The Mammoth Book of New Sherlock Holmes Adventures (83 page)

1853/4

Sherlock Holmes born. In “His Last Bow” (a case which began in 1912) Holmes is described as “a man of sixty”. No location is given in the canon.

1872

Likely date at which Holmes goes to college. No college is mentioned in the canon although research suggests that Trinity College, Dublin and Oxford are the most likely.

1873/4

Likely date of “The Gloria Scott“ (Holmes talks of his “two years at college”). This was the case that Holmes states first turned his attention to the idea of detection as a profession. Also the dating of “The Affray at the Kildare Street Club“ and “The Bothersome Business of the Dutch Nativity.”

1875

Holmes became aware of the puzzle of “
the disappearance of James Phillimore
“ though the case was not concluded until 1906. Note also the apocryphal cases written as “The Highgate Miracle” by John Dickson Carr and set in December 1893, though this date is clearly wrong, and “The Case of the Vanishing Head-Waiter” by June Thomson.

1877

Holmes settles in rooms in Montague Street, London, spending most of his time studying various branches of science. “Now and again” cases came his way. He does not mention the first two but the third was “The Musgrave Ritual“, likely to have happened in 1878.

1878/80

Holmes investigates many cases, only a few of which are referred to. These include “
The Tarleton Murders
“, “
Vamberry, the Wine Merchant
“ [written up by A. Lloyd Taylor]; “
The Adventure of the Old Russian Woman
“ [written up as “The Case of the Old Russian Woman” by June Thomson], “
The Singular Affair of the Aluminium Crutch
“ [written up by several writers including H. Bedford-Jones], and “
Ricoletti of the club-foot and his abominable wife
“. Other stories may be set at this time, especially those listed in “The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire” where Holmes’s comments suggest that Watson was not aware of the cases. These include “
Victor Lynch the Forger
“, “
Venomous Lizard or Gila
“, “
Vanderbilt and the Yeggman
“ [written up as “The Case of the Itinerant Yeggman” by June Thomson but dated June 1895 and to which she adds a sequel, “The Case of the Maplestead Magpie”] and “
Vigor, the Hammersmith Wonder
“ [written up as “The Case of the Hammersmith Wonder” by June Thomson but set in the early days with Watson; it is also incorporated in “The Case of the Paradol Chamber” by Alan Wilson]. In “The Speckled Band” Holmes is reminded of the case of “
Mrs Farintosh and the Opal Tiara
“ which was “before your time Watson”. Also to this period may be the cases referred to in “The Empty House”, especially
“Mathews, who knocked out my left canine in the waiting-room at Charing Cross“,
since Holmes needs to explain it to Watson, and perhaps also
“Merridew of Abominable Memory“.
Mortimer Mabley, referred to in “The Three Gables” was also one of Holmes’s earliest clients.

1880

July. The setting of “The Adventure of the Stalwart Companions” by H. Paul Jeffers in which Holmes and Theodore Roosevelt are involved in a US murder. This case has some possibilities but I regard it as highly apocryphal.

1881

January. Holmes and Watson meet. In the first few weeks at 221b Baker Street Watson observes various visitors, whose cases are not discussed. These include “
a young girl, fashionably dressed
“, a “
Jewish peddler
“, “
a slipshod elderly woman
“, “
an old white-haired gentleman
“ and “
a railway porter
“. There were also several visits by the police, especially by Lestrade, and Holmes later refers to helping him with “
a forgery case
“.

March. “A Study in Scarlet“.

October. “The Resident Patient“.

1882

February. “The Beryl Coronet“. Despite the argument by some commentators that no snow fell in London in February that year, this is clearly an early case because Watson is still a little surprised that Holmes urged him to accompany him. This month is almost certainly the setting for “Sherlock Holmes and the Case of Sabina Hall” by L.B. Greenwood. Winter. “The Devil’s Tunnel” by John Taylor.

1883

March. “Sherlock Holmes and the Somerset Hunt” by Rosemary Michaud.

April. “The Speckled Band“.

Summer. Uncertain date but likely time for “The Wandering Corpse” by John Taylor.

1884

The Missing Year. It is possible that this was the year of the cases known as “
The Delicate Case of the King of Scandinavia
“ and “
The Service of Lord Backwater
“.

1885

January. “The Case of the Incumbent Invalid“ based on “
the dreadful business of the Abernetty family
“.

April/May. “The Copper Beeches“. Although set by many commentators in April 1890, this is clearly an earlier case into which Watson slipped references to later cases for the purposes of his introductory argument.

1886

April. “The Yellow Face“. This is the earliest case to make reference to Holmes’s cocaine habit, though Watson had clearly known about it for some while. This year probably saw other cases alluded to by Watson including “
The Woman at Margate
“, “The Darlington Substitution Scandal“, “
The Arnsworth Castle Business
“ [written up as “The Adventure of the Red Widow” by Adrian Conan Doyle], “Vittoria, the Circus Belle“ and “The Adventure of the Suspect Servant.”

1887

In “The Five Orange Pips” Watson refers to a long series of cases in 1887 including “
The Paradol Chamber
“ [written up as “The Case of the Paradol Chamber” by Alan Wilson who linked it with Vigor the Hammersmith Wonder; and also by June Thomson who set it in November 1887 just after Watson’s marriage]; “The Adventure of the Amateur Mendicant Society“ [also written up as “
The Case of the Amateur Mendicants
“ by June Thomson set in June 1887 and under the same title by Ken Greenwald, set in November 1887]; “
the loss of the British bark
Sophy Anderson”, “
the singular adventures of the Grice Patersons in the island of Uffa
“ (included here as “The Adventure of the Silver Buckle“) and
“the Camberwell poisoning case“
[recorded as “The Adventure of the Gold Hunter” by Adrian Conan Doyle and John Dickson Carr, and as “
The Case of the Camberwell Poisoning
“ by June Thomson where it is set in Spring 1887 but confusingly after Watson’s marriage, and as “
The Case of the Camberwell Poisoners
“ by Ken Greenwald set in October 1887]. Also during this year was the
“death of Mrs Stewart of Lauder“
in which Holmes suspected Colonel Moran to be involved. In “The Norwood Builder” Holmes reminds Watson of the case of “
the terrible murderer, Bert Stevens
“ who wanted Holmes to get him off. 1887 was probably also the year of the “
Tankerville Club scandal
“ where Major Prendergast was accused of cheating at cards; it may also have been the year of “
The Bishopgate Jewel Case
“ which Holmes later used as an example in his lectures; and quite likely the year when Holmes and Watson captured “
Archie Stamford, the forger
“ an episode referred to in “The Solitary Cyclist”. January. “Charles Augustus Milverton“. Although included in
The Return of Sherlock Holmes,
this story has all the feel of a pre-Hiatus story. Watson needs introducing as a “friend”, meaning his work was not well known at that time, but he was sufficiently close to Holmes to be referred to as a “partner” and for Holmes to state that “we have shared this same room for some years”. Watson introduces the story by saying “it is years since the incidents … took place.”

Spring. “
The Netherland-Sumatra Company
“ and “
The Colossal Schemes of Baron Maupertuis
“, cases which led to Holmes’s ill-health [written up as “The Case of the Maupertuis Scandal” by June Thomson]. It may be to this period that “The Horror of Hanging Wood” by John Taylor belongs and one of the best known cases, “
The Giant Rat of Sumatra
“, for which the world is not yet prepared [written up as “The Case of the Sumatran Rat” by June Thomson who sets it after 1888 as Mycroft is referred to; and as “The Giant Rat of Sumatra” by Richard L. Boyer who sets it in September 1894].

April. “The Reigate Squires“.

August. “The Secret of Shoreswood Hall” by Denis O. Smith.

September. “The Adventure of the Silver Buckle“.

October. “Silver Blaze“. Although usually ascribed to October 1888 I prefer the earlier dating and must assume the reference to already published cases is wrong.

1888

By this time (as noted in “The Speckled Band”) Watson had made notes of over seventy of Holmes’s cases since they met in 1881. (It is possible the reference to “the last eight years” dates from the date “The Speckled Band” was written for publication, which was late 1891, so the seventy cases may relate to mid 1884-mid 1891.)

January. “The Valley of Fear“.

February. “The Case of the Sporting Squire“ (also known as “
Morgan the Poisoner
“).

Spring. Likely date for “The Adventure of the Unique Hamlet” by Vincent Starrett.

Summer (July/August). The unrecorded “
Manor House Case
“ followed by “The Greek Interpreter“, the first reported case in which Watson meets Holmes’s brother Mycroft.

August. “The Cardboard Box“. The case also refers to “
the bogus laundry affair
“ which Holmes had also worked on with Lestrade and which probably happened not long before.

September. “The Sign of Four“ in which Watson meets Mary Morstan whom he marries a few months later, and settles down again to local practice as a GP; “
The Little Problem of the Grosvenor Square Furniture Van
“; and “The Noble Bachelor“.

Autumn. Throughout the months of August–November Holmes was probably consulted on the Jack the Ripper case but this was one series of murders that Watson did not write up and probably explains some of the confusion in dates around this period. Michael Dibdin did explore the case in “The Last Sherlock Holmes Story”, which includes Moriarty, but is entirely apocryphal.

October. “The Hound of the Baskervilles“. Despite attempts to redate this to 1899 or 1900, Watson is clearly recounting an earlier tale. Although he dates it after his marriage it would seem to have happened prior to his marriage, and 1888 is the likeliest date to at least keep within a rough five-year time span from 1884 – the date on Mortimer’s stick. It may also seem strange that Watson is happy to drop everything and visit Dartmoor when in the stages of arranging his marriage and without any reference to his fiancée, but as we find elsewhere Mary Morstan was a very flexible and obliging wife who didn’t seem to worry about these things, and for the purpose of the story Watson decided to leave out reference to all of this. At the time of Baskerville’s death Holmes was involved in the case of “
the Vatican cameos.
” At the start of the Baskerville case Holmes states he is involved in a “
blackmail case
“ which could besmirch “one of the most revered names in England” [written up as “The Adventure of the Two Women” by Adrian Conan Doyle but set in September 1886]. November. “
Colonel Upwood and the card scandal of the Nonpareil Club
“ [written up as “The Adventure of the Abbas Ruby” by Adrian Conan Doyle though set in November 1886] and “
Mme Montpensier and Mlle Carère
“ [written up as “The Adventure of the Black Baronet” by Adrian Conan Doyle but set in October 1889].

1888/89

After Watson’s marriage and before he is next involved in a case (“A Scandal in Bohemia”) Holmes is involved in several cases including “
the Trepoff Murder
“ in Odessa [this is dated to November 1887 in “The Adventure of the Seven Clocks” by Adrian Conan Doyle and John Dickson Carr], “
the singular tragedy of the Atkinson Brothers at Trincomalee
“ (presented here as “The Vanishing of the Atkinsons“) and the “
delicate mission with the Dutch royal family.
”