DIVA DELVES INTO SKULLDUGGERY
HELEN TRAUBEL WAS MORE than a Metropolitan Opera soprano specializing in Wagnerian roles. She was a baseball fan, part owner of her hometown St. Louis Browns. She mixed with the … Continue reading
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE AND DAVOS SKI-RUNNING
DOCTOR JOHN H. WATSON’S literary agent, a fellow named Arthur Conan Doyle, helped to make skiiing popular in Davos, Switzerland. Details are given in Harry Mount’s “How Conan Doyle Pioneered … Continue reading
THE CASE OF THE TWO IAN FLEMINGS, AND ANOTHER MISTAKEN LINKAGE
WHAT DID THE 007 AUTHOR have in common with the man portraying Dr. John H. Watson in British movies in the 1930s? Nothing, except for sharing the name Ian Fleming. … Continue reading
ELIZABETHAN NOIR
THE WORDS “SHAMUS,” “gumshoe,” and “P.I.” didn’t exist in Elizabethan England, but it did have “watchmen,” men on the streets of London to counter suspicious activity from nightfall to sunrise. … Continue reading
SHERLOCK HOLMES, ELIZA DOOLITTLE, LILIAN BAYLIS
THE WORD “OPERA” links the three personages of today’s title, thanks to the December 2021 issue of Opera News, monthly magazine of the Metropolitan Opera. In fact, each of the … Continue reading
WILL THE REAL SHERLOCK HOLMES PLEASE STAND UP
WE ALL HAVE an image of Sherlock Holmes. He’s lean, clean-shaven for the era, with sharp features. Indeed, for some reason or another, the names Sidney Paget and Basil Rathbone … Continue reading
HOLMES AND VARIOUS ROYALS
SHERLOCK HOLMES HAD a deep respect for Queen Victoria. Though he didn’t boast about it, he applied his consulting detective skills more than once in the Queen’s service. Occasionally, he … Continue reading
HURRAH FOR THE FBI’S ANOM!
THE VOICE OF AMERICA reports “800 Arrested in Global Organized Crime Investigation,” June 8, 2021. VOA says “Operation Trojan Shield involved police raids in 16 countries in which 250 firearms … Continue reading
THE OUIJA CAPER
TWO PALS USED outlandish means to escape from an Ottoman prison camp during World War I. Chris Jennings’ “Breaking Out of Prison With a Ouija Board and Some Clever Tricks” … Continue reading
SLEEPING WITH VIRGINIA WOOLF, DREAMING ABOUT A NAKED GIRL WITH LONG JADE EARRINGS
MAYBE YOUR READING habits are like mine? I always seem to have four or five books that I’m part way through. Whenever I finish one, I’ve added another to my … Continue reading
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