My Sherlock Holmes Chronology list

[Carol the Dabbler]

21 hours ago, Karnak said:

Couldn't "when you doctored" mean "when you received the title as a doctor"? In spanish this is the case, apparently.

I doubt that's what Holmes meant.  I've never heard it used that way, but of course I speak American (rather than British) English, so I checked the Collins Dictionary (my favorite online dictionary that covers both American and British usage), and its only British definition as a non-transitive verb is "to practise medicine."

21 hours ago, Karnak said:

some people still refers to [the opera house] as Covent Garden nowadays, due to the market where is located.

Well, there's my new bit of knowledge for the day!  I've always thought that "Covent Garden" refers specifically to the market -- and Wikipedia confirms that it used to be a wholesale vegetable market (i.e., selling things that grown in gardens), as seen in My Fair Lady (after having been the garden, orchard, etc. of a monastery or convent).

 

[Karnak]

On 4/6/2022 at 1:11 AM, Chronologist said:

which is clearly a mistake on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s part

Another mistake of many others. I cannot take seriously a writer that doesn't know how to count. He could have used his fingers if needed. Another thing: there is no explanation about why the professor had this nine-days interval break, I mean, why did he have two episodes in a row, the night of the 4th and the night of the 5th, for what Holmes said that would suppose a difficulty. With everything, though, I found the story inreresting and kinda creepy. I liked it.

[Karnak]

17 hours ago, Carol the Dabbler said:

I've always thought that "Covent Garden" refers specifically to the market

Holmes refers to the market in "The blue carbuncle",  but to the ROH in this one, both saying "Covent Garden".  The Wikipedia says "Former names: Theatre Royal, Covent Garden (until 1892)". That's why I thought we could not discard that this story could take place before Holmes' return. But if, as you said, "when you doctored" means "when you practiced the medicine as a doctor", then, as Chronologist said, this story can only take place after the returning of Holmes and before Watson's second marriage. So I admit my mistake and I apologize.

[Carol the Dabbler]

7 hours ago, Karnak said:

Another mistake of many others. I cannot take seriously a writer that doesn't know how to count. He could have used his fingers if needed

I haven't looked to see what specific passage of Doyle's you're talking about -- but sounds like it could be merely another example of Arthur "Continuity" Doyle's inattention to detail.  He considered the Holmes stories to be mere potboilers, with his historical fiction being his true legacy (and apparently the reason he was knighted).

7 hours ago, Karnak said:

With everything, though, I found the story inreresting and kinda creepy. I liked it.

... which presumably explains why Holmes is still so popular, despite ACD's sloppy writing.

7 hours ago, Karnak said:

I admit my mistake and I apologize.

Hey, no need to apologize for an honest mistake!

 

[Karnak]

On 5/30/2026 at 5:40 AM, Carol the Dabbler said:

sounds like it could be merely another example of Arthur "Continuity" Doyle's inattention to detail.  He considered the Holmes stories to be mere potboilers

Even with that, there are some mistakes that cannot be forgiven. I also like to write (I write, but I am not a writer) and I can't conceive not only those chronological mistakes but also simple maths mistakes. And speaking about that, I am now at the start of "the veiled lodger" and just at the very beginning we have another inconsistency: Watson said Holmes' career was 23 years, 17 of those were with him cooperating. Well, considering that Holmes retired December 1903, since 1875 we have 28 years, and since 1881, 22 years. I mean, I am sure ACD knew some simple maths, didn't he? It is not an excuse (at least for me), that he didn't like the character much. I will always love SH, but for those kind of things is that I found the original stories kinda disappointing, and I have a lot to say about how the stories are written. I have no doubt that SH has trascended due to his many adaptations rather than the original stories. And may sound like a cliché, but I consider that the best adaptation by far is BBC's Sherlock.

By the way, can anyone really believe that Sherlock Holmes retired in 1903 until his death in 1957? Because I DON'T. A man that was constantly craving a crime to occur, a man that shot at the wall when he was bored, etc, he retired to Sussex to be a beekeeper. That's where I think ACD could have written something more interesting for Holmes' end, such as being shoted, or making him have a terminal ill from 1903 to 1914. Those things would justify that he retired. But sorry, I am just venting. With that, I am three stories away from finishing, and having read all of them in a row for four months, I would lie if I say it has been an adventure that I haven't enjoy.

[Carol the Dabbler]

On 5/31/2026 at 3:05 AM, Karnak said:

I am three stories away from finishing, and having read all of them in a row for four months, I would lie if I say it has been an adventure that I haven't enjoy.

You've got far more stamina than I do!  I've read maybe half of ACD's Holmes stories over the past several years.  I enjoyed most of them, some more than others of course.

 

On 5/31/2026 at 3:05 AM, Karnak said:

I have no doubt that SH has transcended due to his many adaptations rather than the original stories. And may sound like a cliché, but I consider that the best adaptation by far is BBC's Sherlock.

You're probably right that the adaptations have helped keep the stories alive.  But if they hadn't been popular as first published, they'd never have been adapted.  You'd be amazed how many people can read right over arithmetic errors and other inconsistencies without noticing them, because they're only paying attention to the plot.

I agree that BBC Sherlock is (for the most part) the best of the modern-day adaptations.  But if you haven't already seen them, you should check out Grenada Television's Victorian-era adaptations with Jeremy Brett as Holmes.

 

[Karnak]

7 hours ago, Carol the Dabbler said:

with Jeremy Brett as Holmes.

I already watched some of them and I love it. Maybe I am going to watch the whole episodes but, this time, in chronological order, please.