Episode 114: Escape with Sherlock Holmes

"Has anything escaped me?"  [HOUN]   There's a reason Vincent Starrett wrote "Here, though the world explode, these two survive,/ And it is always eighteen ninety-five." Whether it was in the 1940s or today, the world offers a up a variety of stressors and developments that cause one to wish to simply forget about it all for a while. Hence, the concept of escapism. The pastime of Sherlock Holmes is a form of escapism, and we explore what it means, the origin of the phrase, and how it differs from procrastination. And there were a number of individuals in the Canon who were escaping from something or who wished to bury themselves in some sort of distraction or hobby. From Irene Adler to Selden, Hugh Boone to Brunton, J. Neil Gibson to Elsie Cubitt, there were reasons to withdraw and escape; and Stapleton, Baron Gruner, and Sherlock Holmes himself had hobbies that kept them otherwise occupied from time to time. Plus, we wrap up with an escapist Gas-Lamp: Bill Schweikert's "A Long Evening with Holmes."   And please consider joining our Patreon community. Your support helps us to ensure we can keep doing what we do, covering file hosting costs, production, and this year, transcription services. SponsorsThis episode includes our two longtime sponsors. Please support our sponsors by visiting their sites: Wessex Press, with The Watson Chronicles by Ann Margaret Lewis.The Baker Street Journal, where you'll find many reasons to escape in every issue.  Would you care to become a sponsor? You can find more information here. Download [Save As] | File size 32.2 MB, 1:08:40 Notes1:33 Hello there and a brainstorm 6:25 Wessex Press 7:39 Our other show10:26 Escapism and the Sherlock Holmes stories 18:48 Hobbies as escapes 22:35 Polyphonic motets of Lassus 23:41 The great hiatus — escapism at its most extreme 29:10 The likelihood of Watson cramming for a Chinese pottery exam 33:45 Conan Doyle's interests and hobbies 35:26 Peter Carey was ahead of his time 39:54 The Baker Street Journal 41:22 The Sherlock Holmes News 57:50 Editor's Gas-Lamp 1:00:33 Listener comment 1:03:49 The game's afoot!1:04:39 The Procrastination Song LinksTrifles, our new showPalimpsest, via WikipediaMaria Konnikova on Episode 54 and Episode 91Bonnie MacBird on Episode 83The Man Cave Has a New Neighbor —  the She Shed (WSJ)Detecting the Origins of Sherlock Holmes (Washington Post)Arthur and Sherlock by Michael Sims (Amazon)Graham Moore on Episode 30Debate: has Victorian Sherlock Holmes been done to death?At Mysterious Bookshop in TriBeCa, a Hunt for Clues and Diversions (NY Times)Otto Penzler on Episode 17 and Episode 87Sherlock North features a Finnish Sherlock Holmes (Variety)An interview with an extra from The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (Unbound)Holmes & Watson release date set for Summer 2018 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 4,100 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). --