Pauline

Timeline

Circa 1920 & 1921:
Pauline is born.
Pauline's parents are killed in a shipwreck.
Gum finds her on a lifebelt.
Gum tries and fails to find whose baby Pauline is, and in the end adopts her.
His niece Sylvia names her Pauline Brown.

Circa 1922:
Pauline becomes an older sister when Gum rescues an orphaned Petrova from a Russian hospital.

Circa 1924:
Pauline becomes an older sister again when Gum sends an orphaned baby Posy home with a pair of ballet slippers, the only thing Posy ever receives from the mother who didn't want her.
Gum goes away on an adventure.
Four months later, Gum sends home three necklaces for "the little fossils": coral for Posy, pearls for Petrova, and turquoise for Pauline.
Pauline questions what to call Sylvia. In the end, it's decided that Sylvia should be called "Guardian," but Pauline mispronounces the word and it is "Garnie" forevermore.

Circa 1926:
Pauline and Petrova attended Cromwell House.
Pauline decides that she is not Pauline Brown. Because Gum had called them all his little fossils, she names herself Pauline Fossil and her sister Petrova Fossil.
With some consideration (and pressure from Nana), Pauline and Petrova decide to let Posy be a Fossil too, even though they consider her too babyish.

Circa 1928 & 1929:
Due to financial troubles, Pauline and Petrova are taken out of school.
Sylvia and Nana start renting rooms to boarders. The girls help renovate the rooms for them.
The Simpsons move in. Theo Dane, an instructor at the Children's Academy of Dancing and Stage Training, moves in soon after, followed by Doctors Smith and Jakes.
Because Pauline has a cold, she does not have to go out on her morning walk with the others. Because of this, she meets Doctor Jakes, who first introduces her to Shakespeare.
Thanks to meeting with and talking to Doctor Jakes, Pauline plans to have her and her sisters' names become famous. The sisters vow for the first time: "We three Fossils vow to try and put our name in history books because it's our very own and nobody can say it's because of our grandfathers."
Doctors Smith and Jakes offer to teach Pauline, Petrova, and Posy for free.
Theo Dane introduces to Sylvia the idea of the girls going to the Children's Academy of Dancing and Stage Training.

Circa 1929:
The girls attend the Children's Academy for free on the condition that they pay the Academy back through their earnings.
Pauline shows her talent for acting in her very first term at the Academy.

Circa 1930:
Pauline's second term begins with more advanced acting lessons as well as a class for acting in French.
The girls receive expensive watches for Christmas. The straps on the watches match the necklaces Gum gave them.

Circa 1931:
Pauline is given her very first parts to learn in the Academy's plays, Cinderella in the French play Cendrillon and Tyltyl in The Blue Bird.
Pauline dances on her points for the first time in dance class.
Pauline and Petrova try to keep Posy from getting an ego by teasing her whenever she's praised.
On the day of the play, Pauline decides that they should vow again because it's a special occasion.
Because the girls did such a good job in the play and helped raise a lot of money for the children's hospital, Sylvia takes them on a holiday in August to Pevensey Bay.
Pauline learns an important lesson: An actress can always learn until her last hour.
The girls get whooping cough. Mrs Simpson arranges to have them sent to a cottage in Kent to live with an old housemaid she used to have so they can get better.

Circa 1932:
In November, Pauline goes for her first audition. The play is Alice in Wonderland.
The girls strike a bargain with Mr. Simpson. He loans them the money for audition dresses and keeps their necklaces from Gum as collateral. It becomes Pauline's duty to buy the necklaces back out of her wages from her plays.
Pauline is engaged to play the part of Alice. Winifred is her understudy.
Sylvia takes Pauline to the London County Council to apply for an acting license that allows her to appear onstage. Pauline is given one with no trouble.

Circa 1933:
Pauline's success as Alice goes to her head. She disobeys theater rules and has the part taken away from her. After apologizing to the theater manager, Mr. French, she is given the part back.
Pauline is able to buy back Posy's and Petrova's necklaces from Mr. Simpson.
She is engaged for a minor part in "a grown up play" starring a famous film actress.
Pauline makes a new vow: "We three Fossils vow to try and put our name into history books because it's our very own and nobody can say it's because of our grandfathers, and we vow to try and earn money for Garnie until Gum comes home."
Petrova is old enough for an acting license now. The two are engaged for A Midsummer Night's Dream, Petrova for Mustardseed, and Pauline for Peaseblossom without even having to audition.
Pauline begins earning enough to provide her siblings with pocket money. She is no longer required to save half her earnings and instead gives that half to Garnie for the house.
Pauline is given the part of Prince Edward in Richard the Third. Doctor Jakes help her play the boy perfectly.
The public takes notice of Pauline's talent.
Pauline is asked to go for a film test.
Pauline pays for her siblings and Sylvia to go on a holiday. Sylvia stays in a cottage and the girls camp.
Pauline is hired to play Princess Henrietta in the film Charles in Exile. She learns what good acting is all about and earns a large salary.
Over Christmas, Pauline plays the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella.

Circa 1935:
Pauline sits for her school certificate in the summer.
Upon learning that Posy is misbehaving in class, Pauline bribes her: If Posy behaves, Pauline will buy her two tickets to see the Mamaro Ballet, starring Manoff, whom Posy is in awe of. The bribe works.
The girls, the boarders, Nana, and Sylvia get ready to move after Sylvia sells the house.
Pauline attends the premiere of Charles the Second and becomes an overnight sensation for her small part as Henrietta.
Posy disappears and Pauline is offered a five year film contract in Hollywood.
When Posy reappears and says that Manoff is willing to train her as a ballerina in Czechoslovakia, Pauline signs the film contract, which gives Posy the money to go.
Gum comes home, and it is decided that Petrova will live with him near an aerodome, Posy will go to Czechoslovakia with Nana, and Sylvia and Pauline will move to Hollywood.
Pauline and Posy, upon realizing that film stars and ballerinas rarely make it into history books, make a new vow: "I vow to help in any way I can to put Petrova into history books, because her name is Fossil, and it's our very own, and nobody can say it's because of our grandfathers."

Circa 1936-1942:
Pauline appears in many Hollywood films.
During one visit to Czechoslovakia to see Posy, Sylvia discovers that Nana is miserable. Sylvia decides to stay with Posy and Nana goes to Hollywood with Pauline.
During World War II, Posy and Sylvia stay with Pauline and Nana when the ballet moves to America.
Pauline leaves the Academy with enough money to give one student who shows exceptional acting talent a full scholarship.

Circa 1943-1945:
Pauline learns that Sorrel Forbes has been given her scholarship and starts a sporadic correspondence with her.