Timeline of Raffles Stories

The following text was archived from the now-defunct “Annotated AJ Raffles” site by Lisa D Jenkins. I have copied it here only to preserve it for current & future readers – none of it belongs to me.

Be warned that this page contains spoilers, so if you haven't read the stories yet, go no further!

Pre-Game (school days)

1862 or 1863 - Raffles's birth	Bunny states many times that he was in "the middle fourth" year of school when Raffles was "the upper sixth." This places Raffles at about four to six years Bunny's senior. The age difference between the two main characters in Hornung's "After the Fact" was four years, which was the original template for the Bunny and Raffles characters.
1867 - Bunny's Birth	Bunny wrote that he was 30 in "An Old Flame," which is dated August 1897. Also in "The Spoils of Sacrilege," Raffles observes certain architectural details about Bunny's childhood home which dates it to this period of "the late 'sixties...or else early in the 'seventies."
1880 - Bunny and Raffles meet at school	Estimated based on their ages when they were at school together. Also, it coincides with the first meeting between Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, who apparently met in late 1880/early 1881. It could be a sly tip of the hat by Hornung to his brother-in-law for people like Conan Doyle's followers who were creating time-lines for the Holmesian stories
1881 - Raffles attended university	Several stories allude to Raffles's time at university, some stories saying Oxford ("A Costume Piece"), some saying Cambridge ("Mr. Justice Raffles"), and one saying both ("The Field of Philippi")!
December 1881 or 1882 - Raffles' first venture into crime	Raffles's first venture into crime occurs when he went to Australia to play cricket as he tells it in "Le Premier Pas." He mentions going to the Melbourne Cup prior which always takes place the first Tuesday of November (November 1, 1882), and that he could not play in the "big Christmas [cricket] match" because he had cut his hand. A Test Match was played in Melbourne right after Christmas in both 1881 and 1882. If in 1881, it would not have been for The Ashes, as the cup was not offered until August 1882. However, it is never indicated whether or not he played for The Ashes.

First Innings (The Albany)

This era is when Raffles lived at the Albany and Bunny lived (generally) at Mount Street. It starts on the night when Bunny loses at a game of baccarat between Raffles and a few of Raffles's friends, and ends when the two are served with warrants for their arrest before they can make away with a priceless pearl.

The Ides of March: March 14-15, 1891	The title of the story indicates the month and day. Raffles tears off the March 14 date from a calendar as he indicates the date in the action of the story. The year is derived from subsequent stories. A note, however, March 14, 1891 was a Saturday, which meant that Bunny's bank would not be re-opening for yet one more day. If on purpose, it's possible that Hornung chose this date both for effect (the crime occurring on the Ides of March) and irony (Bunny had one more day to find funds before worrying about disgrace). Or he was unaware his chosen date presented such a problem.
A Costume Piece: April 1891	Bunny mentions that it was "barely a month" since his first adventure with Raffles, and he notes that "[t]here was no moon," on the night of the heist. In 1891, April's new moon occurred on the 8th.
Out of Paradise: May 1891	Bunny dates it in his "narrator's note" (which is printed as part of the story itself in most collections).
Gentlemen and Players: July 13-August 15, 1891	This story cites an exact day of the week which allows the previous tales to be dated to 1891. Bunny writes, "It was on Monday, August 10, that we were due at Milchester Abbey, Dorset." This date occurs in 1891 and 1896. The story begins "on the second Monday in July."
Le Premier Pas: August 15-16, 1891	Bunny explains that the telling of this tale takes place "[t]hat night," implying that he and Raffles spoke of Raffles's first crime the night they returned from Milchester.
Wilful Murder: October 1891	Bunny mentions an unrecorded heist which took place "some eight or nine weeks after the Milchester cricket week" which had already been established as August 10-August 15. The events of "Wilful Murder" take place "the evening after [their] return from Ireland..."
Nine Points of the Law: unknown, likely 1892	There are no clues on the exact timing of this tale, except an indication in the following tale, "The Return Match" where Bunny writes, "we had both been independent of crime since our little service to Sir Bernard Debenham..." thus placing it somewhere between "Wilful Murder" and "The Return Match."
The Return Match: November 1892	Bunny says it was "one thick evening in the following November," and in a conversation between Raffles and Inspector MacKenzie: "My name is Raffles, and we met at Milchester last year."
The Criminologist's Club: February 1893	Bunny states that "It was the inhospitable month of February," and another character asks Raffles to repeat the story "about that poor fellow who suffered the extreme penalty last March," which prompts Raffles to tell a story he heard about the Test Match in Australia which occurred the year before. As this is an event in history, it can be placed at the end of March 1892. Two earlier crimes are also referenced: the jewellery heist over the "Ides of March," and Lady Melrose's necklace from "Gentlemen and Players."
The Chest of Silver: March 31 - April 1-3, 1893	Bunny called it "the year after that of my novitiate," which should put it in 1892; however, Bunny is misled to believe their old foe Crawshay has escaped from prison again, which occurred in "The Return Match." Also, Inspector Mackenzie is now suspicious of Raffles. The Easter holiday is mentioned several times throughout, which occurred on April 2nd in 1893.
The Gift of the Emperor: June - July 1895	Bunny mentions June as the date at the beginning of the story, and Raffles proposes that they spend July in the Mediterranean. One discrepancy, Raffles mentions that Crawshay "slipped clean through [Mackenzie's] fingers last November," but "The Return Match," although in November, was back in 1892. A full date is supplied in the next book of stories which helps to date "The Gift of the Emperor," and it is significantly later than 1893. Bunny mentions days of the week periodically throughout the story, allowing it to be more-or-less dated through to the middle of July.
A Bad Night: July 16-18, 1896	A most problematic dating for this story as it refers to a very specific historical event (the Second Test Match which occurred "at Old Trafford, on the third Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in July"), yet the first story in the Second Match era is dated specifically May 11, 1897, and Bunny states that he was incarcerated for 18 months ("No Sinecure"). This means that Bunny may be fudging details in various stories, thus mis-dating them as a means of protecting himself and Raffles or even third parties from dishonour or worse.

Stories that cannot be dated but also fall into this era:

The Rest Cure	Bunny begins his tale with "It was late in August," a popular time for vacationing.
The Field of Philippi	Bunny says, "The bicentenary loomed but a year ahead," but as he never mentions which school he and Raffles went to (although in general Hornung used his own school of Uppingham for inspiration for his stories, but their bicentenary took place in 1884).
A Trap to Catch a Cracksman	Bunny describes "that bright March morning" when he seeks out Raffles the day after the caper.
The Spoils of Sacrilege	When Bunny declares that he is willing to rob the place on his own, Raffles jokes, "Not again, Bunny, not again," which may indicate that this comes after "A Bad Night." Bunny also provides "[t]he damp night-air of April" and "the wan light of the April stars."
Mr. Justice Raffles	Bunny does mention a "July evening" near the close of the tale.

Second Match (Mr. Maturin and Ham Common)

No Sinecure: May 11, 1897	Bunny provides the date. This helps in back-dating the years of the previous stories when Bunny writes of his prison sentence, "One does not do eighteen months for nothing." If he has been out since April, counting backwards puts his imprisonment beginning in September 1895 which matches with the months leading up to the heist of the pearl in "The Gift of the Emperor
A Jubilee Present: June 1897	Bunny writes, "The Diamond Jubilee was upon us...." Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee was a historical date which was officially celebrated on June 22, 1897.
The Fate of Faustina: August 1897	Bunny mentions the month.
The Last Laugh: September 1897	Bunny mentions the month.
An Old Flame: Autumn (September-October?) 1897	Bunny mentions that it is Autumn.
The Wrong House: March 1898	Bunny writes about the weather at Ham Common from November to March, and then the purchase of the bicycles. Also, Raffles makes use of an electric torch which was invented in 1896.
The Raffles Relics: December 1899	Bunny provides the date.
The Knees of the Gods: December 1899 - June 1890	Bunny writes, "It was, of course, the winter before last, and we had done nothing dreadful since the early autumn." In this story, they go off to fight in the Boer War which was fought between October 1899 through May 1902. They left England "at the beginning of February." Near the end of the story, Raffles reminds Bunny that it was "only six months ago" they had started thinking seriously about the war.
The Last Word: June 28, 1900	The date is written on Bunny's fiancée's letter.
Summer 1907 - Bunny and Teddy Garland meet up again	From chapter 19 of Mr. Justice Raffles, Bunny writes that he is now 40. In "An Old Flame,” Bunny is 30 in 1897, thus placing this event in 1907.

A story unable to be dated properly in this era:

To Catch a Thief

As they are still living under the roof of Dr. Theobald, it takes place in 1897, but no month is known. At the end of the story, they speak of the flat being "like an oven" and a ferocious thunderstorm comes on swiftly, which speaks of late summer more than the autumn weather which occurs in "The Last Laugh" and "An Old Flame," the two stories which bookend this one in order of publication.