Episode 120: Firsts in the Canon

"something which had never before intruded" [VALL]

You probably remember the first time you came across Sherlock Holmes. Whether it was a Saturday afternoon matinee of a Basil Rathbone film, or a cracking open The Hound of the Baskervilles for the first time, you were hooked.

But have you stopped to think about all of the firsts in the Canon? That is, what are some of the groundbreaking things that Sherlock Holmes introduced to the world of detection and detective fiction? From techniques to technology, and from puzzles to poisons, we'll take you on an exploration of the the many unique and primal examples of Holmes's processes and Arthur Conan Doyle's writing.

We find our inspiration in the very first Gas-Lamp that Edgar Smith wrote for the BSJ in Vol. 1, No. 1 (Old Series), titled "The Game Is Afoot!"

Sponsors

This episode includes our two longtime sponsors, plus the every-other-episode favorite, Sherlock Holmes Brand products. Please support our sponsors by visiting their sites:

• Wessex Press, publishers of Dreams of Future Past: The Science Fiction Worlds of Arthur Conan Doyle and H.G. Wells by Dana Martin Batory.
• The Baker Street Journal, the first and longest running Sherlockian publication of scholarship.

Notes

1:32 Yessir, that's my baby
2:25 Doings at the Speckled Band of Boston
6:46 Sponsor: Wessex Press
8:10 Support needed
9:35 The Awards for Achievement in Canonical Firsts
29:42 Sponsor: The Baker Street Journal
31:13 More firsts
53:12 The Gas-Lamp
1:00:18 Let your fingers do the walking

Links

• Episode 77: The Speckled Band of Boston
• Trifles, our shorter show

Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard magazine at ihose.co/flipsherlock, as well as on the The Sherlock Holmes Community on Google+ (with over 4,200 members), as well as through our accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Please subscribe to us on iTunes, Google Play, 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).