiz round out the show. If you do purchase one of our 221B or 1895 stickers, please send us a picture of where you've put it. Notes: 1:30 Introductory remarks and witty banter 3:30 IHOSE goes to New York 8:15 Check out the special way to contact us 9:45 News and commentary 20:26 Sponsors - including one you shouldn't miss 26:20 Interview with Zach Dundas 1:19:53 Mental Exaltation quiz show 1:25:25 Final comments And you might want to be sure you pay attention for a special Easter egg somewhere in the show... Links: Our review of Mr. Holmes Laura Linney and Sir Ian McKellen at Google Mattias Bostrom covers the confusion around Sherlock Holmes and copyright 221B and 1895 oval stickers are again available: ihose.co/221Bstickers Chris Redmond looks at Sherlockians and Sherlockians The spirit voice of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle "Giving you a run for your money" Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard and Scoop.it sites at ihose.co/flipsherlock and ihose.co/scoopsherlock, as well as on the The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+ (over 2,700 members), as well as through our accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. Please subscribe to us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher or Spreaker and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (comment AT ihearofsherlock DOT com), call us at (774) 221-READ (7323). Sponsors This episode includes two sponsors that deserve your attention: Wessex Press (check out the new Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle in the Newspapers Volume 1) The Baker Street Journal, where you should get your annual subscription in now to secure all four issues and a very special Christmas Annual about The Seven Per-Cent Solution. Interested in becoming a sponsor? You can find more information here. --

Glen Miranker, BSI, 2s ("The Origin of Tree Worship") is one of the foremost Sherlockian and Doylean collectors in the world. To see his collection in person would send chills up even the most austere Sherlockian's spine. We asked Glen to join us, not solely because of the depth and breadth of his Sherlockian collection, but because he has many personal stories that effectively illustrate what it means to be a collector. From his first real collectible book to the individuals who mentored him along the way, Glen learned a great deal and is more than willing to share his passion with the world. From Sherlockian giants like Dan Posnansky, Marv Epstein and Bliss Austin, we hear of Glen's encounters with them and what they passed along to him. We literally step into Glen's library on a tour (audio-only, although we do have a few photos of what lies within), including some original Conan Doyle letters and even trench warfare magazines - just the tip of the iceberg of his collection. We also have a roundup of Sherlock Holmes news, from events to the summer feature Mr. Holmes, to a fascinating set of infographics from The Guardian, as well as some listener comments. That plus our usual set of sponsors (and one very special one) round out the show. This time around the Gas-Lamp is a poem from another San Francisco Sherlockian on the auspicious evening of March 31, 1944. And you just might want to pay attention, lest you miss an Easter egg. Links: What happened at Scintillation of Scions VIII, including a screening of Herlock Trailer and teaser image for Sherlock special A clever set of infographics from The Guardian Fox is planning Houdini & Doyle for 2016 Our friend (and IHOSE 67 guest) Tim Johnson was featured on Minnesota Public Radio Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard and Scoop.it sites at ihose.co/flipsherlock and ihose.co/scoopsherlock, as well as on the The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+ (over 2,600 members), as well as through our accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. Please subscribe to us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher or Spreaker and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (ihearofsherlock AT gmail DOT com), call us at (774) 221-READ (7323). Sponsors This episode includes two sponsors that deserve your attention: Wessex Press (check out the new Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle in the Newspapers Volume 1) The Baker Street Journal, where you should get your annual subscription in now to secure all four issues and a very special Christmas Annual about The Seven Per-Cent Solution. --

The 15th of every month brings a new episode, and our latest is chock full of Sherlockian nuggets. There's a legal case afoot, in case you haven't heard. We cover the latest broadside from the Conan Doyle Estate, Ltd. - the #FreeMrHolmes saga - and discuss the movie starring Sir Ian McKellen. We ponder Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's epitaph if written under the present clouds of the estate's business dealings. We also take a moment to pause and reflect on the screening of the William Gillette 1916 film, our 1,000th post and the Scintillation of Scions event. It's been a busy month! Burt takes us on an audio journey to Roslyn in the Hoboken-Free State to celebrate the 125th birthday of Christopher Morley, founder of the Baker Street Irregulars. There we hear from Morley scholar and Baker Street Journal editor Steven Rothman, BSI ("The Valley of Fear") and Terry Hunt, BSI ("The Something Hunt"), as well as two grandchildren of Morley. Mental Exaltation Another installment of our successful quiz program, written by IHOSE quizmaster Nick Martorelli, is all about the legal profession in the Sherlock Holmes stories. Sandy Kozinn joined us from New Jersey to play - listen to hear how she did. We welcome a guest reader for this episode's Gas-Lamp reading: Ray Betzner. Ray gave a touching talk at the BSI Dinner in January and an encore presentation at the Sons of the Copper Beeches in April. It is titled "A Case of Identity: Sigerson's Choice" and it is remarkable. Finally, we conclude with some listener comments, including a very surprising duo. Download [Save As] | File size 43.8 MB, 1:35:25 Links You may have missed Scintillation of Scions VIII, but edition IX is coming next year. We had a representative at the screening of William Gillette's 1916 silent classic Sherlock Holmes at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival last month. You can read Tim Greer's impressions of the event and the film here. And if you'd like to see the restoration yourself, the DVD and Blu-ray are coming out in October - order it here. We celebrated our 1,000th post on the site: ihose.co/ihose1000 The summary of the #FreeMrHolmes saga. Related: you might wish to educate yourself with Betsy Rosenblatt's scholarly legal treatise The Adventure of the Shrinking Public Domain. Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard and Scoop.it sites at ihose.co/flipsherlock and ihose.co/scoopsherlock, as well as on the The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+ (still growing, now at over 2,500 members), as well as through our accounts on Facebook,Twitter and Tumblr. Please subscribe to us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher or Spreaker and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (ihearofsherlock AT gmail DOT com), call us at (774) 221-READ (7323). Sponsors This episode includes three sponsors that deserve your attention: Wessex Press (check out the new Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle in the Newspapers Volume 1) The Baker Street Journal, where you should get your annual subscription in now to secure all four issues and a very special Christmas Annual about The Seven Per-Cent Solution. We welcome mystery writer Dan Andriacco. His upcoming novel Rogues Gallery is the latest in the Sebastian McCabe - Jeff Cody Series. Learn more on Dan’s blog Baker Street Beat at DanAndriacco.com. We're also pleased to recognize Joseph Vega, William Simpson, Bob Byrne, Peter Lawrence, James O'Leary and Mary Miller for their generous support. If you would like to help support I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere, you can click here or on the "Donate" button in the upper portion of the site.

"It is a nice household" [SPEC] It's been exactly one month since our last episode, as as is our tradition on the 15th of every month, we bring you another episode of our show. In this episode, come with us to Boston as we investigate the Speckled Band of Boston - the oldest scion society of the Baker Street Irregulars, which was founded in 1940. In addition to a recap of some of the main Sherlock Holmes news of the last month, we bring you a number of special audio features. Burt and Scott both attended the 75th annual dinner of the Speckled Band of Boston and captured some audio of the evening, to give you a sense of what goes on at this august institution. We ran into James O'Leary, a contributor of this site, and he presented us with copies of his entry in the John H. Watson Monograph Series, Some Observations Upon the Early Writings of John H. Watson, MD, 1887-1894. We have an extra copy to give away - please listen in to the show around the 12-minute mark to hear how you might win it. Another treasure is Dan Posnansky, BSI ("Colonel Hayter"), the current Keeper of the Speckled Band. We've known Dan for years and have heard his talks about his very impressive holdings, but we never had the chance to get him on the show. We rectified that this time, and we have a 45-minute interview with him as part of this Speckled Band spectacular. One of the names Dan mentioned is Dirk Struik, whose signature you can see on this program from the 1945 Speckled Band dinner. Mental Exaltation We're pleased to bring you another entry in our "Mental Exaltation" quiz program, inspired by NPR's Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me! and written by IHOSE quizmaster Nick Martorelli. Find our how you can qualify to win. "My mind," he said, "rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere. I can dispense then with artificial stimulants. But I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for mental exaltation. We're pleased to welcome Madelyn Covey of Emeryville, CA to the show as our contestant. Madelyn, who has written "Conductor of Light," a song dedicated to John Watson, joined us for a band-themed quiz. Listen to see how she did. We wrap up with our regular Gas-Lamp reading, this time taken from two unlikely sources: The Tavern Club at 75 and The Third Cab. Links: Stan Freberg passes away. Hear him on The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd. The San Francisco Silent Film Festival is screening the lost Sherlock Holmes film on May 31. More Mr. Holmes trailers have been released, including one with Nicholas Rowe The Sherlock Christmas special will be set in 1895. The new BSI Trust website is up. Information about Sherlockian societies in Episodes 04 and 05. Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard and Scoop.it sites at ihose.co/flipsherlock and ihose.co/scoopsherlock, as well as on the The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+ (still growing, now at over 2,500 members), as well as through our accounts on Facebook,Twitter and Tumblr. Please subscribe to us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher or Spreaker and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (ihearofsherlock AT gmail DOT com), call us at (774) 221-READ (7323). Sponsors This episode includes two sponsors that deserve your attention: Wessex Press (check out the new Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle in the Newspapers Volume 1) The Baker Street Journal, where you should get your annual subscription in now to secure all four issues and a very special Christmas Annual about The Seven Per-Cent Solution. And special thanks to Elizabeth Ong, James O'Leary and Mary Miller for your generous donations. If you would like to help support I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere, you can click here or on the "Donate" button in the upper portion of the site. --

"a tremendous abyss" [FINA] The BSI Manuscript series continues to churn out remarkable books on an annual basis. In 2015, we're pleased to see the manuscript for "The Empty House" printed, analyzed and opined in Out of the Abyss, edited by Robert Katz, BSI ("Dr. Ainstree"), Steven Rothman, BSI ("The Valley of Fear") and Andrew Solberg, BSI ("Professor Coram"). The trio of editors joined us for a discussion of how this project came about - including getting access to the MS from the famed Rosenbach Museum and Library in Philadelphia. The inimitable Dr. A.S.W. Rosenbach (who is most decidedly NOT a physician), rare book dealer and bibliophile, owned the original manuscript and it has remained with his collection in the museum and library. Of course, seeing the story in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's own handwriting is illuminating - particularly as one can look at the corrections (or lack thereof) and get a sense of the author's thought process. Seeing that in light of Holmes's resurrection in "The Empty House" is even more thrilling. Contributors to this volume include Catherine Cooke, BSI ("The Book of Life"), who investigates the location of the Empty House, based on previous scholarship throughout the ages; Lyndsay Faye, BSI ("Kitty Winter") who contributes a short story; Russell Merritt, BSI ("The Trepoff Murder") with a look at the Col. Morans in film; Brent Morris on sleight of hand and card playing; Chris Redmond, BSI ("Billy") and Lindsay Colwell on the theme of resurrection; and more. In addition to discussing everything that went into this volume, we have a sneak preview of the next volume that Bob and Andy are working on together. While they don't yet have a title, the topic is certainly one that will attract a number of readers. Mental Exaltation We're pleased to bring you another entry in our "Mental Exaltation" quiz program, inspired by NPR's Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me! and written by IHOSE quizmaster Nick Martorelli. Find our how you can qualify to win. "My mind," he said, "rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere. I can dispense then with artificial stimulants. But I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for mental exaltation. In this episode, we welcome James O'Leary of Natick, Massachusetts to the show as a contestant. James has a harrowing triumverate of math questions to answer (do we detect the hand of Prof. Moriarty, former math tutor and Col. Moran's boss?). Listen to see how he did. We wrap up with our regular Gas-Lamp reading, this time taken from the General Editor's Preface from the BSI Manuscript Series. Download [Save As] | File size 94.6 MB, 1:43:20 Links: The Baker Street Irregulars Manuscript Series Out of the Abyss - available for sale on the BSJ website for $39.95 Be sure to check out @FakeProductHunt on Twitter You Say Fanfiction, I Say Pastiche - Is There a Difference? My Dear, Dear Watson A review of Mr. Holmes Bakehouse Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes - 30 years ago Origins of the phrase "Quick Watson, the needle!" - and the follow up piece. The first Sherlock Holmes and Star Trek crossovers Lost Without My Boswell - audio recordings of the Sherlock Holmes stories Moran's Chelsea Restaurant may be closing The Silver Blaze (Southern Division) will be run in May. Art In The Blood discussion forum reopens Conan Doyle and Houdini show ordered by Fox Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard magazine at ihose.co/flipsherlock and Scoop.it page, as well as on the The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+ (still growing, now at over 2,300 members), as well as through our accounts on Facebook,Twitter and Tumblr. Please subscribe to us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher or Spreaker and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (ihearofsherlock AT gmail DOT com), call us at (774) 221-READ (7323). Sponsors This episode includes two sponsors that deserve your attention: Wessex Press (check out the new Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle in the Newspapers Volume 1) The Baker Street Journal, where you should get your annual subscription in now to secure all four issues and a very special Christmas Annual about The Seven Per-Cent Solution. And special thanks to Hein & Co., James O'Leary and Mary Miller for your generous donations. --

"she loved the Prince" [SHOS] For our diamond jubilee episode - our 75th - we're pleased to welcome Sonia Fetherston, BSI ("The Solitary Cyclist"), author of the latest entry in the Baker Street Irregulars Biography Series, Prince of the Realm: The Most Irregular James Bliss Austin. Bliss Austin, BSI ("The Engineer's Thumb") was among the first class that was given titular investitures to the Baker Street Irregulars. But he was more than that, as we discovered. He was an accomplished researcher and industrialist who rose to the executive ranks of U.S. Steel; he was a collector of and expert on Japanese art; he was a Sherlockian who was most generous with his time and collection; he was a family man. Sonia does a fine job of describing the influences on Bliss's life and the many lives that Bliss influenced as well. From budding collectors and Sherlockians to veteran scholars - including the aprocryphal Helene Yuhasova story. She also shared Bliss Austin's firsthand experience with a female interloper at an all-male Sherlockian group. Discover how Bliss's collection, originally bequeathed to Lehigh University, made its way to the market. Listen to how a collector of Bliss's stature acquires original manuscripts in Arthur Conan Doyle's own hand: The Valley of Fear and "The Red Circle." And learn about how you can read a Bliss Austin paper - given at an early BSI dinner - that has never before appeared in print. Mental Exaltation We introduce a new feature to I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere listeners with this episode. It's a quiz that we call "Mental Exaltation," inspired by NPR's Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me! and written by IHOSE quizmaster Nick Martorelli. Find our how you can qualify to win. "My mind," he said, "rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere. I can dispense then with artificial stimulants. But I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for mental exaltation. This week, Sonia plays for listener Mary Miller of Indianapolis, Indiana. We wrap up with our regular Gas-Lamp reading, this time taken from an issue of the BSJ that contained Bliss Austin's first contribution. "An Age Passes" and "Sonnet: From Sherlock Holmes to Mycroft Holmes" are taken from Vol. 1, No. 4 (OS) of the Baker Street Journal. Links: Sweeping up some tidbits of sherlockian news A lost "Sherlock Holmes" story was found in Scotland The deaths of Alan Howard and Leonard Nimoy Graham Moore, author of The Sherlockian and IHOSE guest (Episode 30) won an Academy Award for his screenplay for The Imitation Game. Arthur & George premiered on ITV National news brought Canonical references to life with #llamadrama and #thedress Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard magazine at ihose.co/flipsherlock and Scoop.it page, as well as on the The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+ (still growing, now at over 2,300 members), as well as through our accounts on Facebook,Twitter and Tumblr.Please subscribe to us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher or Spreaker and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable.Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (ihearofsherlock AT gmail DOT com), call us at (774) 221-READ (7323). Sponsors This episode includes three sponsors that deserve your attention: Wessex Press (check out the new Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle in the Newspapers Volume 1) The Baker Street Journal, where you should get your annual subscription in now to secure all four issues and a very special Christmas Annual about The Seven Per-Cent Solution. --

The #BSIWeekend 2015 is in the history books. As usual, it was a reminder of the richness of friendship and fun that are the side effect - and in some cases, the driver - of our interest in Sherlock Holmes. And it is the subject of this episode of I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere. As you know, the Baker Street Irregulars (and Friends) Weekend is a gathering of some hundrends of interested Sherlockians that is always full of food, fun and friends, and this year was no exception. In fact, this year it coincided with the 125th anniversary of the birth of Christopher Morley, the founder of the BSI, and the 100th anniversary of the publication of The Valley of Fear. One of the highlights for us was the Lunch of Steele at the Salmagundi Club, honoring the memory of Frederic Dorr Steele, one of the great illustrators of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Burt has hosted this luncheon for the last 12 years, and he tells us why he decided to bring back the tradition of Morley's Three Hours For Lunch Club under the topic of Steele. At the Salmagundi Club There at the club, we enjoyed an intimate setting that allowed us to share a variety of interests and to capture a couple of those legendary stories that aren't documented in writing. We refer, of course, to Peter Blau, who regaled us with a John Bennett Shaw story and an Al Silverstein tale. Peter Blau, looking forlorn after offering the raffle prize up for auction at the BSI Cocktail Reception. We also reflected on the associated interests of Sherlockians that brought us to other societies such as the Victorian Military Society, the English Speaking Union and others. One of the common interests of Sherlockians is comedy. David Stuart Davies has always been a star attraction at comedic efforts at our gatherings. And this year was no different, with Davies doing a one-man rendition of a Goon Show-like interlude called "A Quartet of M's," which we have a short audio clip of within the show. If you'd like to watch the full version, please check out the full video below (recorded with the permission of the BSI's "Wiggins," as you heard in Episode 71). The investitures this year were nothing short of thrilling, with two very special ones. Kristina Manente of the Baker Street Babes received the investiture "Grace Dunbar," and Emily Miranker is now "Lady Hatty St. Simon." We have audio clips of each of them, including some commentary from her father, Glen Miranker, BSI ("The Origin of Tree Worship"). Kristina Manente, BSI gets her investiture face on If you'd like to see more photos from the 2015 BSI Weekend, here's a slideshow from our Flickr set. The Editor's Gas-Lamp for this episode is "Watson's Wound: Real of Phantom?" by Robert Katz, MD, BSI from The Watsonian (Vol. 2, No. 2). Links: The Three Stooges' Niagara Falls routine The Amateur Mendicant Society's history From the Lower Vault by Chris Music is now for sale. Tim Greer won the Morley Montgomery Award for 2014 for the best article in the Baker Street Journal. A first look and review at Mr. Holmes with Ian McKellen as a 93 year-old retired Sherlock Holmes. Sherlocked is the official convention of the BBC's Sherlock and it's taking place in London in April 2015. Filming has wrapped for the Christmas special of Sherlock, with the actors in full Victorian garb. Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard magazine at bit.ly/FlipSherlock (NEW and improved on the web!) as well as through our accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. Please subscribe to us on iTunes or wherever you get podcasts, and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (ihearofsherlock AT gmail DOT com), call us at (774) 221-READ (7323). This episode includes three sponsors that deserve your attention: Wessex Press (check out the new Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle in the Newspapers Volume 1) The Baker Street Journal, where you should get your annual subscription in now to secure all four issues and a very special Christmas Annual about The Seven Per-Cent Solution. The John H. Watson Monograph Series, from the John H. Watson Society, sponsored by James O'Leary. --

"on miracle plays" [SIGN] Theatrical Sherlockians probably know Ken Ludwig best for his play The Game's Afoot, which focused on William Gillette and won an Edgar® Award from the Mystery Writers of America for the best play of 2012. More widely cultured individuals know that he is an internationally-acclaimed and Tony® Award-winning playwright whose work has been performed in more than 30 countries in over 20 languages. He has had six shows on Broadway and six in the West End - including Lend Me a Tenor, Moon Over Buffalo, and Crazy For You. Ken Ludwig was kind enough to join us on the show to discuss his latest project: Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery directed by Amanda Dehnert, which opens the Arena Stage in the Kreeger Theater in Washington, DC before moving along to McCarter Theater Center in Princeton, NJ. The previews run January 16 - 21, 2015 and tonight - January 22 - is its official opening night at Arena, running through February 22. The play runs at McCarter Theater from March 10 - 29, 2015. He describes the production as an adventure with comedic exuberance, and one that is as much about the theater as it is about Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. And with just five actors playing 40 parts in a variety of accents and disguises. But Ludwig is quick to note that it is respectful of the characters and of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Questions naturally arose as the discussion continued: How does one represent such various settings as railway stations, Dartmoor, Baskerville Hall, the streets of London, etc. that are vastly different from the traditional "living room / sitting room" setting we're used to seeing in the theater? How is the hound brought to life? We also probed at what initially drove Ludwig to Sherlock Holmes and discovered that he managed to work the character into his professional life fairly quickly. When we asked Ken answered to the questions of why The Hound of the Baskervilles and why now with: "There's a Hound in all of us." Listen in for the full conversation and see the links below to buy tickets in Washington or Princeton. And if you live on the west coast, Ken mentions a summer appearance in San Diego... Burt and Scott also discuss just a smidge of the BSI Weekend - including the first-ever appearance of a selfie stick at the event - and ask for your input on our programming. The Editor's Gas-Lamp this time is a variant: the poem "The Detective's Farewell" from the June 1974 issue of The Baker Street Journal (Vol. 34, No. 2). Links: Patrick Gowers' soundtrack for the Granada Sherlock Holmes series. (Amazon) Ken Ludwig Arena Stage ticket office (January 16 - February 22, 2015) McCarter Theater ticket office (March 10 - 29, 2015) How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare by Ken Ludwig (Amazon) Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard magazine and Scoop.it page, as well as on the The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+ (still growing, now at over 2,200 members), as well as through our accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. Please subscribe to us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher or Spreaker and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (ihearofsherlock AT gmail DOT com), call us at (774) 221-READ (7323). And above all, please let our sponsors know that you heard us rant and rave about their excellence during the program: Wessex Press (check out the new Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle in the Newspapers Volume 1) and The Baker Street Journal, where you should get your annual subscription in now to secure all four issues and a very special Christmas Annual. --

"the compliments of the season" [BLUE] As you know, December 27 marks "the second day after Christmas," the day on which Dr. Watson called up on Mr. Sherlock Holmes to wish him "the compliments of the season"in "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle." We've long celebrated that particular story on this date with a poem of our own - even opting for reading it on an unnumbered special episode in 2007. But rather than simply rehash the tried and true, we thought we'd mix things up a bit this year and bring in a guest. Peter Blau, 2s., BSI ("Black Peter") has been with us previously (on Episode 6 and Episode 7), so we'll spare the full introduction. We asked Peter on as our very special guest in order to tell the story behind his very unusual Sherlockian decoration: a Sherlock Holmes-themed set of ornaments - each inspired by one of the original 60 stories. He regales us with the challenges involved in trying to identify these ornaments without a copy of the Canon handy. Each year at his tree-trimming party, Peter challenges newcomers to identify each and every ornament - and we can attest that many are head scratchers. Here we have images of a handful of the ornaments, as well as the tree: If you'd like to see additional ornaments, you'll find them on the the IHOSE apps for Android, iOS, or Windows. Peter also tells us about his paper written some 40 years ago in which he describes the true story behind how a cropless animal such as a goose could have a carbuncle hidden in its crop.TL;DR: it comes down to a typo - an 'o' substituted for an 'a.' We close this episode with an audio Gas-Lamp: inspiration taken from our interview with Bert Coules (Episode 68 and Episode 69): a clip from the BBC Radio version of "The Blue Carbuncle" that hits at the core of the relationship between Holmes and Watson. Links: BSI Trust Letter from Christopher Morley to Edgar W. Smith, Christmas 1949 with the poem "Te Deum Laudanum." Many more links are available in our Flipboard magazine and Scoop.it page, as well as on the The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+ (with over 2,100 members), as well as through our accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. And of course, are nice collections of links, articles and images. Please subscribe to us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher or Spreaker and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (ihearofsherlock AT gmail DOT com), call us at (774) 221-READ (7323). And above all, please let our sponsors know that you heard us rant and rave about their excellence during the programme: Wessex Press and The Baker Street Journal - and as always, a very special sponsor. --

Mike Whelan is the "Wiggins" of the Baker Street Irregulars and has been such since 1997. He joined us as a guest on I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere first in December 2007 (Episodes 14 and 15). As a reminder, the Baker Street Irregulars, the literary society dedicated to Sherlock Holmes, was founded in 1934 by Christopher Morley, administered ably from 1940-1960 by Edgar W. Smith, followed by Julian Wolff from 1960-1986 and Tom Stix, Jr. from 1986-1997. In our conversation with Mike, we touch on both Julian and Tom, both of whom Mike knew. We go behind the scenes at the Regency, where Mike's first BSI dinner was, as well as on the succession process that he underwent prior to ascending to the top leadership position in the BSI. As one might expect, a new leader brings new vision, and Mike's included reclaiming the Irregulars' literary roots, extending a hand internationally and honoring the memory of Conan Doyle. As any good leader, Mike has been tireless in his efforts to communicate with his stakeholders (in this case the members of the Baker Street Irregulars), doing so through two annual letters. We parsed through the major themes in the 2014 mid-year letter: decentralization, BSI conferences, the next phase of the BSI Trust, and the society's "soul" - that is, its values, which we think are worth calling out here: Promote and nurture Grand Game scholarship Diverse, exceptional membership, not elitist Kind, welcoming clubbability Altruistic volunteerism -- giving more than you receive, "society above self" Joyful, whimsical environment (see last January's annual dinner) Aspirational, not reactionary Inherent modesty versus taking ourselves too seriously Extremely high standards -- never intentionally settle for less Fiscally responsible -- sufficient funds maintained to accomplish most, if not all, objectives Societal and member Sherlockian charitable generosity Burt and Scott go on the public record with an intention for the future (it's up to you, dear listener, to hold us to it!). And Mike gives a preview of what you might expect at the 2015 BSI Weekend. Finally, we discussed the very handsome Undershaw Set - a limited edition signed by the authors and in a purple slipcase with gold stamping. The proceeds from sales of the sets will go to the Undershaw Preservation Trust, an organization dedicated to preserving and restoring the unique home designed and built by Arthur Conan Doyle. [Editor's note: we previously covered this news here.] The Undershaw Set from the Baker Street Irregulars Press Make sure you tune in to our sponsor reads to hear Scott tell his story about Douglas Wilmer (the subject of the 2014 Baker Street Journal Christmas Annual) that references this famous scene: The Editor's Gas-Lamp comes from the Vol. 4, No. 1 issue in 1949, but is not a Gas-Lamp per se. Instead, it is a poem by Paul McPharlin: "Sweet Auburn," which puts one of the original Sherlock Holmes stories to verse. Links: BSI Weekend Scintillation of Scions The Undershaw Set Many more links are available in our Flipboard magazine and Scoop.it page, as well as on the The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+ (with over 2,100 members), as well as through our accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. And of course, are nice collections of links, articles and images. Please subscribe to us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher or Spreaker and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (ihearofsherlock AT gmail DOT com), call us at (774) 221-READ (7323). And above all, please let our sponsors know that you heard us rant and rave about their excellence during the programme: Wessex Press and The Baker Street Journal - and as always, a very special sponsor. --

This. Is. IHOSE! In our 70th episode, we've joined forces with three of the formidably intelligent Baker Street Babes to create a Sherlockian version of the popular American game show Jeopardy. To say that it was one of our most technically challenging episode yet would be a massive understatement. But we hope you find that it was pulled off with aplomb. Lyndsay, Ashley and Ardy faced off against each other with Burt and Scott filling the role of Alex Trebek in what could be summed up as "the nervous tutor, the careless servant, and the three enterprising students." In our version, the game revolves around the Canonical references in the BBC's Sherlock. Five categories span the first five episodes of the series and are titled: Pink Profile, Myopic Money, Profound Past-time, Steamy Scandal, and Horrible Hound and range from $100 to $500 in the first half and $200 to $1,000 in the second half. Each contestant rings in with a unique audio signature: Lyndsay "Ahhhhhh" [Irene Adler's text message notification planted on Sherlock's phone.] Ashley "I'm a big fan." [Kitty Riley's greeting to Sherlock in the men's room.] Ardy "Not your housekeeper." [Mrs. Hudson's retort to Watson] With Burt's occasional difficulty with the question formulation and Lyndsay's inability to recall that Jeopardy contestants are required to respond in the form of a question, it was as much high comedy as it was a quiz show. Not to mention the Edwardian-era quiz show music we chose. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did. And in a surprise move, Burt and Scott received the ultimate honor: after being put to four questions, each was named an honorary Baker Street Babe! We wrap up with listener comments and our contest winner from Episode 69. Links: The Baker Street Babes An additional way to leave us a message. More links available on The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+ (now at nearly 2,100 members), as well as through our accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. And of course, our web- and app-based Flipboard magazine and our Scoop.it page are nice collections of links, articles and images. Please subscribe to us on iTunes and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (ihearofsherlock AT gmail DOT com), call us at (774) 221-READ (7323). And above all, please let our sponsors know that you heard us rant and rave about their excellence during the programme: Wessex Press and The Baker Street Journal - and as always, a very special sponsor. --

In Episode 68, we explored some of the early days of Sherlock Holmes on radio with Bert Coules. We're pleased to present the second part of that episode as we make a deeper dive into Sherlock Holmes as portrayed in radio productions. The bulk of our conversation with Bert centers - appropriately so - around the BBC Radio 4 series starring Clive Merrison and Michael Williams (Amazon). After selling a dramatized version of The Hound of the Baskervilles to the BBC (which starred Roger Rees), Bert was given the green light to dramatize all 60 Sherlock Holmes stories, serving as the head writer. The striking resemblance between Sidney Paget's Sherlock Holmes (r) and Clive Merrison in the role (l). Bert discusses the casting of the new series, including what was required in a Watson that was an equal partner - and a zinger aimed at Nigel Bruce - as well as the increased comfort felt by the characters and actors over the course of the series recording.You may be surprised to learn how the stories were assigned to the writing team (a scientific method from the BBC, no doubt) and how the writers were "imaginatively faithful" to the stories. Not to mention the backstory behind an alternative ending to "The Solitary Cyclist." Of particular interest for us in this show is a multitude of sound clips from the BBC series - including the music that played such a prominent role in so1me episodes. We did a bit of our own sound design in this episode in keeping with the spirit of the theme. We also discuss some of the more intriguing guest stars on the series, such as Peter Sallis, Desmond Llewelyn, Brian Blessed and Tom Baker, as well as the "new" Watson during The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Andrew Sachs. Bert has a great story about how he ended the series in a manner than ensured it will not be continued. CONTEST ALERT: This episode contains a contest. We mentioned Denis Quilley and Patrick Allen as two actors who have been in the BBC Sherlock Holmes radio shows (as Bob Carruthers [SOLI] and Leon Sterndale [DEVI], respectively) and who have also been guest stars in the Granada series (as Leon Sterndale [DEVI] and Col. Sebastian Moran [EMPT], respectively. There are at least two other actors who have also had guest starring roles in each series. The first individual who emails us the names and their respective roles and stories in each series will win a copy of Bert Coules' book, 221 BBC: Writing for the World's Only Complete Dramatized Canon and Beyond. The Baker Street Regulars - recurring members of the cast (L to R): Clive Merrison (Holmes), Stephen Thorne (Inspector Lestrade), Joan Matheson (Mrs. Hudson), Michael Williams (Watson), John Hartley (Mycroft Holmes). Our Gas-Lamp this episode, we return to The Baker Street Journal of January 1952 (Vol. 2 No. 1 (New Series)) for Edgar Rosenberger's poem "Four Ages," representing the evolution of Sherlock Holmes as portrayed by various actors. Links: BertCoules.co.uk The unofficial BBC Radio series website, maintained by Bert Coules. 221 BBC: Writing for the World's Only Complete Dramatized Canon and Beyond - a new editions, revised and expanded - by Bert Coules More links available on on Facebook, Twitter and of course, our web- and app-based Flipboard magazine. Please subscribe to us on iTunes and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (ihearofsherlock AT gmail DOT com), call us at (774) 221-READ (7323). And above all, please let our sponsors know that you heard us rant and rave about their excellence during the programme: Wessex Press and The Baker Street Journal - and as always, a very special sponsor. --

Sherlock Holmes has a rich history on radio, beginning in the 1930s and running clear through to the 2010s. From William Gillette to Basil Rathbone, Cedric Hardwicke to John Gielgud, and Carlton Hobbs to Roger Rees. But there is one production that stands heads and shoulders above the rest. The BBC Radio 4 series starring Clive Merrison and Michael Williams managed to do what no other production had done before it: to dramatize all 60 Sherlock Holmes with the same principal cast members. The head writer behind the project was Bert Coules, and Bert is our guest for a very special two-part series examining the history of Sherlock Holmes on the radio, with a particular focus on the BBC series. In this interview you'll not only hear Bert's origins with Sherlock Holmes, but you'll also be treated to excerpts from some of the productions throughout the 20th century. And for those of you paying attention, there is a money quote about Nigel Bruce buried within. In addition to our conversation with Bert, we also get to some very important housekeeping, including announcing the winners of the Tom Richmond print and pen from Episode 65. Our Gas-Lamp this episode comes to us courtesy of Bert Coules himself, from the original edition of 221 BBC: Writing for the World's Only Complete Dramatized Canon and Beyond, as we read the Introduction. The updated and revised edition (via the link) is available now from Wessex Press. Links: Other Sherlock Holmes podcasts: The Baker Street Babes, The Three Patch Podcast Burt's appearance on The Country Squire Podcast Calvin and Hobbes reimagined as Cumberbatch and Freeman (courtesy of Tom Trager) BertCoules.co.uk The unofficial BBC Radio series website, maintained by Bert Coules. More links available on on Facebook, Twitter and of course, our web- and app-based Flipboard magazine. Please subscribe to us on iTunes and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (ihearofsherlock AT gmail DOT com), call us at (774) 221-READ (7323). And above all, please let our sponsors know that you heard us rant and rave about their excellence during the programme: Wessex Press and The Baker Street Journal - and as always, a very special sponsor.

Well, we've done it. We've finally produced a mega-episode. And what better topic to go all epic on you than the outsized Sherlock Holmes Collections at the University of Minnesota Libraries? Our guest this episode is Tim Johnson, Curator of Special Collections and Rare Books & E. W. McDiarmid Curator of the Sherlock Holmes Collections at the University of Minnesota Libraries. Tim gives us a nice history of the Norwegian Explorers of Minnesota and the beginnings of the Sherlock Holmes Collections at the university, which was made possible through a number of personal relationships. It includes the additions from the collections of James Iraldi, Philip Hench, Edith Meiser, John Bennett Shaw and Allen Mackler that have contributed to the basis of the vast and varied items that number more than 60,000. We discuss much about the collections, including the challenge for a curator of books / librarian when it comes to looking after objects that go far beyond the printed page, as well as the changing nature of donor relations with respect to special collections. But we would have been remiss if we didn't spend time on John Bennett Shaw, BSI ("The Hans Sloane of My Age"), who was affectionately known as The Grand Acquisitor and who had all of the collecting discernment of a vacuum cleaner. Tim opines on what's next for collectors and the Collections alike, and gives us a hint as to what to expect as far out as 2016. If you're a researcher or just a curious Sherlockian, there is much available to you, either on a visit to the library or to their site online. Scott shares a tale of collecting woe - a long sought-after treasure disappears in the blink of an eye. What's a collector to do? We head way back to an early edition of the Baker Street Journal - 1946, to be exact - to find our inspiration in "De Jure Inter Gentes" (Vol. 1, No. 3). Links: Scott's ice bucket challenge The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals orders legal fees paid in #FreeSherlock case The case of the missing Sherlock Holmes film Christies and the Museum of London team up to produce a Sherlock Holmes tweed Michael Hoey has passed away at 79. Hear our interview with him on Episode 36. The Sherlock Holmes Collections at the University of Minnesota Libraries The John Bennett Shaw Talks The Shaw 100 - the Basic Holmesian Library Tim's blog: Special and Rare on a Stick On Twitter: @UMBookworm (Tim), @NEofMN (Norwegian Explorers) On Facebook: The Norwegian Explorers of Minnesota More links available on The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+, as well as through our accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. And of course, our web- and app-based Flipboard magazine and our Scoop.it page are nice collections of links, articles and images. Download this episode by right-clicking the icon and selecting "Save As..." or simply click on the file to listen, or on the player above. (File size: 50.4 MB, 1:49:58) Please subscribe to us on iTunes and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (ihearofsherlock AT gmail DOT com), call us at (774) 221-READ (7323). And above all, please let our sponsors know that you heard us rant and rave about their excellence during the programme: Wessex Press and The Baker Street Journal - and as always, a very special sponsor. --

It's summertime and the Sherlocking is easy! In our 66th episode, we travel down the road with the top down and enjoy the sites and news along the way. Our breezy conversation ranges from hockey and snow (it's Christmas in July!), which sends us down a rabbit hole of snow in the Canon, to the latest in the #FreeSherlock movement, and then on to some events. But the real fun begins when Burt and Scott investigate the various iterations of Sherlockian tchotchkes that give us kicks as Sherlockians. As it happens, our little show and site focuses on the intersection of Sherlock Holmes and popular culture, so our dueling top 10 lists should bring a smile to your face. What did we miss? What would you add to the lists that we started? Let us know with a comment tagged #IHOSE 66. Speaking of hashtags - don't forget the contest we mentioned in Episode 65. You have until August 30 to enter for a chance to win the Tom Richmond print of the 8 Sherlock Holmes portrayals. Our Gas-Lamp this time is "A long, long trail a-winding" from the Spring issue of 2014 (Vol. 64, No. 1) of the Baker Street Journal. Finally, Burt shares news of his talk at a local library - perhaps serving as a model for like-minded Sherlockians in other communities to do the same. Links: Latest updates on the Free Sherlock efforts World record for most people dressed as Sherlock Holmes to contribute to Undershaw preservation Dashcon - an explanation GridLOCK DC Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee (just for fun) The summer issue of the Baker Street Journal (check out the cover!) Kitty Winter on Elementary Sherlock Series 4 announcement A look at Ian McKellen in Mr. Holmes Please subscribe to us on iTunes and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email, call us at (774) 221-READ (7323) or use the Speakpipe app right here on the site. Connect with us and other interested Sherlockians on The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+, Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. And of course, our web- and app-based Flipboard magazine is a nice collection of links, articles and images. And above all, please let our sponsors know that you heard us rant and rave about their excellence during the programme: Wessex Press, The Baker Street Journal - and as always, a very special sponsor. Bonus Content: Avid listeners who stay with us for the entire episode will be treated to a little extra something. Image credit: Harry Pherson (Flickr) --

After a slight delay (thanks to a crashed hard drive and a lost interview), we're back with a super-sized episode that we hope will make up for our absence. We're pleased to welcome Tom Richmond, one of the "Usual Gang of Idiots" at MAD Magazine. Tom's career has been a most interesting one, and we explore how he managed to take an adolescent aspiration and turn it into an award-winning career at the bible of comedic publications. During this show, you'll find out how inspiration comes to a creative type who works in his basement of his Minnesota home; the role of Batman and Superman in Tom's career development; how Tom first came to meet Sherlock Holmes (hint: we've had his muse on the show previously). A good deal of the program will be related to art, comic art, caricature and the visual aspect of Sherlock Holmes, which should interest a Sherlockian art collector like Jerry Margolin, who was on IHOSE #16. Speaking of collecting, you may have noticed the image at the top of this show's entry. That lovely piece of work - "The Game is Afoot!" - is available as a limited edition print. Tom talks about his previous experience with Dr. Who and James Bond prints and how he came to select the eight actors to represent Sherlock Holmes on this print. If you'd like to purchase one, Tom's site has a limited run of 450 for just $25 (cheap). Your chance to win big! In addition to giving you the opportunity to purchase one of Tom's prints, we have a listener contest in which you could win one of these highly coveted prints (plus one other special item we mention in the show). How can you make yourself eligible to win? Well, you'll just have to listen to the episode and discover where we lay out the rules. [But it does involve the hashtag #IHOSE65.] The contest is open until August 30, 2014. A few listener comments - including one that appeared as a message in a bottle (see below) - graced our inboxes this time around. We selected an original Gas-Lamp to perfectly complement the show: "Art in the Blood," from Vol. 8, No. 2 (April 1958) of the Baker Street Journal. Links: Tom's blog Limited edition Sherlock Holmes print "The Game's Afoot!" Tom's illustration of Sherlock Holmes for David Ian Davies' audiobooks and a special version of Holmes at home with his violin and boxing gloves. Sherlock Holmes pen inspired by Tom's work, as well as early molds. Sherlock inspiration in an early MAD: Will Elder at work. Tom's cameo in Pearls Before Swine. Mad Art: A Visual Celebration of Mad Magazine and the Idiots Who Created It (Amazon.com) An eyewitness account and the audio recording of the Klinger vs. Conan Doyle Estate appeal. The Attaboy Clarence podcast features a full-length, documentary devoted to the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce series of Sherlock Holmes films and radio plays. Our Father's Day tribute included some Sherlock Holmes inspirations in the Beau Ties Ltd. catalog and our Father's Day episode from a couple of years back (IHOSE #43). Please subscribe to us on iTunes and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email, call us at (774) 221-READ (7323) or use the Speakpipe app right here on the site. Connect with us and other interested Sherlockians on The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+, Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. And of course, our web- and app-based Flipboard magazine is a nice collection of links, articles and images. And above all, please let our sponsors know that you heard us rant and rave about their excellence during the programme: Wessex Press, The Baker Street Journal - and one additional surprise sponsor this time around that we think you'll enjoy. Bonus Material If you happen to subscribe to our program via our IHOSE Android app, our IHOSE iOS app, or our IHOSE Windows app, we occasionally throw in bonus content to justify the $1.99 or so that the app stores charge for it. In this case, we've given you a PDF with each one of Tom's Sherlock Holmes characterizations on its own page. --

After a long hiatus, we're back in the Collectors' Corner. This time, we're joined by the Maniac Collector himself, Don Hobbs, BSI ("Inspector Lestrade"). For those of you who don't know Don, you're in for a treat, for Don is a Texan through and through - and that means big stories, a big appetite for his interests and a big BIG collection of Sherlock Holmes books in translation. Of the 100 languages that the Canon has been translated into, Don has books in 96 of those languages. And that's only part of his 11,000 book collection. As a world traveler, he stays in touch with his network of connected individuals to keep him up to date on new pieces for his collection. The Hound of the Baskervilles in Occitan Don is also the general editor for the BSI International Series, which to date has included scholarship from Japan, Scandinavia, Australia and Italy. Future volumes include Spain and Canada, to name two. Tune in to hear about Don's inspiration, his favorite among all of his foreign editions, where he first encountered Sherlock Holmes, how collecting has affected his life, the most amazing collections he's seen of other Sherlockians, and advice for future collectors. In lieu of our Gas-Lamp, we asked Don to read one of his previous entries in the Maniac Collector's Inbox - #333 from October 19, 2008, titled "The Anti-Peter Principle." Links: Don's Blog: Inspector Lestrade's Blotter Page The Maniac Collector Archives on Sherlock Peoria Crew of the Barque Lone Star Previous Collectors' Corner interviews Please subscribe to us on iTunes and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email, call us at (774) 221-READ (7323) or use the Speakpipe app right here on the site. Connect with us and other interested Sherlockians on The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+, Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. And of course, our web- and app-based Flipboard magazine is a nice collection of links, articles and images. And above all, please let our sponsors know that you heard us rant and rave about their excellence during the programme: Wessex Press and The Baker Street Journal. Bonus Material Don's library (click to enlarge) --

The Baker Street Irregulars Manuscript Series has another entry, and once again we find ourselves chatting with co-editors Robert Katz, MD, BSI ("Dr. Ainstree") and Andrew Solberg, BSI ("Professor Coram"). Bob and Andy of course were our guests on Episode 50: A Golden Passage, and we're delighted to have them with us again to share the secret as to how lightning strikes twice and these two fine editors regroup to wrangle together scholarship, research and fun for our Sherlockian edification. This time, the BSI Manuscript Series title is Irregular Stain, and it treats the reader to a full-color reproduction of the manuscript of "The Adventure of the Second Stain" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. What's more, we even get some high-resolution Sidney Paget artwork that gives more detail of Sherlock Holmes than most readers have seen before. Join us for this chat with Bob and Andy as we discover the origins of Sherlock Holmes and Haverford College, the secret meaning of the code words "apple pie," and the possible contributor whose unfamiliar handwriting is abruptly seen in the middle of the manuscript. And be the first to know what the next entry in the BSI Manuscript Series will be. The Gas-Lamp this episode is inspired by a letter written by Vincent Starrett to Edgar Smith mentioned in the Preface of Irregular Stain, which appeared as "A Perspective on Scholarship" in the January 1953 Vol. 3, No. 1 (New Series) edition of The Baker Street Journal. Links: The BSI Manuscript Series Irregular Stain: A Facsimile of the Original Manuscript of "The Second Stain" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with Annotations and Commentary on the Story An excerpt from Irregular Stain: "Stained Vows: 'The Second Stain' and English Matrimonial Law" by Elizabeth Rosenblatt, BSI, ASH. Randall Stock's census of Sherlock Holmes manuscripts Please subscribe to us on iTunes and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email, call us at (774) 221-READ (7323) or use the Speakpipe app right here on the site. Connect with us and other interested Sherlockians on The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+, Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. And of course, our web- and app-based Flipboard magazine is a nice collection of links, articles and images. And above all, please let our sponsors know that you heard us rant and rave about their excellence during the programme: Wessex Press and The Baker Street Journal. --

"those weekend parties" [SOLI] While our last episode was recorded during the BSI Weekend in New York, we thought we'd cover some of the happenings in and around the BSI Weekend itself. Our opening comments center around collecting and what makes a collector, but then we quickly launch into actual audio clips with individuals we met during the weekend. Our audio files open with an interview with Art Levine, who has been attending BSI dinners since 1954. He knew and associated with the likes of Edgar Smith, Christopher Morley, Rex Stout, Basil Davenport and more. We then flit from one newly minted BSI to another. You'll hear the excitement and energy in their voices that testify to the thrilling nature of receiving an investiture in this literary society. We reach deep into the mail (voice and e) for our listener comments. And this episode's Gas-Lamp from the March 1995 Baker Street Journal (Vol. 45, No. 1) harkens back to our previous episode and looks at the serendipity of collecting - particularly acquiring new books during the BSI Weekend - and touches upon the collection of one Mr. Vincent Starrett. Links: Canadian Holmes - electronic edition The Christopher Morley Knothole Association The Baker Street Journal spring edition will contain the BSI Weekend recap - be sure to subscribe. Our Flipboard magazine and Scoop.it! site aggregate lots of content for your enjoyment. Please subscribe to us on iTunes and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email, call us at (774) 221-READ (7323) or use the Speakpipe app right here on the site. Connect with us and other interested Sherlockians on The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+, Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. And of course, our web- and app-based Flipboard magazine is a nice collection of links, articles and images. And above all, please let our sponsors know that you heard us rant and rave about their excellence during the programme: Wessex Press and The Baker Street Journal. --

"...my little bookshop at the corner..." [EMPT] When we have the opportunity to sit on a couple of sofas and interview some of the most erudite and interesting Baker Street Irregulars of our time, we take it. And it seems that the BSI Weekend serves as just the spot to do that. Two years ago, we had an opportunity to do just that with Michael Dirda (ref. Episode 38: On Conan Doyle), and we were again afforded that opportunity this year. On January 16, 2014, we had the great fortune to find an upstairs room in The Players Club in Manhattan, where we plunked our microphones down in front of Ray Betzner, BSI ("The Agony Column") and the esteemed Susan Rice, BSI ("Beeswing"), ASH ("Some Observations upon the Segregation of the Queen") and got them to wax poetic about the great Sherlockian and bookman, Vincent Starrett. While many people are familiar with the names of Edgar Smith and Christopher Morley when it comes to early Irregular history, Vincent Starrett may not be as widely known. He was certainly very well known in his own time, and particularly in his city of Chicago. His contributions to the world of Sherlock Holmes were immense, and his own magnum opus The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes is probably the most well known. But what else was known of this man? How did he become such a great scholar of Holmes? What of his professional life? What mysteries within his own personal life and commitments kept him from attending all but the first BSI Dinner, despite his death some 40 years later in 1974? Our interview subjects delve into all of these topics and many more as they help us explore the multifaceted bookman Vincent Starrett. We hear from Vincent himself in the opening strains of the show and we close not with a Gas-Lamp, but of a reading of his touching poem "221B." Both of these are available on Starrett Speaks: the Lost Recordings Audio CD, available from the Wessex Press, our sponsor. Listener comments are back (thank you!), both written and audio, and we give those some airtime. Finally, we have a special item - an article that Starrett wrote for The Observer, the catalog from Oppenheim's from Autumn 1929, titled "Fashions in Fiction" - that is available as a bonus item only for listeners who have downloaded our IHOSE Android app, our IHOSE iOS app, or our IHOSE Windows app. Links: Ray Betzner's new website: VincentStarrett.com - including "Have You a Tamerlane?" The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes - 75th anniversary edition, edited by Ray Betzner (Wessex Press) An excerpt from "Dear Starrett--" / "Dear Briggs--" (BSI Archival History) "The Real Sherlock Holmes" in The Golden Book Magazine - available to one lucky collector (Amazon.com) The Adventure of the Unique Hamlet (via the Internet Archive) Sherlock Series 4: Six Stories We'd Like to See (Hypable) Our Flipboard magazine and Scoop.it! site aggregate lots of content for your enjoyment. Please subscribe to us on iTunes and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email, call us at (774) 221-READ (7323) or use the Speakpipe app right here on the site. Connect with us and other interested Sherlockians on The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+, Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. And of course, our web- and app-based Flipboard magazine is a nice collection of links, articles and images. And above all, please let our sponsors know that you heard us rant and rave about their excellence during the programme: Wessex Press and The Baker Street Journal. Image credit: Matthew Zimmer --

"About sixty" [BOSC] We've arrived at the Canonical number of 60 episodes of I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere, so we thought it was time to celebrate in a manner suitable to such an important number. As you well know, there were 56 short stories and four novels about Sherlock Holmes, as written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (who in some circles is actually Watson's literary agent). In this discussion about the 60 stories, Burt and Scott delve into the origins of Sherlock Holmes and mine some original material from Doyle's biography Memories and Adventures. The journey takes us from a struggling young doctor who sold his first detective story for £25 to an encounter with Oscar Wilde that resulted in the second novel. We explore the role of the government and the burgeoning periodical industry that allowed the short stories catch on so rapidly, and the men who were able to capitalize on the craze, as told in The Strand Magazine & Sherlock Holmes by Robert Veld, published by the Wessex Press (our sponsors). Following up on the copyright issues in the #FreeSherlock case, we briefly explore the issue of pirated editions of the early Sherlock Holmes stories, so aptly chronicled by Donald Redmond, BSI ("Good Old Index"). We finally reach the beginnings of Sherlockian scholarship in 1902, when The Hound of the Baskervilles was halfway through serialization and a student took Watson up on his confusion with dates. This won't be the last time someone does that. From there, we're off into the Twentieth Century, with the second half of the Canon and the Sherlockian movement in full swing, culminating with the formation of some fledgling societies and a little publication known as The Baker Street Journal. We conclude with an Editor's Gas-Lamp from the April 1951 edition of The Baker Street Journal (Vol. 1, No. 2, New Series) appropriately enough, "On the Canonical Titles." Links Randall Stock's checklist of all known copies of Beeton's Christmas Annual, 1887 The fateful meeting with Oscar Wilde Sherlock Holmes Among the Pirates by Donald Redmond Episode 13: Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters The mystery of the second edition of the Strand Magazine The Grand Game: A Celebration of Sherlockian Scholarship, Volume One: 1902-1959 Ronald Knox and Sherlock Holmes Please subscribe to us on iTunes and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email, call us at (774) 221-READ (7323) or use the Speakpipe app right here on the site. Connect with us and other interested Sherlockians on The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+, Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. And of course, our web- and app-based Flipboard magazine is a nice collection of links, articles and images. And above all, please let our sponsors know that you heard us rant and rave about their excellence during the programme: Wessex Press and The Baker Street Journal. Don't forget to get your free audiobook download with your trial membership from Audible, at audibletrial.com/sherlock. --

"the lawyers have been at it" [REIG] As you've no doubt observed, if you've seen anything of the news of the past few days, the "Free Sherlock" case has concluded, with the plaintiff emerging victoriously. It's been big news, getting coverage in such circles as The New York Times, The Guardian, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wall Street Journal and scores of other publications. As a listeners of our program know, Leslie S. Klinger, BSI ("The Abbey Grange") has been a frequent guest on the show, joining us for a two-part interview on his role as consultant to the Robert Downey, Jr. films, and then again talking about his Annotated Dracula work. Of course, Les is also the lead plaintiff on the lawsuit in question. You can read some background to this here ("Don't Imagine That You Can Bully Me" [CHAS]) and listen to one of our most popular episodes wherein we took up the question Who Is a Sherlockian? We were once again joined by Les, who outlined the background of the case and discussed some of the legal aspects of copyright that have led us to this juncture. We try to keep the discussion as interesting as possible for the lay people out there, and Les even manages to bring in the 1903 coronation of Edward VII as part of the case law history. As if landing an interview with the lead plaintiff in the case weren't enough, we also managed to sit down with Betsy Rosenblatt, BSI, ASH ("Lucy Ferrier"), who is not only a second generation ASH and BSI, but also a legal scholar who just happens to specialize in intellectual property law (how fortunate is that?). Betsy touches on some additional points that will undoubtedly be of interest. While we weren't able to find an Editor's Gas-Lamp per se, we used a bit of scholarship presented at the annual meeting of the Speckled Band in 1992 by the (now) late Joseph Merriam. We've included here as a bonus. Impact of the Law on the Sherlock Holmes Stories by I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Links: The I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere apps: Android, iOS and now Windows. Free Sherlock website Read the legal documents here - or get them as bonus content with this episode on our apps. Episode 51: Who Is a Sherlockian? Please subscribe to us on iTunes and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email, call us at (774) 221-READ (7323) or use the Speakpipe app right here on the site. Connect with us and other interested Sherlockians on The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+, Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. And of course, our web- and app-based Flipboard magazine is a nice collection of links, articles and images. And above all, please let our sponsors know that you heard us rant and rave about their excellence during the programme: Wessex Press and The Baker Street Journal. Don't forget to get your free audiobook download with your trial membership from Audible, at audibletrial.com/sherlock. --

"We both thought the best resource" [SCAN] We can unabashedly say that we're huge fans of Sherlockology. So it was with great pleasure that we sat down with Jules Coomber and David Mather, two of the four (in addition to Emma and Leif) who run the burgeoning online presence of a site that pays homage to the BBC's Sherlock and the cast and crew that are responsible for it. It's been so well done that many think that it's either an official BBC site or that it's only about the show. Go with us behind the scenes to understand who these energetic and fascinating people are, what brought them to Sherlock Holmes, what keeps them committed, the relationships they've forged with the creators and staffers of the show, and some behind-the-scenes commentary about how this is all done. And please don't forget to visit Sherlockabilia, the online shop run by these enterprising people. All of the proceeds go back into running the site, which is purely a labor of love. Technically, this qualifies as our Christmas episode, which is entirely appropriate, as Series 3 of Sherlock gets its world premiere on December 15 and the show hits the wider public on January 1. Along with these gifts, we reference our review of "The Blue Carbuncle" last year at this time, so that's well worth your time. In addition, for those who have downloaded the official I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere app on Android and iOS, we have an extra audio treat for you that you may find of interest. Of course, we cover some nuggets of current events and news - mostly around the premiere of Sherlock and its anticipation, a reference to our Weekly Links Compendium (so lovingly compiled by Matt Laffey), the growth of the Sherlock Holmes Community and our well laid-out Flipboard magazine. Our gas-lamp this week comes from the 1959 Baker Street Journal Christmas Annual and is titled "Christmas with Sherlock Holmes." We wish you the compliments of the season. Links: The I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere apps: Android and iOS. Episode 49 - our Christmas episode From our Flipboard magazine: A visit to St. Bart's Hospital An apt quote from "The Naval Treaty" in Cultural Weekly David Stuart Davies remembers Peter Cushing Collector Glen Miranker featured in Forbes Sherlockology's site Locations Wardrobe Props Sherlockabilia - the Sherlockology Shop How Sherlock Holmes Made 50 Shades of Grey Possible From Gillette to Brett IV: Basil, Benedict and Beyond - including the special exhibition of original wardrobe items from Sherlock Holmes on the screen. Please subscribe to us on iTunes and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email, call us at (774) 221-READ (7323) or use the Speakpipe app right here on the site. Connect with us and other interested Sherlockians on The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+, Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. And of course, our web- and app-based Flipboard magazine is a nice collection of links, articles and images. And above all, please let our sponsors know that you heard us rant and rave about their excellence during the programme: Wessex Press and The Baker Street Journal. Don't forget to get your free audiobook download with your trial membership from Audible, at audibletrial.com/sherlock. --

"We must be thankful for what we've got." [VALL] For those in the United States, November is the month in which we celebrate Thanksgiving. We thought it a fitting time to reflect on some of the things we have to be thankful for in the world of Sherlock Holmes, and they are many. The show's multiple topics and many links reflect that. First, we have our Sherlockian society meetings. Whether you live in a city that is home to a venerable institution with a decades-old group of longstanding tradition or a town with a relatively new group, the autumn seems to be a time when meetings are held, toasts are recited and friendships rekindled. And if you haven't yet listened to Episode 4: Sherlockian 101 and Episode 5: Sherlockian 101 (part 2), in which we discuss getting involved in or starting your own society, we highly recommend it. We're thankful of the work of Mr. J.D. Sutter, who helped us to transition the site from its years-old layout and to integrate content from the Baker Street Blog, to give the site its full functionality you see now. If you have a chance, get over to JD's site and thank him for his work. It would be an understatement to say we're thrilled to have Matt Laffey's Weekly Sherlock Compendium Links back on the site again. After a brief yet unintentional hiatus, Matt's comprehensive links are back with us again. We discuss the annual Baker Street Irregulars Weekend, including some of the changes afoot within the BSI itself. The BSI Press is getting dedicated leadership, with its many titles in print and on the way; the BSI Trust is also getting new leadership. We're very fortunate to live in a time when news of Sherlock Holmes fills the airwaves, print publications and intertubes, and we cap off a few of them. There's PBS, BBC, and Doctor Who news from the world of television, we remember Jeremy Brett, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry's Sherlock Holmes exhibition is open, and we acknowledge a number of anniversaries of Sherlock Holmes films. We share listener comments, both written and audio, note the inaugural issue of The Watsonian, and highlight the continued spirited debate about Elementary. It's also the season for renewing subscriptions to The Baker Street Journal (one of our sponsors). We're issuing a related challenge: from now through March 2014, we're looking for 50 gift subscriptions of the BSJ to be made by our listeners. Listen to the show for full details. Our gas-lamp this week: since our reading on Episode 56 was "On Advocating Sherlock Holmes" and Brad Keefauver was our guest, we thought it might be appropriate to read one of Brad's own editorials ("Zismanian scholarship?") as our gas-lamp for this episode, marking the very first time we've used an online publication as our reading. Links: The I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere apps: Android and iOS. We wrote about the excitement that traditionally surrounds the BSI Weekend here. The Baker Street Irregulars and Friends Weekend website: bsiweekend.com PBS announces the air dates of Sherlock on Masterpiece The BFI premiere of Sherlock [via Sherlockology] The first image of Sherlock Series 3 Jude Law breaks the silence on the third Sherlock Holmes film. The International Sherlock Holmes Exhibition is open and they even are running a social sweepstakes. The John H. Watson Society releases The Watsonian. The e-book version of The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes: Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. Sherlock Holmes London Itinerary [Visit London] Sherlock filming sites in and around London [Metro UK] TEDx talk about Sherlock Holmes and jealousy A Kickstarter for a Sherlockian deck of cards Bonus: The First Family Rides Again album [Amazon] Please subscribe to us on iTunes and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email, call us at (774) 221-READ (7323) or use the Speakpipe app right here on the site. Connect with us and other interested Sherlockians on The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+, Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. And of course, our web- and app-based Flipboard magazine is a nice collection of links, articles and images. And above all, please let our sponsors know that you heard us rant and rave about their excellence during the programme: Wessex Press and The Baker Street Journal. Don't forget to get your free audiobook download with your trial membership from Audible, at audibletrial.com/sherlock. --

"No ghosts need apply." [SUSS] Holmes and the occult is our subject for this Halloween episode of I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere, and we're joined by editor and author Charles Prepolec, who together with J.R. Campbell edited Gaslight Grimoire: Fantastic Tales of Sherlock Holmes, Gaslight Grotesque: Nightmare Tales of Sherlock Holmes, and Gaslight Arcanum: Uncanny Tales of Sherlock Holmes, joins us to talk about the intersection of Sherlock Holmes and the spooky, outre and creepy, setting the tone for the season. Charles (who goes by @sherlockeditor on Twitter), had the great fortune to work with the likes of Barbara Hambly, Martin Powell and Kim Newman, among others, and he talks about the selection process for including authors and their works in the anthologies. Of course, Conan Doyle was no stranger to writing ghost and horror stories, and his Professor Challenger series dealt with such fantastical subjects as dinosaurs. We take Charles on a tangent and begin discussing the ideal Hollywood actor to portray the professor. Charles has contributed to Sherlock Magazine, Scarlet Street and Canadian Holmes and is a longtime Sherlockian, having been a member of the Singular Society of the Baker Street Dozen in Calgary for 20 years and a Master Bootmaker of the Bootmakers of Toronto in 2006. He spends his days at the Movie Poster Shop in Calgary and reading voraciously. Our gas-lamp is not a Gas-Lamp at all, but rather an introduction by to a collection of Conan Doyle stories, as written by John Dickson Carr. Links: EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing Conan Doyle fanstasy and horror short stories "Lot No. 249," "The Horror of the Heights," and "Terror of Blue John Gap" The Autumn 2013 issue of the Baker Street Journal International Sherlock Holmes Exhibition Lyndsay Faye, BSI ("Kitty Winter") is on a book tour to promote Seven for a Secret, her latest Timothy Wilde novel. Big Chief Studios announced the 1:6 scale models of Cumberbatch's Holmes and Freeman's Watson, and they talk about the sculpting process. There will be no romance between Holmes and Watson in Elementary, according to the show's creator. James O'Leary has contributed a couple of significant pieces here about Elementary that are worth perusing: "Addiction, Elementary and Doyle," and "Six Cases to Which I Have Added to My Notes." Our Flipboard magazine and Scoop.it! site aggregate lots of content for your enjoyment. Please subscribe to us on iTunes and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show.Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email, call us at (774) 221-READ (7323) or use the Speakpipe app right here on the site. Connect with us and other interested Sherlockians on The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+, Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. And of course, our web- and app-based Flipboard magazine is a nice collection of links, articles and images.And above all, please let our sponsors know that you heard us rant and rave about their excellence during the programme: Wessex Press and The Baker Street Journal. --

While our show normally allows us to inform our listeners about the Sherlockian world (and occasionally share gossipy tidbits and commentary), it is always a joy when we have the opportunity to welcome a guest to interview. This occasion was no exception, as we were fortunate enough to be joined by Brad Keefauver, BSI ("Winwood Reade") from Sherlock Peoria. Brad fashions himself as more of a writer, but he certainly held his own on our program, as he discussed his first meeting with Sherlock Holmes, noting that it was far from typical. It was theatrical in nature, but you'll have to listen to hear the exact work that captured Brad's attention. We were then off and running into the sci-fi world of Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein and others, with Brad openly admitting his Trekkie origins (not that there's anything wrong with that). A class trip to Chicago brought him in touch with Beyond Baker Street and helped him realize that there was a world beyond the pastiches and films that he was most familiar with. Noted Irregular hermit Bob Burr ("The Rascally Lascar") was an mentor of sorts, and it was his editing and clockwork-like work ethic that led to some of Brad's early written contributions, such as The Elementary Methods of Sherlock Holmes and The Armchair Baskerville Tour. Other giants like John Bennett Shaw, BSI ("The Hans Sloane of My Age") and his legendary symposiums in the 1980s also led Brad to Irregular life. There is so much more that we could say about Brad, as he is a veritable Sherlockian onion. We'll let the show speak for itself. The show also covers a number of relevant news items and places for your attention; you'll find them all in the links section below. As always, we closed with a reading of the Editor's Gas-Lamp, this time selecting "One Advocating Sherlock Holmes" from the March 1987 issue (Vol. 37, No. 1). While the topic and some of the pronouncements may be controversial, we like to think that we found some common ground in it. Links: Sherlock Peoria (the original) Sherlock Peoria (the blog) The Holmes and Watson Report Many of the links below can be found on activity on the Sherlock Holmes Community The Sherlockian Calendar by Ron Fish Recent Sherlockian titles on Kindle 16 witty Sherlock Holmes comebacks Have hours and hours of fun with this one: the Benedict Cumberbatch Name Generator A new Russian television version of Sherock Holmes A recent review of Sherlock Holmes and the Needle's Eye The discovery of the inspiration for Donnithorpe in "The Gloria Scott" IHOSE on Flipboard Please subscribe to us on iTunes and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email, call us at (774) 221-READ (7323). Connect with us and other interested Sherlockians on The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+, Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. And of course, our web- and app-based Flipboard magazine is a nice collection of links, articles and images. And above all, please let our sponsors know that you heard us rant and rave about their excellence during the programme: Wessex Press and The Baker Street Journal.

It's a show chock full of Sherlock Holmes news! Of course, Horace Harker was a reporter for the Central Press Syndicate in "The Six Napoleons," but in our case we're acting in his stead to share some of the most significant news to our own syndicate. We share a special announcement about a future feature of the program which we'll call "The Central Press Syndicate." But in the meantime, we have much to share... We pick up with a clarification on Lenore Glen Offord ("The Old Russian Woman") and tell you all about the 2011 Baker Street Journal Christmas Annual, in which readers will be able to discover the many aspects of this intelligent and well-published writer. We also question what Investitures looked like under Edgar Smith's and Julian Wolff's time - particularly the presentation of the shilling as a medal. There's an opportunity for your feedback. Speaking of feedback, we're happy to share a good deal of listener mail and commentary from Episode 54. Thank you for all of your input and intelligent observations. We also note that we've added a function to the site called Speakpipe, which allows our listeners to provide an audio comment directly from the web page while listening to the show. We hope you'll use it. Over on our Facebook page, every week our fans have a chance to join in the fun with our Wacky Caption Wednesdays. A lineup of some of the recent ones include the iconic image of Holmes hunched over his chemical set and the comparison to Mentos; and Holmes springing to action in "The Speckled Band" with inspiration from DEVO. On the news front, we have items from the next season of "Sherlock" from BBC One, and news from Steven Moffat that there's a clue that everyone missed with regard to Sherlock Holmes's death. And the announcement of the next installation of the absolutely phenomenal set of events called From Gillette to Brett that look at Sherlock Holmes of the screen. Also events-wise, while we missed the Sherlock Holmes Through Time and Place conference in Minnesota, we'll be featuring a report from the #SHMN13 goings on. For topics more controversial, we have the latest goings-on around the so-called "Free Sherlock" lawsuit between Leslie Klinger and the Conan Doyle Estate, Ltd., which indicate that a summary judgment is being requested, with the decision due in the coming weeks. And the mid-year letter from the Baker Street Irregulars' Wiggins, Michael Whelan contains a reprint of "The World of Sherlockians" that was shared on the BSJ website Finally, we concluded with a reading of the Editor's Gas-Lamp on the importance sparking plugs, this time choosing September 1982 (Vol. 32, No. 3). In it, you'll find the definitive and seminal phrase as to what it takes to establish a Sherlockian society. Links: IHOSE on Flipboard BSJ Items for Sale Charles Augustus Magnusson is here, as is the trailer for the new season Steven Moffat on the clue that everyone missed From Gillette to Brett IV: Basil, Benedict and Beyond - Sept. 12-14, 2014 in Bloomington, IN Free Sherlock update The Hollywood Reporter on the latest Conan Doyle Estate lawsuit Activity on the Sherlock Holmes Community Please subscribe to us on iTunes and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email, call us at (774) 221-READ (7323). Connect with us and other interested Sherlockians on The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+, Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. And of course, our web- and app-based Flipboard magazine is a nice collection of links, articles and images. And above all, please let our sponsors know that you heard us rant and rave about their excellence during the programme: Wessex Press and The Baker Street Journal.

It's easy to assume that Sherlock Holmes's powers were something of an anomaly - that Holmes was a superhero with something akin to super powers, and we mere mortals cannot attain the same level of expertise and professionalism. But that assumption would be wrong, as author Maria Konnikova has made abundantly clear. In her book Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes, Konnikova, who holds a doctorate in psychology from Columbia University and writes the "Literally Psyched" column for Scientific American, deconstructs the process of observation, deduction and self-knowledge. In doing so, she gives the reader concrete examples of how to approach the fabled scientific method, along with the psychology behind the process. While we have previously reviewed her book, our conversation with Maria in this episode took personal turns and got us much deeper into the creative process, her inspiration, and even a back story to Holmes that gave him these powers. In addition, we covered topics from the ridiculous to the sublime such as movie trailers and voice overs, storytelling, suggestions for getting your fix of Sherlock Holmes news links and more. We also discussed the need to merge this site and the Baker Street Blog and put out a call for assistance from those with technical programming aptitude to help us with the migration and site upgrade. We also asked for feedback on our process, frequency and topics of the show - we'd love to hear from you! Finally, we concluded with a reading of the Editor's Gas-Lamp, this time choosing the most recent entry from the Summer 2013 (Vol. 63, No. 2). Links: Video chat with director Kurt Mattila Trailer for Jerry Seinfeld's Comedian Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes by Maria Konnikova (Amazon) How researchers are using fiction to make their reports accessible to the public Sherlock Holmes For Dummies on Facebook Always1895.net Christopher Morley's "In Memoriam Sherlock Holmes" in the Saturday Review of Literature Fantastic chronology of the Canon by TheNorwoodBuilder News links to keep you up to date on all things Sherlock Holmes: the Sherlock Holmes Scoop.it page and the I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Flipboard magazine Please subscribe to us on iTunes and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email, call us at (774) 221-READ (7323). Connect with us and other interested Sherlockians on The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+, Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. And above all, please let our sponsors know that you heard us rant and rave about their excellence during the programme: Wessex Press and The Baker Street Journal.

The Baker Street Irregulars are widely known as a literary society dedicated to the study of Sherlock Holmes. Since 1934 the group has been gathering in New York City for its annual dinner and weekend festivities and has embarked on a significant publishing effort centered around its own history, international Sherlockian societies' scholarship, and analysis of extant manuscripts of the Canon. But more than that, the BSI wants to ensure that its own history and that of its members are recorded for posterity and the researchers who may be interested in it sometime in the future. Enter the Baker Street Irregulars Trust. In this episode, Burt and Scott interview Tom Francis, BSI ("The Imperial Opera at Warsaw), who is the Chair of the Trust. Tom helps us understand how and why the Trust was established, what its aims are, and how you can help this august institution. We discuss some of the holdings of the Houghton Library at Harvard University, where the Trust is housed, including the H.W. Bell collection - Bell having been an early Sherlockian scholar and member of The Speckled Band of Boston. The BSI Trust is a nonprofit organization as a subset of the Baker Street Irregulars. Donations are welcome, but original materials are more desirable. Correspondence of Irregulars and their other papers are welcome - but the Trust does is not interested in everything Sherlockian or related to all Sherlockian societies. Books and other items that are not a core part of the Trust typically go up for sale or auction. Tom breaks ground as he utters a phrase never before heard on this program - tune in to find out exactly what that is - and even begins to delve into what the future of the Trust looks like in our digital/electronic times. Links: The BSI Trust The finding aid for the Houghton Library collections How individuals can make monetary donations or materials donations to the BSIT "For the Sake of the Trust" - the BSI Trust newsletter Please subscribe to us on iTunes and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email, call us at (774) 221-READ (7323). Connect with us on The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+, Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. And above all, please let our sponsors know that you heard us rant and rave about their excellence during the programme: Wessex Press and The Baker Street Journal.

When a figure like Sherlock Holmes has been around for over a century, there are bound to be misconceptions that creep into public thinking. We blame this not on carelessness or laziness but rather on the overwhelming popularity of the great detective. The image of Holmes clad in deerstalker and Inverness cape, clenching a Meerschaum pipe in his teeth is the universal, if cliched, image of a detective. But was it true? We were recently reminded of a number of classic myths about Sherlock Holmes, thanks to a contest being sponsored by The Baker Street Journal (also a sponsor of our program): it has long been rumored that men wore black armbands throughout the city of London after reading "The Final Problem" in the Strand Magazine. And only anecdotal evidence has been referenced whenever this supposed fact is brought up. The BSJ is offering a free year's subscription to anyone who can definitively prove that such mourning attire was worn in response to the death of Sherlock Holmes. That got us to thinking: what other Sherlockian myths are there? And are we guilty of propagating any of them ourselves? Join us for a quick game show-style question and answer session on the topic, as well as a reading of your comments from our last show and some recent news from the world of Sherlock Holmes. The Editor's Gas-Lamp: Rather than the traditional gas-lamp, which began under Edgar Smith's editorship of the Baker Street Journal, we thought we would mark May 5 as the 123rd anniversary of Christopher Morley's birth by reading two of his poems: the very short "The Secret" and the quite remarkable "Toulemonde." Links: The Baker Street Journal contest Sherlock Holmes-related 2013 Edgar Award winners and nominees "Stand with me here upon the terrace" for Irving Kamil The Deal Table from the BSJ The Christopher Morley Literary Estate on Facebook Sherlockian Mythbusters: "Thor Bridge" and "The Engineer's Thumb" Download this episode by right-clicking the icon and selecting "Save As..." or simply click on the file to listen, or on the player above. (File size: 60.2 MB, 1:05:42) You do subscribe to us on iTunes, don't you? Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email, call us at (774) 221-READ (7323). Connect with us on The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+, Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. And above all, please let our sponsors know that you heard us mumble their hallowed names on the show: Wessex Press and The Baker Street Journal.

We thought we'd stir up the discussions a bit and try to get to the bottom of a couple of controversies that have been roiling the world of Sherlock Holmes enthusiasts (we're careful to say neither "fans" nor "devotees" at this juncture).The first item of interest that grabbed our attention in early 2013 was the so-called "Free Sherlock" movement. Summed up, this is basically an issue that is being brought to court via a case titled Klinger vs. Conan Doyle Estate, in which Leslie Klinger, BSI ("The Abbey Grange") is contesting the Conan Doyle Estate's claim that any new content that contains Sherlock Holmes must pay a royalty or license fee to the Estate. Burt and Scott parse through some of the non-technical/legal aspects of the case and discuss what's at stake.Speaking of being at stake, the other item on the docket is the debate as to what in fact constitutes a Sherlockian of good standing? That is, can one have arrived at the doorstep of 221B Baker Street via the BBC series (or Granada, or Universal, etc.) or must one have been schooled only in the printed literature and dress the part of a 1940s joiner? It's quite a debate - one that was taken up vehemently by The Baker Street Babes earlier this year, after the "Elite Devotee Redux" was published in recently resurrected Saturday Review of Literature. We offer our own humble observations on the matter.For those who wish to subscribe to the publication and read all of the very interesting articles therein, you may procure a copy by sending $5 postpaid to Donald K. Pollock, 521 College Avenue, Niagara Falls, NY 14305. An image of the cover and inside cover can be seen below.The Editor's Gas-Lamp: We purposefully revisited the same Gas-Lamp (Vol. 3, No. 2, OS) that we shared on Episode 15, because Edgar Smith's "Who is a Baker Street Irregular?" seemed to strike the same chord some 65 years later.Links: Les Klinger's Free Sherlock site The New York Times takes note of the lawsuit Sherlock Holmes Estate challenged with 'copyfraud' The Baker Street Babes take umbrage with being dismissed by Philip Shreffler The BSI's statement: A World of Sherlockians

Our 50th episode is a fitting one. As you know, a 50th anniversary is typically celebrated with gold. Because we appreciate our listeners so much, we would settle for nothing less than the same.But our gold comes in the form of a scintillating conversation with the two editors of the Baker Street Irregulars' eighth entry in their Manuscript Series, The Wrong Passage, which is a look at the manuscript of "The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez." Co-editors Andrew Solberg, BSI ("Professor Coram") and Robert Katz, MD, BSI ("Dr. Ainstree") joined us to discuss just what it is that goes into creating a significant piece of scholarship such as we've come to expect from BSI publications of late.From the history of the manuscript itself, to artifacts from Paul Churchill's famed "evidence boxes," to an in-depth look at the historical background alluded to in the tale, the breadth of topics within the book is impressive. Also included are a number of other analyses on topics ranging from the historical and geographical to the linguistic, religious and medical, by noted Sherlockians Peggy Perdue, BSI ("Violet Westbury"), Denny Dobry, Donald Pollock, MD, BSI ("The Anthropological Journal") former member of the BSI, Albert Silverstein, BSI ("Professor Presbury"), C. Paul Martin, MD, BSI ("Dr. Leslie Armstrong"), Jacquelynn Morris, Richard J. Sveum, MD, BSI ("Dr. Hill Barton"), John Baesch, BSI ("The State and Merton County Railroad"), and William Hyder, BSI ("A Most Valuable Institution").Our discussions range as far and wide as the book itself, and we also cover just a bit of the BSI Weekend festivities from 2013. But more on that in a future episode. This one clocked in at over an hour and 20 minutes, but we think you'll enjoy the conviviality between four Sherlockians as you spend a long evening with Holmes.The Editor's Gas-Lamp: We thought it was fitting to focus on 50th anniversaries, so we took a page from the 50th anniversary year of the Baker Street Journal and read the Editor's Gas-Lamp of Vol. 46, No. 4 from December 1996, with Donald ("I'm not a member of the BSI") Pollock as editor.

"Compliments of the season" is how Watson described his activities regarding a visit he paid to Holmes during the Christmas season.And we know "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" as the sole Christmas story in the Canon of Sherlock Holmes stories. And rather than focus on the nostalgic and its place in the lineup of winter classics, we discuss how this classic fits in the pantheon of Holmes stories in its own right as a tale of friendship, crime, discovery and what we've come to realize as some of the typical Baker Street scenes.In an effort to pay homage to this Christmas classic, the Baker Street Irregulars in 1948 crafted a special edition of "The Blue Carbuncle" that included a wonderful essay by Christopher Morley titled "A Christmas Story Without Slush." About BLUE, Morley said, "it was superb art. It hasn't a word too many or two few." That essay itself has become something of a classic as well, and we're delighted to share it with our listeners here.After Burt inhabits the person of Morley for our reading, we come to a rather alarming and satisfying conclusion. We would be interested to hear if you share our assessment.We go on to express admiration for the dramatized versions of the story - particularly by Jeremy Brett and David Burke for Granada and Peter Cushing and Nigel Stock for the BBC. We even invent our own version of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon with one of the actors who appeared in each.As part of the holiday season, we also offered up our own - rather eclectic - list of gift ideas and sites where you might find the same. Herewith, the gift giving guide for Sherlockians (or perhaps those from the Steampunk crowd as well) during the holiday season: Gentleman's Emporium (Inverness capes for only $99!) Construct your own Inveness Cape The Scottish Inverness Cape Company - a Harris tweet version ($$$) Mr. Antony - Inverness-style rain capes Recollections Clothing Sherlock Holmes gifts at BuzzSugar Detachable collars from Amazon Dry Goods Polyvore's "Keep Calm" poster Two Sherlock Holmes chess sets: one from The Robert Opie Collection, and one from Amazon Sherlock Holmes quote wall art from Style It Out Magnoli Clothiers has vintage and custom clothing Randall Stock's list of the 10 Best Sherlock Holmes Gifts The Editor's Gas-Lamp: We round out the show with a reading of "Two Days After Christmas," a version of "The Blue Carbuncle" that takes the form of Clement Moore's classic "A Visit From St. Nick." If you would like to read this poem for your own Sherlockian society meeting, please feel free to download or print it out - with attribution, of course.

When Conan Doyle embarked on his whaling adventure at the age of 20, little could he have guessed what awaited him. And little did the world know how profoundly his experiences would influence his later life, including the creation for which we know him most intimately - that of Sherlock Holmes. We're joined in this episode by the editors of Dangerous Work: Diary of an Arctic Adventure, Jon Lellenberg, BSI and Daniel Stashower, BSI. Jon and Dan have been with us on previous episodes of I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere: when we discussed Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters on Episode 13, and again onEpisode 37 when we covered The Narrative of John Smith, a lost Conan Doyle manuscript. What we learn about Conan Doyle's six and a half month voyage on the Hope is absolutely fascinating - from the provenance of the manuscript itself and how Dame Jean Conan Doyle worked tirelessly to ensure this publication could be seen, to the harrowing adventures that Arthur himself saw as part of this arctic voyage and more - and what we consider the world would have been like had this journey not taken place, or worse: if events had taken a more grisly turn. From the raw and harsh realities that required the ministrations of a third year medical student, to the unexpected swims and from the daily thoughts to the watercolor illustrations, we gain a view of Conan Doyle that truly helps the reader understand the seeds that were planted for a later career. What would his mother, (the "Ma'am") have thought of his accepting the adventure? What would his work been like absent such adventures? We speculate with the two men who have come to know Conan Doyle intimately through their previous work. One item of note that the editors shared with us is that Dr. William Henry Neale, the surgeon on board theEira (a ship that the Hope encountered), posed in a photograph with Conan Doyle at the time. A later photo (in 1892 and pictured below) shows Dr. Neale, who could very easily pass for Dr. Watson. There is another item of note related to Dr. Watson that was mentioned by Conan Doyle at the conclusion of his voyage, but rather than spoil it here, we'll let you discover it yourself in the audio. Finally, rather than the traditional Editor's Gas-Lamp, we thought that while we had the editors with us, they could read to us from Doyle's diary. We asked Dan to read a poem that Doyle wrote in the July 26 entry, titled "Meerschaum Pipe." We then turn to your comments on previous episodes and review your response to some of our questions/surveys on Facebook. Of course we do our housekeeping and mention all of our social network presence: on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram - including the Top 10 Suggestive Lines from the Sherlock Holmes Canon.

It's our Halloween show!With Victorian and Gothic influence in a number of the Sherlock Holmes stories, the Canon can be great fodder for the mysterious, occult and spooky elements of Halloween. Certainly The Hound of the Baskervilles, "The Adventure of the Devil's Foot," "The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier," or "The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place" have elements that can make a reader's hair stand on end.But the most direct link with Halloween as we know it today (other than Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "Lot No. 249" - the original mummy story) has to be "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire." Sherlock Holmes himself was a bit dismissive of the supernatural in this case, saying "Rubbish, Watson, rubbish! What have we to do with walking corpses who can only be held in their grave by stakes driven through their hearts? It's pure lunacy."But our guest on this episode, Les Klinger (a guest on Episodes 31 and 32, when he spoke about the Guy Ritchie / Robert Downey, Jr. movies and his role as Warner Brothers' consultant on the set) is no stranger to Dracula. He has written The New Annotated Dracula and has been an influential in the Dracularian movement. As we discuss the intersection of Holmes and Dracula, Les helps us understand the evolution of vampire literature and Dracula-influenced media.In the discussion, Les alludes to other influential fictional works in the movement such as I Am Legend, In the Shadow of Dracula, and Anno Dracula by Kim Newman, who is the Distinguished Speaker at the2013 Baker Street Irregulars Weekend. In addition to the popular work, Les noted that there is a scholarly vein of work (pardon the pun) in the field that brings more seriousness to the practice, albeit less fluid and constant than Sherlockian scholarship. But we kept coming back to the intersections of Holmes and Dracula, in all forms: written, film and stage, and how each have their cycles of popularity that are typically driven by a single piece of work each time.We had a number of listener comments from you regarding Episode 46 ("Elementary, My Dear CBS) that included very visceral opinions about the Jonny Lee Miller / Lucy Liu show, as well as some traditional and fanciful ideas for Canonically-inspired Halloween costumes.For our Gas-Lamp this episode, we welcome a very special guest for a chilling reading of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven." We won't spoil it by telling you who it is; you'll have to tune in yourself to hear it.

Joining the BBC's Sherlock on television this fall is another high-powered outing by the network CBS in the United States. If you haven't yet heard, the new show is Elementary and it stars Jonny Lee Miller as a modern-day Sherlock Holmes who is in New York after rehab, and Lucy Liu at Dr. Joan Watson, Holmes's "sober companion," whose responsibility it is to look after him an ensure he readjusts to society and doesn't relapse. The creators were under pressure almost from the moment the project was announced, what with the success of another modern-day Sherlock Holmes enjoying popular acclaim. Rest assured, Elementary does not encroach on the territory of Sherlock. But exactly how much of the Canon does it include or reference? And how faithful are the characters to what we know? Or does that even matter? And how closely tread is the fine line that exists between an established character and updating it to a modern setting? Join us as we debate and discuss the relative merits and attributes of the latest addition of Holmes to the small screen. During the episode, we share some listener comments of late, read the Editor's Gas-Lamp from Vol. 6, No. 1 (March 1956) from the Baker Street Journal, and prepare for our Halloween Show. As part of that, we'd like to know what Canonical or Sherlockian Halloween costume you might wear. Tell us in a comment below.

The political season is upon us. At least in America, that is. In case you've been hiding under a rock for the last 18 months, the presidential election is closing in, with Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney. This site certainly does not stand for any type of political dogma; indeed, Sherlock Holmes is for every political persuasion. So why would we want to touch the third rail of polite conversation and delve into politics on our podcast about Sherlock Holmes? As it turns out, there are a number of political figures in the Canon and politics, both domestic and international, play a role in the plots of a few of the stories. We take a look at the influence of politics inside the Sherlock Holmes stories as well as what was happening externally at the time. In addition, we even look at one member of the Baker Street Irregulars who had something of a government post and his Sherlockian scholarship - amazingly enough, written at a very crucial juncture of our country's history. Try as we might, we were unable to find a Gas-Lamp from the archives of The Baker Street Journal that were political in nature. However, we were able to find some letters from that government servant mentioned above, which make for a very special reading. Links: Franklin Delano Roosevelt's five letters to the Baker Street Irregulars Sherlock Holmes for the 21st Century: Essays on New Adaptations by Lynnette Porter Amazon UK | Amazon USA Sherlock and Transmedia Fandom: Essays on the BBC Series Amazon UK | Amazon USA I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Facebook page: http://facebook.com/ihearofsherlock

A new modern urban re-interpretation of Sherlock Holmes. That's how the digital comic Watson and Holmes is being referred to. The recent revival in Sherlock Holmes material across a variety of media has truly increased the buzz around our favorite topic. From the reimagining on the big screen, courtesy of the Robert Downey, Jr. / Jude Law films, to the small screen updating of the characters in Sherlock, through Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman and soon the Jonny Lee Miller / Lucy Liu version in Elementary, there is plenty of interest in the perennial character. Now, we're prepared to be treated to yet another version of the iconic detective and his faithful friend and colleague, thanks to New Paradigm Studios. In this episode, we're joined by three of the principals who are behind the updating of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson the a modern urban setting of New York and as African American characters. Brandon Perlow, Publisher and co-creator of Watson and Holmes, Justin Gabrie, Senior Editor, and Karl Bollers, Writer joined us to tell the story behind their work with Paul J Mendoza, Co-creator and color artist and Rick Leonardi, Penciler - who has worked on a number of Marvel and DC Comics projects. We also discuss the issue of race and the Canon, landing on an interesting work from Vol. 27, No. 3 (September 1977) of the Baker Street Journal - not a Gas-Lamp, but an article by William P. Collins titled "Norbury and Steve Dixie: Holmes and Victorian Racial Attitudes."

Sometimes, when there's a topic that bears a discussion-based episode between the two of us, we like to do a little research to see what's been written previously, so we can have some reference material upon which to base some of our zany theories.Sunday, June 17 was Father's Day in the United States, which made it a perfect opportunity to tackle the topic of fathers in the Canon. Imagine our chagrin and surprise then, when we discovered that there was no appreciable material (at least to our "small but select" libraries of Sherlockiana) that adequately chronicled fathers and father figures in the Sherlock Holmes stories.Not to be deterred, we decided to thumb through the stories and pick out not only fathers, but step-fathers, would-be fathers, father figures and others who espoused the characteristics that fathers do or should have. More than a laundry list of individuals, this episode turned into a fun reminiscence and analysis that we hope you enjoy listening to almost as much as we enjoyed creating it.While we couldn't find an Editor's Gas-Lamp that was directly about fatherhood, we did find one that had paternal overtone in the Vol. 8 No. 4 issue from October 1958 titled "Truth is Better than Fiction."

Sherlock mania as at its heights. The second series of the BBC's Sherlock is making its way to the U.S. shores currently, and fandom online and offline is continuing to grow.On behalf of the show, Burt made his way to New York City on May 2, 2012 for the sneak preview of the new season and question and answer time with some of the cast and crew of Sherlock, including Rebecca Eaton, Steven Moffat, Sue Vertue and of course, Benedict Cumberbatch. About 800 people crowded into a theatre after 10,000 applied for seats, and the reaction - including screams - were reminiscent of the Beatles coming to the Ed Sullivan Show in the 1960s. And this is nothing new; Frank Sinatra garnered a similar reaction at the Paramount in New York City back in the 1940s. Thanks to Burt's courageous reporting, we have some clips from the event and the queue, as well as a question and answer session with the cast, in which we're able to hear and feel the excitement of the crowd.We've witnessed the #believeinsherlock movement that arose from the BBC airing of the series and how the phenomenon has grown. We discuss a bit of that and we sing our own praises to Sherlock Holmes, in a manner of speaking.And with such an enthusiastic new group of fans, it's inevitable that we would welcome them to the world of Sherlockians. The Editor's Gas-Lamp from the current issue of the Baker Street Journal. (Vol 62, No. 1), titled "Consider yourself at home," is the perfect way to do so.

"To Sherlock Holmes, she is always the woman" [SCAN] To Burt and Scott she will always be the guest. While you may have heard her mentioned by the name of Irene Adler, she is actually Lara Pulver and she is our interview subject for this very special episode of I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere. Sherlock: Season Two originally aired on BBC One in January and now we're poised for it to air on PBS's Masterpiece Mystery in the United States. One of the most intriguing characters of this new series is none other than the adventuress Irene Adler, the antagonist in the first episode "A Scandal in Belgravia." So in this episode, titled "The Woman," we're joined by the woman who played the woman in "A Scandal in Belgravia," Lara Pulver. An actress, singer and dancer, Lara has the enviable distinction of playing Irene Adler as perceived in the 21st century. She joined us from Chichester after a theatre performance and chatted with us on her experience with Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman on the set of the BBC "Sherlock," and what it was like to inhabit the character of the only woman who beat Sherlock Holmes. We close the show with an appropriately titled and themed Editor's Gas-Lamp from the Vol. 41, No. 1 issue of the Baker Street Journal. Full show notes are available at ihose.co/ihose41

While our listeners normally have to deal with the voices of Burt Wolder and Scott Monty, this episode is different. We're pleased to be able to bring you the smooth baritone of one Mr. David Ian Davies. A veteran actor for many decades, having been trained at the London Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, David traces his heritage to England by way of California. But along the way (you may be surprised to hear just how young), he was bitten by the acting bug. Combine that with David's inherent love of Sherlock Holmes and a desire to be the first individual to record the entire Canon, and you'll find a passionate and talented voice of Sherlock Holmes. Through his production company One Voice Recordings, David has managed to create a nine-volume series called The Consummate Holmes Canon (see below for links), as well as a few other non-Canonical stories. We had a delightful chat with Mr. Davies that included hearing a few clips from his interpretation and a live reading. He helps the amateurs understand how he as a professional prepares for the roles - and just how many roles there are! We close this episode with a surprise archival recording from some radio stars from a bygone era who took on some rather unorthodox roles in a special appearance. And we offer an opportunity for our listeners to win one a very special prize.

When a fictional character's impact overflows to reality to affect what people are talking about, where they go and how they act, it's quite an accomplishment. When it happens in a nearly identical, if time-appropriate manner nearly 120 years apart, it must have something to to with Sherlock Holmes.As this podcast is all about Sherlock Holmes, you can rest assured that is indeed the case. But what of it? This updated and renewed interest in our beloved master is curious, but in the end, quite elementary. Much of the chatter and buzz seen on the Internet in particular, has been generated by the Robert Downey, Jr. outings in two films, and more recently by Benedict Cumberbatch's portrayal in two seasons of the BBC television show "Sherlock."In this episode, we welcome the ladies from another Sherlock Holmes-related podcast, the Baker Street Babes, namely Kristina, Ardy and Marie, to discuss the machinations behind the movement that has taken hold across the world called "Believe in Sherlock." With the conclusion (in the U.K.) of the BBC's second season of the show with an episode titled "The Reichenbach Fall," you can probably imagine what the outcome was. We won't spoil it by giving away the details, but suffice it to say that there were some upset fans at the conclusion - so upset, in fact, that they took to the streets and the web alike, demonstrating their love of the character and their wish to see his good name cleared.We discuss the beginnings of this newfound and fervent interest in Holmes, as generated through the Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat-created series starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman and get the perspective from Londoners who were not only there to witness the activities of this movement, but who contributed to and even instigated some of them. We'll conclude with a reading of the latest Editor's Gas-Lamp from the Winter 2011 (Vol. 61, No. 4) of the Baker Street Journal.