Chronologies

Any work of fiction holds a chronological position within its author's career. Thus, "Tomorrow's Children" (1947) was Poul Anderson's first published story, I think. (I regularly get historical or numerical details like this wrong.) Secondly, a story can have a different kind of chronological position as an instalment within a series. Thus, "Tomorrow's Children" became the first part of Twilight World. (Please correct me if I am going wrong here.)

Brian Aldiss' 1976 Introduction to Anderson's Brain Wave describes the work as "...this first novel..." (p. 7) However, Vault Of The Ages (1952) and Three Hearts And Three Lions (1953) preceded Brain Wave (1954). (I am assuming here that I got all these dates right when I compiled Significant Dates but I might check on that.)

Thus, we might say that Vault Of The Ages preceded Anderson's Technic History in the first kind of chronological order although not in the second kind. However, "Tiger By The Tail," (1951) "Honorable Enemies" (1951) and "Sargasso of Lost Starships" (1951) all preceded Vault Of The Ages and were later incorporated into the eventual Technic History. "Significant Dates," assuming that its dates are accurate, shows how various works and series interpenetrate in the first chronological sense. The novels and stories that separate into distinct series are parts of a single creative process.

Tuesday afternoon will be taken up with my cataract operation and the weekend after next will be spent in London in the cause of greater understanding of current conflicts.

Fair winds forever.