# The Biter Bit (1858)

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/lighting-the-pipes-765775/the-biter-bit-1858
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/lighting-the-pipes-765775/the-biter-bit-1858.md
Podcast: [Lighting the Pipes](https://stenobird.com/podcast/lighting-the-pipes-765775)
Published: 2026-08-14T06:30:00+00:00
Episode link: https://feeds.captivate.fm/lighting-the-pipes/
Audio file: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/9b88a326-d058-4292-9d3e-fdb44dfd4d85.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/lighting-the-pipes-765775/episodes/the-biter-bit-1858
Duration seconds: 4167

## Resource

We return to Wilkie Collins and early detective writing with a study of this comic story, originally published in the Atlantic Monthly back in April of 1858. Mr Yatman, a hard-working SoHo stationer, has been robbed at home and now faces financial ruin. Conditions and suspects in the crime point to a "closed circle" mystery. When the veteran Sergeant Bulmer is taken off the case, a young upstart named Matthew Sharpin takes over the investigation... in a manner of speaking. Sharpin is well-connected but absurdly self-confident and Collins leans into the popular form of epistolary writing to chart this young man's (not-so-tragic) fall. Summary@7:50; PIPES@28:40. For more on Wilkie Collins, check out our episode on "The Moonstone" from March 2022.

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## Transcript

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