Reckoning of exact case dates based on the chronology presented in Paul Thomas Miller's 2019 book Watson Does Not Lie. This may not be the traditional choice, but it is the chronology with which I have disagreed the least. Problematically, because it takes Watson at his (famously inconsistent) word, Wisteria Lodge is placed within the hiatus between The Final Problem and The Empty House, when Holmes is presumed dead. I do not agree with this, but I have yet to set aside the time to find my own solution to the question, so for now it will remain there.
Dates are written YYYY-MM-DD. The table shows only the date of the beginning of the case; full date ranges are found on the page for each case. Some cases, such as The Second Stain, are narrowed down to a season rather than a specific date, possibly resulting in incorrect ordering of the list; therefore, some judgment is required on the user's part to determine the proper order.
Tip: If you have JavaScript enabled, you can click a table header to sort the cases by that column. Click again to reverse the order. By default, they are listed in order of publication.
| Case | Set in | First published |
|---|---|---|
| A Study in Scarlet | 1881-03-04 | 1887 |
| The Sign of Four | 1888-07-07 | 1890-02 |
| A Scandal in Bohemia | 1888-03-20 | 1891-07 |
| The Red-Headed League | 1890-06-27 | 1891-08 |
| A Case of Identity | 1890-03-17 | 1891-09 |
| The Boscombe Valley Mystery | 1889-06-06 | 1891-10 |
| The Five Orange Pips | 1887-09-29 | 1891-11 |
| The Man with the Twisted Lip | 1887-06-15 | 1891-12 |
| The Blue Carbuncle | 1890-12-27 | 1892-01 |
| The Speckled Band | 1883-04-05 | 1892-02 |
| The Engineer's Thumb | 1889-06-29 | 1892-03 |
| The Noble Bachelor | 1887-10-14 | 1892-04 |
| The Beryl Coronet | 1884-02-09 | 1892-05 |
| The Copper Beeches | 1891-03 | 1892-06 |
| The Silver Blaze | 1891-04-02 | 1892-12 |
| The Cardboard Box | 1889-08 | 1893-01 |
| The Yellow Face | 1884-04 | 1893-02 |
| The Stock-Broker's Clerk | 1889-06-01 | 1893-03 |
| The Gloria Scott | 1875-Summer | 1893-04 |
| The Musgrave Ritual | 1877-06 | 1893-05 |
| The Reigate Squire | 1887-04-25 | 1893-06 |
| The Crooked Man | 1887-08-16 | 1893-07 |
| The Resident Patient | 1881-10 | 1893-08 |
| The Greek Interpreter | 1888-07 | 1893-09 |
| The Naval Treaty | 1887-07-27 | 1893-10 & 11 |
| The Final Problem | 1891-04-24 | 1893-12 |
| The Hound of the Baskervilles | 1889-09-23 | 1901-08 |
| The Empty House | 1894-04-01 | 1903-10 |
| The Norwood Builder | 1894-08-11 | 1903-11 |
| The Dancing Men | 1898-07-27 | 1903-12 |
| The Solitary Cyclist | 1895-04-27 | 1904-01 |
| The Priory School | 1901-05-16 | 1904-02 |
| Black Peter | 1895-07-10 | 1904-03 |
| Charles Augustus Milverton | 1886-01-04 | 1904-04 |
| The Six Napoleons | 1900-06 | 1904-05 |
| The Three Students | 1895-03-15 | 1904-06 |
| The Golden Pince-Nez | 1894-11-15 | 1904-07 |
| The Missing Three-Quarter | 1897-12-13 | 1904-08 |
| The Abbey Grange | 1897-01-18 | 1904-09 |
| The Second Stain | 1886-Autumn | 1904-12 |
| Wisteria Lodge | 1892-03-19 | 1908-09 & 10 |
| The Bruce-Partington Plans | 1895-11-22 | 1908-12 |
| The Devil's Foot | 1897-03-16 | 1910-12 |
| The Red Circle | 1902-09-24 | 1911-03 & 04 |
| The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax | 1894-Autumn | 1911-12 |
| The Dying Detective | 1889-08-03 | 1913-12 |
| The Valley of Fear | 1887-01-07 | 1914-09 - 1915-05 |
| His Last Bow | 1914-08-02 | 1917-09 |
| The Mazarin Stone | 1903-Summer | 1921-10 |
| The Problem of Thor Bridge | 1900-10-04 | 1922-02 & 03 |
| The Creeping Man | 1903-09-06 | 1923-03 |
| The Sussex Vampire | 1897-11-20 | 1924-01 |
| The Three Garridebs | 1902-06-26 | 1925-01 |
| The Illustrious Client | 1902-09-03 | 1925-02 & 03 |
| The Three Gables | 1902-Summer | 1926-10 |
| The Blanched Soldier | 1903-01-21 | 1926-11 |
| The Lion's Mane | 1907-07-23 | 1926-12 |
| The Retired Colourman | 1899-06-04 | 1927-01 |
| The Veiled Lodger | 1896-10 | 1927-02 |
| Shoscombe Old Place | 1883-05-05 | 1927-04 |