The Mammoth Book of New Sherlock Holmes Adventures

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 fiancee, 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 Carere' [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