The Mammoth Book of New Sherlock Holmes Adventures

Appendix I: A Complete Chronology of Sherlock Holmes Cases

There have been many attempts at producing a definitive chronology of Sherlock Holmes's career, and whilst they may agree on some things many also beg to differ. This list is probably no different in that respect, but it is what I believe to be the position so far as I know it.

The list covers all known cases in which Holmes was involved, and attempts to date them as accurately as possible. The stories in bold print are the sixty stories in the original Doyle canon. Those in italics are the unrecorded cases noted by Watson. Where these cases have been written up by others their authorship is noted. Those in normal roman print are new (i.e. apocryphal) cases, not mentioned by Watson, but subsequently identified by others as found amongst Watson's papers. This last list is not exclusive, as I have deliberately left out those cases which concentrate on other characters (e.g. Irene Adler, Billy the Page, Inspector Lestrade, Moriarty or Mrs Hudson) or which are very evident spoofs and not to be taken seriously, such as involvement with fictional characters created by others, like Dracula or Fu Manchu. There are also many minor pastiches that weren't worth listing plus, I am sure, many others of which I don't have copies.

The stories included in this anthology are shown in small capitals.

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 dub-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 thatWatson was not aware of the cases. These include "Victor Lynch the Forge', "Venomous Lizard or Gila", "Vanderbilt and the Yeggman" [written up as "The Case of the Itinerant Yeggman" by JuneThomson 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 andTheodore 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 Paterson 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 1888I 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."

1889

March. "A Scandal in Bohemia". Despite the internal dating of March 1888 this is clearly set after Watson's marriage. This is the case which deals with Irene Adler.

May/June. "A Case of Identity". At this time Holmes reports he has some ten or twelve minor cases in hand. He had also just helped clear up "The Dundas Separation Case". The case refers back to Holmes tracing the "husband of Mrs Etherege" which probably happened a year or two earlier.

June. "The Adventure of the Fallen Star", "The Stockbroker's Clerk", "The Man with the Twisted Lip" and probably "The Engineer's Thumb". Either now or earlier was also the case of "Colonel Warburton's Madness" mentioned in "The Engineer's Thumb" [written up as "The Adventure of the Sealed Room" by Adrian Conan Doyle and dated April 1888 though erroneously set after Watson's marriage; and as "The Case of the Colonel's Madness" by June Thomson set in July 1890]. Ken Greenwald sets "The Case of the Baconian Cipher" in the same month.

July. "The Adventure of the Second Stain" [written up as "The Adventure of the Green Empress" by F.P. Cillié and set in July 1888]; "The Adventure of the Naval Treaty" and "The Adventure of the Tired Captain" [written up under that title by Alan Wilson]. August. "The Crooked Man."

September. "The Five Orange Pips". Despite

internal inference that this story is set in 1887 it is clearly after Watson's marriage, and after "The Sign of Four". At this time Holmes commented that he had been beaten four times, thrice by men and once by a woman.

November. "The Case of the Exalted Client" by June Thomson, and "The Adventure of the Megatherium Thefts" by S.C. Roberts.

December. "The Blue Carbuncle."

1890

Spring. "The Strange Case of the Tongue-Tied Tenor" by Carol Buggé.

June. "The Boscombe Valley Mystery".

June/July. "The Adventure of the Purple Hand" by Denis Ó. Smith.

Autumn. "Sherlock Holmes and the Thistle of Scotland" by L.B. Greenwood.

September. Possible date for "The Adventure of the First-Class Carriage" by Ronald Knox.

October. "The Red-Headed League".

November. "The Dying Detective". The same date is chosen for "The Problem of the Purple Maculas" by James C. Iraldi.

1891

April/May. "The Final Problem" leading to Holmes and Moriarty plunging over the Reichenbach Falls on 4 May.

1891/4

The Great Hiatus during which period Holmes travelled extensively, mostly in disguise. He states he spent two years in Tibet (under the alias of the Norwegian Sigerson – written up as "Murder Beyond the Mountains" by Ken Greenwald), then travelled to Persia, Mecca, Khartoum, returning to France where he undertook scientific experiments. This period is also covered by Nicholas Meyer in "The Canary Trainer" (a title suggestive of the 1895 case but not the same) which brings Holmes and the Phantom of the Opera together.

1894

February. "The Empty House" (not April as recorded in the story). The story refers to Watson's own "sad bereavement" following the recent death of his wife. March. "The Second Stain." A different case to others with this title. Despite reference to Autumn this episode clearly happened earlier in the year. The episode must have been early enough in the month to allow for a further case, involving the arrest of Colonel Carruthers (about which we otherwise know nothing) and for Holmes to get bored for lack of cases before the onset of "Wisteria Lodge". The story's reference to 1892 is clearly wrong. This must be the same case as "The Papers of ex-President Murillo" referred to in "The Norwood Builder."

Summer. "the shocking affair of the Dutch steamship Friesland, which so nearly cost us both our lives" [written up as "The Case of the Friesland Outrage" by June Thomson set in November 1894].

August. "The Norwood Builder".

September. "The Adventure of the Dorset Street Lodger."

October. "The Mystery of the Addleton Curse" (based on "the Addleton tragedy and the singular contents of the ancient British barrow" [also written up as "The Adventure of Foulkes Rath" by Adrian Conan Doyle set in 1894; and as "The Case of the Addleton Tragedy" by June Thomson set in November 1894]; "The Adventure of the Parisian Gentleman" (based on the case of "Huret, the Boulevard assassin") and "The Adventure of the Inertial Adjustor."

November. "The Adventure of the Touch of God" (based on the case of "the terrible death of Crosby the Banker"); "The Golden Pince-Nez" and "The Sunreys of Canterbury" by Miles Elward.

From 1894-1901 Watson records that Holmes was "very busy", with hundreds of private cases plus frequently being consulted on many major public cases. In "The Golden Pince-Nez" he refers to three volumes of his notes about the cases, which include "the repulsive story of the red leech", and "the Smith-Mortimer succession case" [written up as "The Case of the Smith-Mortimer Succession" by June Thomson set in September 1894].

1895

Watson highlights 1895 as a year when Holmes was on top form. Cases included "the sudden death of Cardinal Tosca" to "Wilson, the notorious canary-trainer" [written up as "The Adventure of the Deptford Horror" by Adrian Conan Doyle and set in June 1895; as "The Case of the Notorious Canary-Trainer" by June Thomson set in January 1895; and as "The Adventure of the Notorious Canary Trainer" by Ken Greenwald though this is set in Summer 1908] both of which happened in the first half of the year.

March. "The Adventure of the Persecuted Painter"; "The Three Students".

April. "The Solitary Cyclist". Watson undertook the initial investigation of this case because Holmes was busy with the case of the "persecution of John Vincent Harden the tobacco millionaire" [a case later written up as "Sherlock Holmes and the Devil's Grail" by Barrie Roberts; and as "The Case of the Millionaire's Persecution" by June Thomson]. This month is also cited for "The Adventure of the Marked Man" by Stuart Palmer and "Sherlock Holmes and the Mysterious Friend of Oscar Wilde" by Russell A. Brown.

May. "Prisoner of the Devil" by Michael Hardwick. July. "The Adventure of Black Peter". About this same time occurred "The Ball of Twine" by Miles Elward.

September. "The Case of the Harley Street Specialist" (written up by June Thomson: it recounts Holmes's dramatic introduction to Dr Moore Agar referred to in "The Devil's Foot").The same month is the timing for "The Case of the Featherstone Policeman" by Tony Lumb (despite the erroneous internal dating of 1893) and "The Hentzau Affair" by David Stuart Davies. October. "The Case of the Man Who Was Wanted" [aka "The Adventure of the Sheffield Banker"] by Arthur Whitaker, a story once believed to be by Doyle but clearly apocryphal. It contains many inconsistencies including a reference to Watson's wife still being alive. If that is true this story may fit better into October 1889.

November. "The Bruce-Partington Plans". This case also refers to Brooks and Woodhouse, two of some fifty criminals who would wish to see Holmes dead. December. "The Adventure of the Grace Chalice" based on the case of Henry Staunton.

1896

Spring. At some early part of this year Holmes helped Mr Fairdale Hobbs, a small matter later referred to in "The Red Circle".

Summer. "The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax". At the time of this case Holmes was involved with the problem of "old Abrahams in mortal fear of his life" an episode later written up as "The Case of the Shopkeeper's Terror" by June Thomson.

October. "The Veiled Lodger".This case also refers to the case of "the politician, the lighthouse, and the trained cormorant" which could have happened at any time up to Holmes's retirement W.R. Duncan Macmillan wrote this up as "Holmes in Scotland" and dated it August 1899 or 1900; June Thomson wrote it up as "The Case of the Abandoned Lighthouse" and set it in July 1903]. "The Adventure of the Suffering Ruler".

November. "The Sussex Vampire." Ken Greenwald set "The Adventure of the Headless Monk" in the same month. This month would also encompass the little episode of "The Field Bazaar" and the second case of "The Repulsive story of the Red

Leech".

Winter. "The Case of the Demon Barber" by Ken Greenwald.

1897

January. "The Abbey Grange".

February. "The Red Circle" and "The Adventure of the Faithful Retainer."

March. "The Devil's Foot" which follows from Holmes's health suffering due to pressure of work. July. "The Dancing Men".

December. "The Missing Three-Quarter". This is also the likely date for "The Silent Night Before Christmas" by Gene DeWeese, set at Christmas.

1898

April. "A Trifling Affair" by H.R.F Keating.

May. "The Egyptian Hall Adventure" [aka "The Randolph Case"] by Val Andrews.

July/August. "The Retired Colourman". This case ran into the case of "the two Coptic Patriarchs".

1899

December. "The Adventure of the Iron Box" by Ken Greenwald.

1900

February. "The Case of the Suicidal Lawyer" based on "The Abergavenny Murders" which is noted as coming up for trial at the start of "The Priory School".

May. "The Six Napoleons", followed immediately by "The Conk-Singleton Forgery Case".

September. "The Out-of-Date Murder" by Ken Greenwald.

1901

April. "The Legacy of Rachel Howells."

May. "The Case of the Ferrers Documents" [written up as "The Adventure of the Dark Angels" by Adrian Conan Doyle] and "The Priory School".

October. "The Problem of Thor Bridge", a case which followed a month of trivialities and stagnation. This case refers to earlier cases which are undated but which probably happened during the 1890s and include "The Disappearance of the cutter Alicia", and the fate of "Isadora Persano" with its worm unknown to science [written up as "The Case of the Remarkable Worm" by June Thomson set some time after Watson's first marriage].

1902

Spring. "Sherlock Holmes and the Arabian Princess" by John North [Val Andrews].

May. "Shoscombe Old Place".

June. "The Three Garridebs". In this same month Holmes refused a knighthood "for services which may perhaps some day be described." After this case Watson moved out of Baker Street and set up practice again.

July. "The Revenge of the Hound" by Michael Hardwick.

September. "The Illustrious Client".

1903

January. "The Blanched Soldier". In this story told by Holmes himself, not Watson, Holmes refers to Watson having "deserted" him for a wife. Whilst Watson had indeed remarried, he had far from deserted Holmes and was involved in the case for the "Sultan of Turkey" presented here as "The Adventure of the Bulgarian Diplomat".

June. "The Mazarin Stone" and "The Three Gables". Sometime around now would also be the case of "The Phantom Organ" by John Taylor.

September. "The Creeping Man".

October. Holmes retires to a house on the Sussex Downs and spends his time beekeeping. In "Exit Sherlock Holmes", Robert Lee Hall suggests the retirement was prompted by the reappearance of Moriarty.

1906

April. "The Brighton Pavilion Mystery" by Val Andrews, which is entirely apocryphal. At this time Holmes was with Watson in America and resolving "The Enigma of the Warwickshire Vortex."

1907

July. "The Lion's Mane".

1909

March. "The Adventure of the Second Generation" by Ken Greenwald in which Holmes meets the daughter of Irene Adler.

1914

August. "His Last Bow", a case which began in 1912.

1918

November. "The Case of the Last Battle."

1920s

The passing of Holmes and Watson is not noted and some writers continue their adventures into the thirties and forties. These are all apocryphal. Watson was a year or two older than Holmes so both had entered their 70s by the mid-20s. Watson died soon after publication of The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes in 1927. The final date of Holmes's death is not known. One touching story of these last years is "How a Hermit was Disturbed in His Retirement" [aka "The Adventure of Hillerman Hall"] by Julian Symon where Holmes is visited by a very young Miss Marple.