About this episode

The episode discusses the story 'Charles Augustus Milverton' from the Sherlock Holmes canon, focusing on its antagonist and the plot surrounding blackmail.

"The worst man in London... the king of all blackmailers." These are the blunt, declarative answers Holmes provides to his Watson when asked about this story's titular antagonist. Some immodest letters have been intercepted that would mark the ruin of Lady Eva Blackwell and her upcoming nuptials. The fee for their return is a punishing £7000 (over a million dollars today). She's employed Sherlock to help her out and he's not afraid to go the distance for his client... Our Summer Sherlock Selects has returned! First up, Scott's choice of "Charles Augustus Milverton" from the Return of Sherlock Holmes. Originally recorded in January of 2018, this early chat has been reproduced and explores one of the canon's best worst villains.

People in this episode

Host: Scott

Topics covered

• Sherlock Holmes
• blackmail
• literature
• detective stories
• character analysis

Keywords

• Sherlock Holmes
• Charles Augustus Milverton
• blackmail
• Lady Eva Blackwell
• detective fiction

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Charles Augustus Milverton, Return of Sherlock Holmes

Places: London

More episodes of Lighting the Pipes

• LTP Noir: The Big Heat (1953) · July 21, 2026 · 1h 45m
• The Labyrinth Makers (1970) · July 12, 2026 · 1h 43m
• LTP Selects: The Naval Treaty (1893) · July 1, 2026 · 54 min
• Scorched Grace (2023) · June 17, 2026 · 2h 14m

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