The The alt.fan.holmes FAQ list, Part 3
Story Chronologies
Revised:
[Thanks to John McGowan for this list]
The chronology of the Canon (by month) has now appeared in the DioGEnies Club
for every month in the year. For those who are interested in a complete
chronology (grouped together, rather than by month) here it is!
The chronologies are as determined by:
Bell: Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson
The Chronology of their adventures
Christ: An irregular chronology of Sherlock Holmes
of Baker Street
Brend: My Dear Holmes
Zeisler: Baker Street Chronology
Commentaries on the Sacred Writings of
Dr. John H. Watson
BG1: An early chronology by Baring-Gould (which appeared in the
BSJ=Baker Street Journal)
BG2: Baring-Gould's later chronology which appears in the Annotated Sherlock
Holmes and his Biography of Sherlock Holmes... the chronology in the
latter also covers many of the cases mentioned in passing by the good
doctor, such as the adventure of the "tired captain")
Me: A few dates which I suggest ("Me" being, John McGowan)
While I have copies of the above (except for Brend's book and I have only
seen the issues of the BSJ with Baring-Gould's early chronology), I have
taken the dates for Bell/Christ/Brend and BG1 from the summary Zeisler
includes in his work and have not cross-checked the data for accuracy.
3GAB 3GAR 3STU
+-+- +-+- +-+-
Bell xx MAY 1903 Bell 26 JUN 1902 Bell xx APR 1895
Christ 14 SEP 1902 Christ 26 JUN 1902 Christ 18 APR 1895
Brend xx xxx 1903 Brend xx JUN 1902 Brend xx MAY 1895
Zeisler xx JUN 1896 Zeisler 26 JUN 1902 Zeisler 27 MAR 1895
BG1 xx MAY 1903 BG1 26 JUN 1902 BG1 xx xxx 1895
BG2 26 MAY 1903 BG2 26 JUN 1902 BG2 05 APR 1895
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
ABBE BERY BLAC
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Bell xx JAN 1897 Bell xx FEB 1882 Bell 03 JUL 1895
Christ 22 JAN 1897 Christ 23 FEB 1883 Christ 03 JUL 1895
Brend xx JAN 1897 Brend xx MAR 1886 Brend xx JUL 1895
Zeisler xx JAN 1897 Zeisler 19 FEB 1886 Zeisler 10 JUL 1895
BG1 xx JAN 1897 BG1 xx FEB 1883 BG1 03 JUL 1895
BG2 23 JAN 1897 BG2 19 DEC 1890 BG2 03 JUL 1895
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
BLAN BLUE BOSC
+-+- +-+- +-+-
Bell xx JAN 1903 Bell 27 DEC 1889 Bell xx JUN 1889
Christ 07 JAN 1903 Christ 27 DEC 1890 Christ 07 JUN 1889
Brend xx JAN 1903 Brend xx DEC 1889 Brend xx JUN 1889
Zeisler 07 JAN 1903 Zeisler 27 DEC 1889 Zeisler 27 JUN 1890
BG1 xx JAN 1903 BG1 27 DEC 1889 BG1 06 JUN 1889
BG2 07 JAN 1903 BG2 27 DEC 1887 BG2 08 JUN 1889
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
BRUC CARD CHAS
+-+- +-+- +-+-
Bell 21 NOV 1895 Bell 06 AUG 1885 Bell 04 FEB 1884
Christ 18 NOV 1895 Christ 14 AUG 1891 Christ 04 FEB 1889
Brend xx NOV 1895 Brend xx AUG 1887 Brend xx DEC 1882
Zeisler 21 NOV 1895 Zeisler 10 AUG 1888 Zeisler 06 JAN 1886
BG1 21 NOV 1895 BG1 30 AUG 1889 BG1 04 FEB 1888
BG2 21 NOV 1895 BG2 31 AUG 1889 BG2 05 JAN 1899
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
COPP CREE CROO
+-+- +-+- +-+-
Bell xx APR 1890 Bell 06 SEP 1903 Bell xx AUG 1888
Christ 19 APR 1891 Christ 06 SEP 1903 Christ 28 AUG 1889
Brend xx MAR 1890 Brend xx SEP 1903 Brend xx AUG 1888
Zeisler 07 APR 1890 Zeisler 06 SEP 1903 Zeisler 26 JUN 1889
BG1 xx APR 1890 BG1 06 SEP 1903 BG1 06 AUG 1889
BG2 05 APR 1889 BG2 06 SEP 1903 BG2 11 SEP 1889
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
DANC DEVI DYIN
+-+- +-+- +-+-
Bell xx xxx 1898 Bell 16 MAR 1897 Bell xx NOV 1888
Christ 27 JUL 1898 Christ 16 MAR 1897 Christ 30 NOV 1890
Brend xx xxx 1898 Brend xx MAR 1897 Brend xx NOV 1889
Zeisler 27 JUL 1898 Zeisler 17 APR 1897 Zeisler 29 NOV 1890
BG1 xx xxx 1898 BG1 16 MAR 1897 BG1 xx NOV 1890
BG2 27 JUL 1898 BG2 16 MAR 1897 BG2 19 NOV 1887
Me (1) 25 JUL 1888 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
EMPT ENGR FINA
+-+- +-+- +-+-
Bell xx APR 1894 Bell xx AUG 1888 Bell 24 APR 1891
Christ 02 APR 1894 Christ 07 SEP 1889 Christ 14 APR 1893
Brend xx FEB 1894 Brend xx xxx 1889 Brend xx APR 1891
Zeisler 03 APR 1894 Zeisler 08 SEP 1889 Zeisler 24 APR 1891
BG1 xx APR 1894 BG1 xx AUG 1889 BG1 24 APR 1891
BG2 05 APR 1894 BG2 07 SEP 1889 BG2 24 APR 1891
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
FIVE GLOR GOLD
+-+- +-+- +-+-
Bell xx SEP 1888 Bell xx xxx 1875 Bell xx NOV 1894
Christ 24 SEP 1889 Christ xx SEP 1876 Christ 14 NOV 1894
Brend xx SEP 1888 Brend xx xxx 1873 Brend xx NOV 1894
Zeisler 24 SEP 1889 Zeisler xx xxx 1876 Zeisler 27 OCT 1894
BG1 xx SEP 1887 BG1 xx xxx 1872 BG1 xx NOV 1894
BG2 29 SEP 1887 BG2 12 JUL 1874 BG2 14 NOV 1894
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
GREE HOUN IDEN
+-+- +-+- +-+-
Bell xx xxx 1890 Bell 28 SEP 1886 Bell xx SEP 1888
Christ 29 AUG 1888 Christ 28 SEP 1897 Christ 26 JUN 1889
Brend xx xxx 1882 Brend xx OCT 1899 Brend xx APR 1889
Zeisler 15 AUG 1888 Zeisler 25 SEP 1900 Zeisler 09 OCT 1889
BG1 28 AUG 1889 BG1 01 OCT 1889 BG1 14 JUN 1889
BG2 (2) 12 SEP 1888 BG2 25 SEP 1888 BG2 18 OCT 1887
Me (2) xx AUG 1888 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
ILLU LADY LAST
+-+- +-+- +-+-
Bell 13 SEP 1902 Bell xx xxx 1895 Bell 02 AUG 1914
Christ 03 SEP 1902 Christ 02 SEP 1903 Christ 02 AUG 1914
Brend xx SEP 1902 Brend xx xxx 1899 Brend 02 AUG 1914
Zeisler 13 SEP 1902 Zeisler xx AUG 189X Zeisler 02 AUG 1914
BG1 03 SEP 1902 BG1 xx xxx 1902 BG1 02 AUG 1914
BG2 03 SEP 1902 BG2 01 JUL 1902 BG2 02 AUG 1914
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
LION MAZA MISS
+-+- +-+- +-+-
Bell 23 JUL 1907 Bell xx xxx 1903 Bell xx FEB 1897
Christ 25 JUN 1907 Christ xx xxx 1904 Christ 07 DEC 1897
Brend xx JUL 1907 Brend xx xxx 1903 Brend xx DEC 1897
Zeisler 27 JUL 1909 Zeisler xx xxx 1903 Zeisler 08 DEC 1896
BG1 23 JUL 1907 BG1 xx xxx 1903 BG1 xx FEB 1897
BG2 27 JUL 1909 BG2 xx xxx 1903 BG2 08 DEC 1896
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
MUSG NAVA NOBL
+-+- +-+- +-+-
Bell 26 SEP 1878 Bell xx JUL 1888 Bell 06 OCT 1887
Christ 24 JUN 1880 Christ 29 JUL 1889 Christ 09 OCT 1888
Brend xx SEP 1878 Brend xx JUL 1888 Brend xx OCT 1887
Zeisler 02 OCT 1879 Zeisler 29 JUL 1889 Zeisler 07 DEC 1888
BG1 26 SEP 1878 BG1 xx JUL 1889 BG1 12 OCT 1888
BG2 02 OCT 1879 BG2 30 JUL 1889 BG2 08 OCT 1886
Me (3) 26 JUN 1879 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
NORW PRIO REDC
+-+- +-+- +-+-
Bell xx AUG 1895 Bell 16 MAY 1901 Bell xx JAN 1897
Christ xx AUG 1894 Christ 16 MAY 1901 Christ xx JAN 1893
Brend xx AUG 1894 Brend xx MAY 1901 Brend xx JAN 1896
Zeisler 02 JUL 1894 Zeisler 17 MAY 1900 Zeisler xx xxx 189X
BG1 xx AUG 1895 BG1 16 MAY 1901 BG1 xx JAN 1895
BG2 20 AUG 1895 BG2 16 MAY 1901 BG2 24 SEP 1902
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
REDH REIG RESI
+-+- +-+- +-+-
Bell 04 OCT 1890 Bell 26 APR 1887 Bell xx OCT 1887
Christ 18 OCT 1890 Christ 25 APR 1887 Christ 26 OCT 1882
Brend xx OCT 1890 Brend xx APR 1887 Brend xx OCT 1887
Zeisler 19 OCT 1889 Zeisler 25 APR 1887 Zeisler 29 OCT 1887
BG1 04 OCT 1890 BG1 26 APR 1887 BG1 xx OCT 1887
BG2 29 OCT 1887 BG2 14 APR 1887 BG2 06 OCT 1886
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
RETI SCAN SECO
+-+- +-+- +-+-
Bell xx JUL 1898 Bell 22 MAR 1888 Bell xx xxx 1894
Christ xx xxx 1898 Christ 20 MAR 1889 Christ 15 JUL 1889
Brend xx xxx 1898 Brend xx MAR 1889 Brend xx xxx 1886
Zeisler xx xxx 1898 Zeisler 22 MAR 1889 Zeisler xx JUL 1889
BG1 xx JUL 1898 BG1 20 MAR 1889 BG1 xx NOV 1886
BG2 28 JUL 1898 BG2 20 MAY 1887 BG2 12 OCT 1886
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
SHOS SIGN SILV
+-+- +-+- +-+-
Bell xx MAY 1897 Bell 07 SEP 1887 Bell xx xxx 1881
Christ 09 MAY 1883 Christ 25 SEP 1888 Christ 03 SEP 1891
Brend xx MAY 1894 Brend xx JUL 1887 Brend 29 SEP 1887
Zeisler 06 MAY 1902 Zeisler 16 APR 1888 Zeisler 12 JUL 1888
BG1 xx MAY 1882 BG1 07 SEP 1888 BG1 xx xxx 1882
BG2 06 MAY 1902 BG2 18 SEP 1888 BG2 25 SEP 1890
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- Me (4) xx AUG 1888 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
SIXN SOLI SPEC
+-+- +-+- +-+-
Bell xx JUL 1900 Bell 13 APR 1895 Bell xx APR 1883
Christ 29 AUG 1902 Christ 23 MAR 1895 Christ 04 APR 1883
Brend xx xxx 1900 Brend xx APR 1895 Brend xx APR 1883
Zeisler 11 JUN 1900 Zeisler 23 APR 1898 Zeisler 04 APR 1883
BG1 xx JUL 1900 BG1 13 APR 1895 BG1 xx APR 1883
BG2 08 JUN 1900 BG2 13 APR 1895 BG2 06 APR 1883
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
STOC STUD SUSS
+-+- +-+- +-+-
Bell xx JUN 1888 Bell 04 MAR 1881 Bell 19 NOV 1897
Christ 15 JUN 1889 Christ 03 MAR 1882 Christ 20 NOV 1896
Brend xx JUN 1888 Brend xx MAR 1881 Brend xx NOV 1896
Zeisler 15 JUN 1889 Zeisler 04 MAR 1881 Zeisler 19 NOV 1901
BG1 01 JUN 1889 BG1 04 MAR 1882 BG1 xx NOV 1897
BG2 15 JUN 1889 BG2 04 MAR 1881 BG2 19 NOV 1896
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
THOR TWIS VALL
+-+- +-+- +-+-
Bell 04 OCT 1900 Bell 14 JUN 1889 Bell 07 JAN 1887
Christ 04 OCT 1901 Christ 19 JUN 1889 Christ 07 JAN 1889
Brend xx OCT 1900 Brend xx JUN 1889 Brend xx JAN 1900
Zeisler 04 OCT 1901 Zeisler 21 JUN 1889 Zeisler 07 JAN 1888
BG1 04 OCT 1900 BG1 21 JUN 1889 BG1 07 JAN 1888
BG2 04 OCT 1900 BG2 18 JUN 1887 BG2 07 JAN 1888
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
VEIL WIST YELL
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Bell xx xxx 1896 Bell xx MAR 1895 Bell 18 APR 1882
Christ xx xxx 1890 Christ 21 MAR 1892 Christ 07 APR 1883
Brend xx OCT 1896 Brend xx MAR 1894 Brend xx MAR 1882
Zeisler xx OCT 1896 Zeisler 24 MAR 1902 Zeisler xx APR 188X
BG1 xx xxx 1896 BG1 xx MAR 1895 BG1 xx MAY 1887
BG2 xx OCT 1896 BG2 24 MAR 1890 BG2 07 APR 1888
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
These are the four footnotes to the extra dates suggested by by me
(John McGowan) in the above chronology.
(1) While Christ correctly notes that possible dates in 1898 are the only
ones with a full moon (for Hilton to see Elsie's face grow whiter in the
moonlight on dates which are limited in possibility by other internal
evidence), Zeisler mistakenly states that NO moon was available on dates
in 1888 (the year must follow one of the Jubilee Years, 1887 & 1897). A
moon is available (but only half full), and as Watson could determine
Bartholomew Sholto's hair colour by the light of a half moon while
peering through a key-hole (in SIGN) we must accept that Victorians were
more sensitive to light than are we (who have ubiquitous electric
lights), so I must accept an 1888 date as POSSIBLE; and as, for some
reason, the story has the "feel" of an early adventure, I have dated it
in 1888.
(2) Baring-Gould (in BG2) notes that we must have "almost dark" occurring
between 8:00 and 8:30 P.M. He uses the end of ASTRONOMICAL twilight to
determine the date. But the end of astronomical twilight is when the
faintest stars visible to the unaided eye appear... the correct approach
is to take a time between the end of CIVIL and the end of NAUTICAL
twilight... which yields a date in August.
(3) The only item which prevents a date in June is the couplet:
What was the month?
The sixth from the first.
Which does NOT appear in the Strand edition (nor in American editions),
however, the fact that the sun is due west (if one has an interior
stone-flagged passage) when Holmes finishes pacing out the Ritual (soon
after the tangent of the sun's angle was 2/3) demands a date for which
the time from such a solar altitude to the time when the sun is due west
is short (a date in high summer) and the discovery of the conical
depression left by Brunton demands a date for which the solar declination
does not change too rapidly (a date near the solstice). Merrill (in
"Holmes and Brunton: Civil Engineers," "The Case of the
Missing Calendar," and "Hurlstone Revisited" (in the Baker Street
Journal) argues against the conical depression (but accepts it) and
accepts Zeisler's analysis (for the most part) of the couplet. As the
couplet does not appear in the Strand, and there are other
interpretations of it, I feel that the short time demanded, and a better
analysis of the conical depression, DOES permit accepting the conical
depression and an interior passage, at least for dates near the solstice
(such as Christ's and mine).
(4) Most date the story in July or September (from internal statements as to
the month), but Zeisler notes that we are told that sunset occurs soon
after 7:00 P.M. (while Holmes and Watson are on the Thames) which occurs
in August and April (which is how Zeisler gets April). I prefer to split
the July/Sept difference and choose August with agreement with the time
of sunset. |
