The Long Way Home
Reminder Page
Introduction
Ever start reading a story and realise partway through that you can’t quite remember how the previous parts went? It may just be that I’m very forgetful, but it happens to me all the time.
So, as a service to you and to help me to remember to actually answer all those burning questions, I present the Reminder Page.
By the way, I’ve spaced everything out liberally to avoid spoilers for those who don’t want them.
Story 0: Do You Remember When . . .
An introduction to the universe. Honey and Diana have a sleepover at Trixie’s place to celebrate Trixie’s 35th birthday. They give her a photo album filled with memories as a gift and the three talk and laugh about the good times they’ve had together.
Unanswered questions from this story include:
- What does the Little Shop of Horrors have to do with Anne Murray?
- Who is Honey’s sweetie? Or her room-mate for that matter?
- Who is Di’s ex-boyfriend in the last picture mentioned?
Back to The Secret of the Rose
Story 1: The Secret of the Rose
Jim and Brian have finished high school but are yet to begin college. A surprise inheritance gives Jim a house - Rose Cottage - right next door to the Manor House, some family treasures and a glimmer of hope that he might have another living relative.
While the Bob-Whites band together to fix up Jim’s new house, Trixie investigates. At the end, she relates the story of another tragedy in Jim’s family history.
Tip: If you still haven’t quite remembered all the details, go to the Timeline page and scroll down. There’s plenty of dates there for events in this story.
Story 2: Miss Bates’ Puzzle
The Bob-Whites revisit Cliveden one year after their first trip. Miss Bates has a little puzzle for Trixie to solve, seeing as she did so well the first time.
This story takes place within the timeframe of the previous one, The Secret of the Rose. (See also the previous section.)
Story 3: The Broken Years
From the time when Jim and Brian start college to when Trixie starts, taken from Trixie’s diary.
A number of things have changed:
- Brian is studying pre-med at the University of Buffalo in upstate New York
- Jim is studying at Columbia University in New York City
- Honey has rebelled against all expectations of her and says that she no longer wants to be a detective
- Jim is no longer aiming to open a school
- Trixie has decided to study archaeology
- Trixie’s school guidance counsellor has suggested that she take CLEP exams to gain college credit before she starts
- Mart and Di have started dating and later broken up
- Celia has had a baby boy, Alex
- Celia’s replacement, Isabella, dates Regan
- Regan and Isabella marry and within eighteen months they have a baby daughter, Gianna
- Mart commences studying Agriculture at Cornell, in Ithaca, upstate New York
- Dan commences studying Computer Science at Binghamton University in upstate New York
Unanswered questions from this story include:
- What happened to Honey the weekend she spent in Buffalo?
- What is Brian’s secret?
- What did Brian ask Trixie to hide?
- Who is Trixie’s secret admirer?
- What did Diana throw at Mart when they broke up?
Back to The Trouble With Antonia
Story 4: The Trouble With Antonia
We join Trixie and Jim in New York City just after Trixie begins college. She is studying Archaeology at Hunter College, part of the City University of New York. Diana is studying Art History at UCLA. Honey has disappeared.
This story focusses on Trixie’s new room-mate, Antonia, who has inadvertantly become involved in the theft of a valuable painting.
At the end of the story Trixie and Jim have their first date.
Story 5: Lover’s Knot
A series of snapshots of different relationships between the Bob-Whites and selected others.
A number of things have changed:
- Di has changed majors at UCLA and is now studying Film and Television
- Di breaks up with her boyfriend
- Brian, beginning medicine, meets a girl
- Honey starts studying at the same college as Trixie
- Honey’s first novel is published
- Dan moves to New York City and starts dating Honey
- The Regans have had a second child, Philip
Story 6: Under the Apple Tree
Celia finds a box buried in the orchard. This leads to a long-ago mystery and Trixie and Jim set out to solve it.
Jim inherited Rose Cottage from Thelma Henley. Her sister, Agatha, was engaged to be married to Frederick Hamilton. On his way to see her one day he is killed in a train crash. Agatha was pregnant and single in the early 20th century.
Story 7: Too Many Changes
Di transfers once again and moves to New York City. She is surprised by the changes she sees in her friends. She sets about organising a reunion of the Bob-Whites and eventually succeeds.
Di is particularly surprised by:
- Honey’s short, dyed-red hair
- The fact that Jim is no longer aiming to run his own school
- Trixie’s control over her curiosity
- Dan’s new hobby of cake baking
- The fact that Honey and Dan have moved in together
Story 8: Falling
A flashback triggered by a single line in the previous story: “Just don’t give us the ‘living in sin’ lecture, okay? ” [Dan] replied. “I’ve had enough of that one from Uncle Bill. ”
Explores how Dan and Honey came to have a relationship in the first place, let alone move in together. Also looks at how Dan copes with the consequences of deciding to move in with Honey.
Story 9: The Mystery of the Missing Elf
The Beldens’ Christmas is interrupted by the discovery that their heirloom elf, Dinky, is missing. Trixie gets into detective mode to track down the little rascal.
Story 10: Ourobouros
Diana’s Bob-White reunion gets off to a rocky start but thanks to some persuasion on Trixie’s part everyone shares their grievances and they start to move past them.
Questions which are answered in this story include:
- Who is Honey’s room-mate (#0)?
- What happened to Honey the weekend she spent in Buffalo (#3)?
- What is Brian’s secret (#3)?
Story 11: The Ends of the Earth
Mart takes some time off to work and travel. He meets the Matthews family in Australia. He spends Christmas with them before going on to New Zealand and then home to finish college.
While in New Zealand, he burns a letter which has been bothering him for some time.
Unanswered questions from this story include:
- Who is Latisha?
- What did Mart and Latisha do?
(Tip: There’s a page with maps and other information on his trip which you can find here.)
Story 12: Growth Rings
This story is a companion piece to the next one, Mystery in the Mail, and deals with the events of Trixie and Jim’s lives at the same time as the mystery.
Tom and Celia decide to move out of Rose Cottage. After receiving a job offer in Sleepyside, Jim moves in but the distance puts a strain on his relationship with Trixie. She decides to put her studies on hold and live in Sleepyside as well. They announce their engagement at the end of the story, along with a wedding date in seven weeks’ time.
Story 13: Mystery in the Mail
A sequel to Under the Apple Tree (see above). Trixie looks for Miss Henley’s child, a Mrs Harris, and the solution is tantalisingly close. Someone is trying to keep them apart.
The someone (who turns out to be a certain unpopular secondary character from the books) kidnaps Mrs Harris and is shot and killed in the ensuing siege.
Story 14: Seven Weeks
The seven weeks between Jim and Trixie’s engagement and their wedding, seen through Helen Belden’s diary.
Unanswered questions from this story include:
- Is Trixie pregnant?
Story 15: The Music Box
Jim and Trixie discover a little mystery on their honeymoon at Easthampton, and compose some very bad poetry.
Questions which are answered in this story include:
- Who is Trixie’s secret admirer (#3)?
Story 16: Inside Information
Dan fills you in on what's been happening with the BWGs. Some of the main points are:
- Di and Honey are beginning to have trouble with publicity,
- Mart has moved back to his uncle's in Iowa,
- Trixie is working for the same archaeologist that she did summer work for,
- Jim and Dan are also both working,
- Di has broken up with her latest boyfriend.
Unanswered questions from this story include:
- Who is Mrs. Parker?
- What is Mart hiding?
- What is Di's secret?
Questions which are answered in this story include:
- Is Trixie pregnant (#14)?
Story 17: Tell Me a Secret
The second Bob-White reunion, held at the Manor House, is plagued by trouble when items start disappearing. In the course of solving the mystery, Trixie unearths quite a number of secrets.
Unanswered questions from this story include:
- What was the worst mistake of Mart's life?
Questions which are answered in this story include:
- What does the Little Shop of Horrors have to do with Anne Murray (#0)?
- Who is Latisha (#11)?
- What did Mart and Latisha do (#11)?
- Who is Mrs. Parker (#16)?
Back to Genesis
Story 18: Genesis
A new beginning for Diana, when she breaks up with Lennox, then finds out that she is pregnant. Ends with the birth of baby Imogen.
Questions which are answered in this story include:
- What is Di's secret (#16)?
Story 19: The Broken Window
When Jim has to travel for work, he thinks he will be leaving Trixie at home, but a sudden change in circumstances allows her to accompany him. On arrival at their destination, Trixie encovers a mystery connected with the house next door, starting with a broken window and ending in mortal danger.
Story 20: Fascination
This story follows Mart and Daphne as their friendship develops into something more. When Mart is sent to New Zealand for a conference, Daphne travels there to meet up with him and they share their first kiss. Several months later, Daphne travels to the U.S. so that they can be together some more. They are left with a dilemma of how to deal with a very long-distance relationship.
Story 21: Winter’s Approach
When Honey decides to buy a house, she inadvertently awakes a lost memory for Dan. Trixie and Honey begin an investigation and partly solve the case, to the point of tipping off the police to the culprits in a long-unsolved crime. They do not, however find out how the people in the case connected to Dan.
Unanswered questions from this story include:
- Who was Dinah Veivers and how was she connected to Dan?
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