Posted by Robert Hill on January 12, 2006 at 16:10:18 from 195.92.168.165 user eclrh.
In Reply to: Re: Ages of main protagonists. posted by Jock on January 12, 2006 at 14:53:07:
I think there are references, not just in SD but throughout the rest of the series, which show that SD was meant to be one year after S&A. AR must have forgotten, when he set SD in 1931, that he had placed S&A in 1929.
There are a number of apparent inconsistencies about the characters' ages, though it's a long time since I last discussed them, and I'd have to re-read the entire series to remind myself of all the textual evidence for them. I'm going from some dimmish memories here.
The biggest problem is Bridget. Her 2nd birthday occurs in S&A, which is set near the end of the school summer holidays. In SD, which is set near the start of the summer holidays, less than one year later, she is already 3. I'm not sure there might not be a refernce near the end to another birthday coming up, which would have to be her 4th!
A little over one year after that, in SW, she behaves like about 6-7, and seems to be allowed to use matches, despite the fact that Roger was still not allowed to use them in WH, when he must have been 8 or 9.
The second problem is Peggy, who is described in S&A as being as the same size as as John. My belief is that when writing S&A, AR imagined Peggy as about the same age as John. But in the later books she seems to be younger that Susan. I think there may be 2 or 3 references suggesting this in WH; there is certainly one in which Dot thinks Peggy is not much older than herself. In ML, when they take their places in the dragon in order of size, Peggy is smaller than Susan. In PM, Peggy has the same shoe size as Dot.
The third problem is Dick. He's generally presented as quite young, but in PM he's done qualitative analysis at school, which I think he would probably have done around 16-17. I'm fairly sure it wouldn't ever have been in O level chemistry, or School Certificate as it would have been then.