The League of Heroes

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THE LEAGUE OF HEROES
by Xavier Maumejean
adapted by Manuella Chevalier - edited by Jean-Marc Lofficier

cover by Patrick Dumas

"We will probably never know how it happened. Some historians claim that it was the earthquake in Sanriku, others that it was the Fairy Folk themselves who, with their strange spells, opened the path between our universe and theirs. And others believe that the hole in the aether was created by Professor Cavor's early efforts to synthesize the prodigious substance now known as Cavorite in June 1896. Whatever the cause, the world has never been the same since that fateful day when the inhabitants of Neverland arrived in Kensington Gardens..." J.M. Barrie.

Lord Kraven, leader of Phileas Fogg's League of Heroes, battles alongside Sherlock Holmes, Lord Greystoke, Professor Cavor, English Bob, Captain Hook, Kid Colt, the Steel Comrade, Auguste de Grandin, Baron Stromboli and other colorful heroes to protect the mighty Empire of Albion from the dastardly villainy of Peter Pan, the Jade Mask, the deadly Doctor Fatal, the Pharaoh Im-Ho-Tep, Prince Sinbad, Fantômas, the otherworldly Horla and a host of other foes -- but is that all there is to his enchanted existence?

Xavier Maumejean is an award-winning French science fiction author.

Contents:
- La Ligue des Heros (2002) by Xavier Mauméjean

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Black Coat Press has published an English translation by Manuella Chevalier of La Ligue des Héros by Xavier Mauméjean. The French have a remarkable tradition of what I might call literate pulp literature, which joyfully mixes fantasy, science fiction and the roman policier. The related tradition in America and Britain matured from the comic book to the graphic novel with the input of writers like Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman, who have drawn some inspiration from Verne, Feval, Leblanc and others. Now it seems that they have inspired Xavier Mauméjean. The League of Heroes clearly owes something to The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, though its premise is, typically, even more fantastic. The inhabitants of Neverland have come to England (now Albion) -- except for Peter Pan, who declares himself the enemy of Albion. The League set up by Phileas Fogg to protect the Empire against Pan and other villains includes Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, Professor Cavor and Captain Hook, all under the command of Lord Kraven. It's all mad, breathless excitement, and great fun.
The District Messenger

Xavier Maumejean's The League of Heroes is one of the best books you've never heard of, I'm guessing. The League of Heroes starts deceptively simple, presenting the vintage pulp-esque adventures of a very Victorian, very British Doc Savage-type called Lord Kraven who, along with Sherlock Holmes and Lord Greystoke and spymaster Phileas Fogg, protects the British empire from the machinations of the rebel Peter Pan, whose otherworldly realm of Neverland invaded Kensington Gardens during the reign of Queen Victoria. Characters from fairy tales and Victorian fiction rub elbows with historical figures, often overlaid one atop the other (rebel Indian prince Sindbad takes the role of rebel prince Nemo, facing off against loyal British privateer James Hook, and so on). Then, in the second section, everything becomes a bit more complicated, as we're introduced to the Old Man who may have merely dreamt all of these fabulous adventures, living with his son-in-law and daughter in late sixties London, disconnected from the world around them. Similar inversions and reversals continue through the later chapters, until all the walls collapse in a mind-bending final reveal that caught me completely by surprise.

Throughout the first quarter of the book, reading about Lord Kraven and the rest of the League of Heroes, I thought this was a perfect yarn for any fan of Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (Moore is one of the writers to whom Maumejean dedicates the novel), and I don't think that's an incorrect assessment. But as the gradual mindfuck of the later sections gradually unfolded, I came to realize it's much more than that. There's something of Philip K. Dick's reality-inversion stories here, and something of the "What-the-hell?" vibe of the last episodes of The Prisoner and, like the stories of Alan Moore which inspired it, Maumejean's novel manages to deliver thrilling adventures while at the same time presenting commentary on those kinds of adventures. The League of Heroes is a solid read, a load of fun, and much smarter than a simple plot summary could ever suggest. I recommend it highly.
Chris Roberson

I'll talk about recursive fantasy, which The League of Heroes is a wonderful example of. In the Encyclopedia of Fantasy (EF) by Clute and Grant, recursive fantasy is described as "exploit[ing] existing fnatasy settings or characters as its subject matter." Recursive fantasy can be parody, pastiche, or revisionist re-examinations of earlier works such as fairy tales, pulp adventures, or extraordinary voyages. After reading The League of Heroes, it almost seems as though Mauméjean read this entry, and then wrote the book. Not only does League fulfill all of those requirements, being both tribute and indictment of simple comic-book heroism, the text also plays with what the EF calls "the flavor of true [recursive fantasy]", whereby "'real' protagonists [encounter intersecting] worlds and characters which are as 'fictional' to them as to us" (805). It is this intersection between the "real" and the "fictional" that sets The League of Heroes apart from other steampunk works. Pynchon plays with these ideas in Against the Day, but League presents them in a more accessible fashion. Mauméjean's prose is less dense than Pynchon's.

I found it deeply satisfying to be forced by Mauméjean's text, to wrestle through both the fantasy of the Empire of Albion, as well as the mundane reality of 1960s England, wondering how it all fits together. I found the ending perfectly appropriate, but others might be disappointed. I highly recommend it for those who love the world Moore and O'Neill introduced us to, but are looking for something a little less cynical, and a little more complex.
Steampunk Scholar

1830
Passage du Regency Bill which makes Victoria the heiress to the throne of the Empire of Albion from her predecessor, William IV.

1846.
First adventure of John Bull and Lady Guernsey, who oppose Sweeney Todd.

1850
(unknown month). Birth of Phileas Fogg.

John Bull and Lady Guernsey, allied with Charles O' Malley, the Irish Dragon, fight Varney the vampire.

1854.
(unknown month). Birth of Sherlock Holmes.

1856
(unknown month). Birth of Professor Cavor.

1857
May. Beginning of the Sepoy rebellion in India.

1858
June. End of the hostilities in India. Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton, Governor General of India, reinforces the power of Albion's East India Company, and prevents the attachment of India to the Crown. Frightened by the solidarity expressed by the Indian Army towards the rebels, Lord Lytton recruits the Black Lodge, a body of magi exiled by Aggartha, to repress all future revolts.

1872
October-December. Young person Phileas Fogg travels around the world, performing various missions on behalf of Albion's secret service. Its adventures, carefully rewritten, will be the basis of a YA novel published in France by Mr. Jules Verne, the following year.

1876
(unknown month). Birth of the man who will become Richard, Lord Kraven, Baron of Glen Bogle.

1878
November. Birth of John Clayton, Lord Greystoke.

1880
June. Nikola Tesla arrives in America and is hired by Thomas Alva Edison.

1882
March. Disappointed and frustrated by Edison, Tesla resigns and is immediately contacted by mysterious Shangri-La Electric Company, which builds him a super-laboratory on the island of Krakatoa.

1883
August 27. The experiments of Tesla lead to the explosion of Krakatoa.

1888
(unknown month). Birth of Rupert (Robert) Hammerstone, the man who will become English Bob.

December. Last adventure of John Bull and Lady Guernsey, who put an end to the crimes of Jack the Ripper.

1890
November. Bundelkund Rebellion in India. The family of Prince Sinbad is massacred by the Black Lodge and the forces of Albion; Sinbad swears revenge against the Empire.

1891
May. Death of Sherlock Holmes at the falls of Reinchenbach.

1895
(unknown month). Birth of Julian James, who will become the Moon Man.

1896
June 5. An earthquake, followed by a tsunami, makes 27.000 dead in Sanriku in Japan. The same day, Professor Cavor discovers Cavorite. Lastly, also the same day, around 5 p.m. (local time), the inhabitants of Neverland arrive in Kensington in London, where they are greeted by the sculptor George Frampton.

July. Lord Plumdrich starts to study the creatures of Neverland.

1897
May. The future “Lord Kraven” is recruited in Cambridge by Phileas Fogg and is then trained by Lord Plumdrich and Cavor.

December.
According to Fogg's instructions, Kraven starts to gather the future members of the League of the Heroes: Lord Greystoke and an Indian of Neverland who took up the mantle of the Great Detective. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 1 of the collection, entitled “Lord Kraven, Savior of the Empire”)

1898
February. Lord Plumdrich succumbs to an attack by Peter Pan, and becomes the redourtable “Doctor Fatal.” (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 2 of the collection, entitled “Albion Mourning. ”)

June. Lord Kraven takes part in the Paris-Asterdam race to save Lady Darling from the claws of Professor Diabolos. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 3 of the collection, entitled “Grand Prix. ”)

August. Dispatched on a mission to Arizona, the new Sherlock Holmes meets Bud “Kid” Colt, leader of the Navajo Rangers, and together, they free George Patton from the claws of Chupacabra. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 4 of the collection, entitled “Mañanitas. ”)

November. Charged with finding the Mona Lisa which has just been stolen, Lord Kraven goes to Venice and is confronted by Prince Spada, King of the Calabrian Thieves. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 5 of the collection, entitled “The Venice Affair. ”)

Publication of the War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells.

1899
January. The lair of Krakatoa is rebuilt. The Siddhârta, the submarine of Prince Sinbad, is finished. His revenge campaign against Albion begins.

March. Lord Kraven cannot prevent the death of John Bull and Lady Guernsey during the adventure of the Impossible Club and its strange puppet theatre. Depressed by the death of his idols, Kraven withdraws from the League temporarily. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 6 of the collection, entitled “The Tragedy off the Yiddish Theater off Kentish Town. ”)

June. Professor Cavor takes up the duties of Lord Plumdrich.

July. Sherlock Holmes investigates the sudden collapse of the Archbishop of Canterbury and discovers the enigmatic Uncertain Ballet. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 7 of the collection, entitled “The Mouths of Demonia. ”)

September. The Diamond Consortium of Antwerp begs Lord Kraven to return to help them to fight the diabolic enchanter known as Dame Vulpinia. Lord Kraven meets English Bob. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 8 of the collection, entitled “The Return off Lord Kraven. ”)

October. English Bob joins the League.

December. Colonel Plumdrake, a veteran of the Indian Army, suddenly decides to change his will, but some claim that he is already dead... Sherlock Holmes learns to be wary of Cavor's inventions. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 9 of the collection, entitled “The Strange Case off the Living Dead off Caldwell. ”)

1900
February. Prince Spada steals the Pink Elephant diamond from the palace of Topkapi. Kraven investigates. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 10 of the collection, entitled “The Jewels off Abdulhamit. ”)

March. Victoria is proclaimed Imperatrix of Neverland. The Crystal Palace is officially proclaimed Court of the Fairy Folk.

April. Greystoke lands on Skull Island, not far from Sumatra, and discovers that the cannibals who live there are not the only threat... (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 11 of the collection, entitled “The Giant Gorilla off Sumatra. ”)

June. Publication of The Traveller'd Guide to London by Karl Baedeker in Leipzig which recommends to the tourists to be careful in their interactions with the creatures of Neverland.

August. Using all the resources of his airship HMS Albion Ascending, Lord Kraven and English Bob free the Prince of Wales, prisoner of Prince Spada. Kraven kills Spada in duel. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 12 of the collection, entitled “The Prisoner off Ingolstadt. ”) During the adventure above, Kavor invents the armour of the MechaMen.

September. Ceremonies of attachment of the creatures of Neverland to the Empire of Albion, being held at the Crystal Palace. Victoria demonstrates her recognition to the members to the League.

1901
January 22. Death of Victoria, succeeded by Edward-Albert VII.

February. Funeral of Victoria.

May. The League is sent to Haiti to put an end to the crimes of Baron Samedi. Kraven finds Spada turned into a zombie. English Bob is initiated in the rites of the Capoïera. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 13 of the collection, entitled “Prisoners off Baron Samedi. ”)

June. The Jade Mask arrives in London, accompanied by the Living Terror Who Walks. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 14 of the collection, entitled “The Blue Terror. ”)

October. Phileas Fogg is the victim of a plot at the annual banquet of Reform Club. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 15 of the collection, entitled “The Case off the Extroverted Autophage. ”)

1902
January. The strange toy store of Anton Banacek is the theatre of a series of horrible murders. The Shangri-La Electric Company faces the League for the first time. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 16 of the collection, entitled “Robotor. ”)

February. First publication of A Young Child's Guide to History by J. M. Barrie by Hodder & Stoughton in London, which warns the children of the Empire against Peter Pan.

April. In France, Sherlock Holmes fights the Horla, a powerful renegade exiled from Neverland and almost falls victim of the Curse of the Eternal Madness. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 17 of the collection, entitled “Shadow off the Horla. ”)

June 26. Ceremonies of the coronation of Emperor Edward-Albert VII.

December. Lord Greystoke returns to Congo on the trail of gun trafficker Turckle Darksmith. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 18 of the collection, entitled “The Eyes of the Moon. ”)

1903
January. Lord Kraven joins forces with Lord Greystoke in New York to stop Turckle Darksmith before he uses the powers of the Moonstone. Bud “Kid” Colt guest-stars. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 19 of the collection, entitled " The Ghost off the Hudson. ")

July. Lord Kraven and English Bob investigate the case of a couple of schizophrenic Siamese twins. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 20 of the collection, entitled " The Mystery of the Ubiquitous Killer. ")

November. Lord Kraven goes to a secret base in Thulé, Greenland, to solve a mysterious series of disappearances. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 21 of the collection, entitled "The Invisible Viking. ")

1904
February. Doctor Fatal kidnaps Phileas Fogg. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 22 of the collection, entitled " Murder in Crimson. ")

June. Peter Pan takes Dame Vulpinia to a mysterious " House " who seems to exist out of time and space. Death of Vulpinia. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 23 of the collection, entitled " The House on the Edge of Tomorrow. ")

1905
March. In Berlin, Lord Kraven inquires into the strange hunting parties of Baron Von Tod. Thanks to Cavor's " Quick-Read " method, Kraven learns German. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 24 of the collection, entitled " Murder in Berlin. ")

October. English Bob is captured by the Trilogic Triad of San Francisco. Lord Kraven goes to Chinatown to deliver his young assistant from the clutches of the Jade Mask. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 25 of the collection, entitled " The Wharves off San Francisco. ")

1906
July. The French police discovers the corpse of the Marquis de Charançolles with his right arm cut off, but a left arm is lying at his feet! Lord Kraven joins forces with Auguste de Grandin to solve the mystery. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 26 of the collection, entitled " The Puts the One-Armed Marquis off. ")

September. Doctor Fatal attacks the Congress of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. First " death " of Lord Kraven. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 27 of the collection, entitled " The Deadly Doctor Fatal. ")

1907
January. Sherlock Holmes tackles the insoluble case of the murder of Lord Shamwell. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 28 of the collection, entitled " Dancing a Deadly Tango. ")

June. In Rome, Lord Greystoke finds himself captive of the Mother of Sighs in the Catacombs. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 29 of the collection, entitled " The Black Idol. ")

1908
November. The Horla returns and challenges Sherlock Holmes to a strange duel. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 30 of the collection, entitled " The Claws offthe Horla. ") The same month, Lord Kraven is forced to join forces with Peter Pan and return to the House on the Edge of the World to destroy the threat of a terrifying God of the Chaos who threatens to invade our dimension. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 31 of the collection, entitled " The Sow. ") The same month, Prince Sinbad destroys Bombay and Calcutta with a vril-powered bomb. The Black Lodged, headed by Numa Pergull, is impotent to stop him. Sir Phileas Fogg decides to send Lord Greystoke and Captain Hook after Sinbad.

1909
February. Lord Greystoke and Hook overcome Sinbad on the island of Krakatoa. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 32 of the collection, entitled " The Eggs of the Rock. ")

May. The House of Lords rejects the Fairy Folk Pension Act. The Prime Minister, Herbert Asquith, and the Chancellor, David Lloyd George, ask Emperor Edward-Albert VII to form a new government. The Emperor refuses and forces an general election in the autumn, the results of which are unfavourable for him. Edward-Albert becomes gravely sick.

September. In Tibet, Lord Greystoke, Sherlock Holmes and French agent Auguste de Grandin prevent the Jade Mask from carrying out his plans for the conquest of Asia. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 33 of the collection, entitled " The City off Ultimate Fear. ")

1910
January. Lord Kraven defies the German submariner Kapitan Mors in the ruins of Atlantis. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 34 of the collection, entitled " Death At 3,000 Fathoms. ")

February. The Sultan of Jarawak asks Lord Kraven to investigate mysterious events happening in its harem. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 34 B of the collection, entitled " The Adventure of the Harrowing Harem. ")

May 6. Death of Emperor Edward-Albert VII. George V becomes the new Emperor.

December. A mysterious adversary destroys the ships of Albion off the Moroccan coasts. Lord Kraven investigates. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 35 of the collection, entitled " The Werewolf off Gibraltar. ")

1911
March. In Egypt, Lord Kraven uncovers the adversary who was threatening the interests of Albion in North Africa: Pharaon Im-Ho-Tep and the sect of the Sons of the Pharaon. With the help of Doctor Moreau and Auguste de Grandin, Kraven triumphs over his enemy after a trying stay at the Cairo Asylum. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 37 of the collection, entitled " The Sons of the Pharaoh. ")

October. In Prague, Sir Phileas Fogg is found suddenly metamorphosed into a giant cockroach. Sherlock Holmes investigates. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 37 of the collection, entitled " The Metamorphosis of Sir Phileas Fogg. ")

1912
January. French super-villain Fantômas launches a challenge to the League of Heroes. He gathers around him four frightening opponents. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 38 of the collection, entitled " The Frightful Five. ")

May. The House at the Edge of the World is attacked by Ever-Dead. Lord Kraven must cross the Eternal Bridge to save Albion. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 39 of the collection, entitled " Return off the Sow. ")

(unknown month). Birth of Zyd; her father is a hairdresser in Pimlico.

Publication of the Memories of Lady Wendy Darling.

1913
March. Captain Hook requests the help of Lord Greystoke to return to Neverland and fight one of his former enemies. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 40 of the collection, entitled " The Night of the Black Freighter. ")

June. Sherlock Holmes is framed for murder in Washington. Bud " Kid " Colt comes to his rescue. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 41 of the collection, entitled " The Red Tiger. ")

1914
Spring. Albion is threatened by an invisible enemy, an epidemic against which the League is, for the first time in its history, powerless. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 42 of the collection, entitled " Influenza. ")

August 4. Declaration of War between Albuon and the Holy Prussian Empire, following the invasion of Belgica by the Prussian troops.

August. The Council of Heroes meet. Bud " Kid " Colt announces his government's intention to not assist Albion in her conflict with Prussia. A little later, Colt is implicated in a sordid sexual affair at the Bertram's hotel. The incident is suppressed by Major James West of the American Secret Service with the complicity of the Office of Information Management, a propaganda bureau created by Fogg. Lord Greystoke, disgusted, offers his resignation to Fogg, who rejects it and send the Lord to " rest" in a village in Wales. An official statement is given to the Press, but the break-up of the League with the Americans is consumed.

October. A sect of Prussian magi tries to bring back to Earth the pagan god Wode. The League tries to stop them and faces the Siegfried Legion. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 43 of the collection, entitled "Walpurgis Night. ")

1915
May. To recapture secret plans stolen from the Admiralty, Lord Kraven and English Bob embark on board the Lusitania. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 44 of the collection, entitled " The Lusitania Affair. ")

September. A nurse suspects a doctor of stealing the eyes of his patients. Sherlock Holmes investigates. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 45 of the collection, entitled " The Strange Case of the Symbiotic Cartel. ")

1916
January. Lord Kraven fights Kapitan Mors and his fleet of Flying Dragons which devastate Albion with fire and blood. Lord Greystoke is reported missing. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 46 of the collection, entitled " Albion Is Burning! ") The Prussian = campaign continues until April.

May. The events of Bloody Friday in Glasgow, during which Lord Kraven opposes the labor movement of John McLean and David Kirkwood; deaths follow. English Bob resigns from the League and joins the Army where he is soon promoted corporal. (This episode of the life of Lord Kraven will be never fictionalized.)

September. Prussia wins the battle of Verdun.

1917
January. The Prussian forces invade the southern part of Albion.

July. Lord Kraven, dressed in the armor of a MechaMan, prevents the Prussian forces from seizing London and turns the fate of the war in favor of Albion. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 47 of the collection, entitled " The Hammer of Portsmouth. ")

1918
February 10. Vladimir Lenin refuses to sign the treaty of Brest-Litovsk and Russia enters the war against Prussia.

March. Prussian retreat.

21 April. Lord Kraven defies Baron Von Tod in the air above the Somme and nills the Red Baron (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 48 of the collection, entitled " The Eagle Has Crashed. ")

November 11. Armistice.

November 28. Abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm.

December. Xcorporal Robert Hammerstone is demobilized.

1919
January 10. Dinner at the Reform Club between Sir Phileas Fogg and Lord Kraven, during which Kraven details his intentions to make a pacifist speech in favour of a League of Nations at the Conference of Versailles; Philéas Fogg does not appreciate the sudden independence of his agent.

January 12. Speech of Lord Kraven at Versailles. Also attending the conference are Sherlock Holmes, Bud " Kid " Colt (representing the United States), Leo Saint-Clair the Nyctalope (representing France), Baron Stromboli (representing Italy), Prince Zenith (representing Romania), Aleksander Dovzhenko, the Steel Comrade (representing Russia) and Kio Hako (representing Japan). The speech of Kraven is badly received by warlike parties and revanchists.

March 14. Assassination of Lenin. Lev Davidovich Bronstein becomes the new Russian leader. During the purges that follow, Dovzhenko is sent in Siberia.

April. Lord Kraven again faces the Shangri-La Electric Company and its Karnophage. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized as No 49 of the collection, entitled " Honest New World. ")

July. The Affair of the Three Eyes, which will be never fictionalized. The initiatives of Lord Kraven increasingly worry Sir Phileas Fogg.

1920
January 10. First meeting of the League of Nations; creation of the International League of Heroes.

January. Lord Kraven takes part in a polar expedition sent to the Antarctic in search of traces of an extraterrestrial vessel (following the discoveries of the Three Eyes). He disappears during the expedition and is supposed to have died in the explosion of his airship HMS Albion Ascending II. (In another universe, this adventure will be fictionalized in a curiously altered version and will comprise No 50 and the last of the collection, entitled " The Ice Tomb. ")

N.B. The " death " of Lord Kraven represents the point of divergence between the temporal line which leads to a fascist Albion as described in the LEAGUE OF the HEROES, chromicled below, and one where Lord Kraven returns, as described in L' ERE DU DRAGON, not chronicled here.

July. Creation of the Communist party of Albion.

November 11. Beginning of the campaign of Peter Pan against Albion. Events of Bloody Sunday in Ireland. No longer trusting the League of Heroes, Sir Phileas Fogg creates the Double-Zero Agents.

1921
April. Bronstein withdraws the Bolshevik Republic from the League of Nations.

Spring. Successive conflicts between Sherlock Holmes and Baron Stromboli.

June. US president Harding annexes Alaska. Between the Russians and the Americans, an " iron curtain " has just fallen from Seattle to Vladivostok.

July. First failed peace treaty between Albion and Ireland.

1922
March. Dissolution of the International League of Heroes.

May. Albert Einstein emigrates to the United States.

August 22. Attempted assassination of the Irish leader Michael Crichton by an 00 Agent of Sir Phileas Fogg . The civil war starts in Ireland.

1923
August 2. Death of President Harding. His vice-president, Bud " Kid Colt " Blaine, becomes President of the United States.

November 8. In Prussia, the Beer Hall putsch fails, thanks to the schemes of a 00 Agent. Adolf Hitler is jailed. Alfred Rosenberg becomes the leader of the National Socialist party.

1924
March. The mathematician Henri Poincaré becomes the President of the French government and launches France in an ambitious extra-dimensional research program organized under the direction of the Twelfth Bureau.

April 24. Adolf Hitler is executed.

20-21 May. Charles Lindbergh crosses the Atlantic in the Spirit of St Louis, benefiting from help from Peter Pan.

November. Bud Colt is elected President of the United States.

1925
January 3. Cesare Stromboli, nicknamed It Barone, assumes full powers in Italy.

July 18. In Prussia, Rosenberg publishes Der Mythus of the 20 Jashunderts, denouncing the Communists, the Jews and the fairies.

Publication of Neverland: In Scientific Theory by J.R.R. Tolkien.

July. The Dullahan unites the various Irish factions and puts an end to the civil war.

December 6. Signature of the Second Treaty between Albion and Ireland.

1926
January. The third Transportation Act is passed by the Parliament. Deportation of the creatures of Neverland to Ireland begins.

April. Sir Phileas Fogg becomes Prime Minister, replacing Sidney Baldwin, who had opposed the Transportation Act.

In the United States, Hugo Gernsback publishes The Amazing Story of Nikola Tesla.

May 3. General strike according called by Peter Pan and the Communist party of Albion.

June. Martial law.

Autumn. First cases of a new disease called the " Consumption " which strikes the Fairies in the ghettos of London. Some suspect the Office of Bacteriological Research of Dr. Moreau.

December 3. Agatha Christie meets Sherlock Holmes and agrees to write plays for him.

1927
May 9. The aviators Nungesser and Coli disappear during the first French experiment of extra-dimensional exploration.

October 24. London Stock Exchange collapses; beginning of the Great Depression.

October 29. Suicide of lEmperor George V, replaced by Edward VII.

December 10. Abdication of Edward VII caused by the publicity given by Fogg to his scandalous affairs.

December 13. Creation of the Second Republic of the Commonwealth of Albion; Phileas Fogg is made Lord Protecteur. Sir Oswald Mosley becomes First Deputy and Director of the Office of Racial Services.

1928
January 17. In Russia, Bronstein is assassinated and Joseph Vissarionovich Jughashvili called Starshego Brata (Big Brother) seizes power. The Steel Comrade is immediately released from the Gulag and returns to Moscow to become the principal agent of S.B.

(unknown month). Zyd joins the Young Republican Academy.

March 1. The Lindbergh baby is kidnapped.

Also in March, political trials in with Bristol. Many trade unionists and political opponents to Fogg's regime are condemned to death; Cavor is placed under forced residence at Lympne Castle. Strengthened allianmce between Albion and the United States.

Sherlock Holmes is sent to America to solve the Lindbergh case; he will remain there until May 13.

September. The civil servant Eric Arthur Blair of the Office of Information Management writes Memorandum No 2 which becomes the basis for the philosophy of oppression and propaganda of Fogg's regime.

November. Re-election of Bud Blaine Colt in the USA.

December. Execution of Gandhi in India. Opening of the Theatre of Crime in London.

1929 Spring. The Mysterious Affair At Canterbury staged at the Theatre of Crime, by modifying and drastically edulcorating the events of The Mouths off Demonia, with the Uncertain Ballet being replaced by the League of Cricket of Canterbury.

A.K. Chesterton is named Ministre for Performing Arts.

July 24. In France, Henri Poincaré resigns for health reasons and is replaced by Paul Langevin, called Miraculas. The first successes of extra-dimensional flights by French aviator Jean Mermoz.

July. Beginning of a joint space research program between the USA and Albion, managed by Alan Turing and Cavor in Albion, and Robert Goddard (called " Moony ") and Albert Einstein in the USA. Captain Julian James becomes The Moon Man. The powerful lobby of Gun Club and the Church of the Mormons, of which president Colt is a member, support the program.

Autumn. The Murder in the Cemetery with the Theatre of Crime, modifying and drastically edulcorating the events of The Strange Case of the Living Dead offCaldwell, with the Necronomicon being replaced by the East Sussex Railway Guide.

Autumn. Failure of the American space program. Death of Julian James, kept top secret. Goddard goes to Lympne to help Albion.

September. Right before the Prussian elections, the Steel Comrade assassinates Rosenberg. In the USA, the FBI falsely identifies the murderer of Baby Lindbergh as a Bolshevik Agent.

October. Sherlock Holmes and the Steel Comrade meet at the island of Dogs. Dovzhenko is assassinated by 00 Agents.

Winter. The Big Five at the Theatre of Crime, modifying and drastically edulcorating the events of The Frightful Five. The part was written for Laurence Olivier to play the part of Fantômas.

Publication of The Moon Man: The Life of Major Julian James by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

1930
Spring. The Mystery of the White Train at the Theatre of Crime, modifying and drastically edulcorating the events of The Strange Case of the Symbiotic Cartel , with the collection of eyes being replaced by a diamond river.

Autumn. The Murder off Roger Shamwell at the Theatre of Crime, modifying and drastically edulcorating the events of Dancing a Deadly Tango. The play is interrupted when Sir Oswald Mosley asks Sherlock Holmes to investigate Turing's murder at Lympne Castle, under the supervision of the recently promoted Commissioner Zyd. Holmes meets Cavor and Goddard. Bedford, Cavor's assistant, is also murdered. Holmes starts to suspect that Lord Kraven was assassinated as well. Death of Tiger Lily. Holmes meets then Peter Pan and the Dullahan which put it on the trail of the the originator of the plot: Fogg humself. Confrontation of Holmes and Fogg. Suicide of Holmes.

N.B. The events after the suicide of Holmès remain uncertain; only some dates and facts survive.

December. In Hollywood, Sergei Eisenstein adapts War of the Worlds.

1931
January 2. Death of Dr. Moreau.

1933
Publication of The Shape of Things to Come, a biography of Professor Cavor bt H.G. Wells. (Cavor probably perished in the destruction of Lympne plotted by Fogg.)

1936
July. In Hollywood, David O. Selznick adapts the biogrsaphy of Lord Kraven (Enter the Lion: The Tulmutuous Life and Times of Lord Kraven) by Arthur Pyke.

1948
Eric Arthur Blair publishes Freedom is Slavery: Considerations on the Rise and Fall of a Totalitarian State, which leads us to believe that Fogg's Republic was overthrown and replaced by a democratic regime.