Cryptologic Bytes

Dorabella Cipher Solution by Tim Roberts

Tim Roberts has offered a viable solution to the Dorabella Cipher, an encrypted message sent by the celebrated English composer Edward Elgar to a young lady companion in 1897.

Tim is on the Faculty of Arts, Business, Informatics and Education at CQ University Australia. The Dorabella Cipher is listed on Elonka Dunin's Web site which provides an unofficial list of well-known unsolved codes and ciphers. Tim's solution can be found by clicking on this link to a PDF document.

October 13, 2013 - Slightly revised solution submitted by Tim: "The only difference from the original version is a change in the last line of the key. The order of the symbols that Elgar used in this third line always slightly puzzled me. No longer. The slightly revised key, "Lady Penny, writing in code is a way to keep busy," removes this anomale."

Image of the Dorabella Cipher text, written by Edward Elgar in 1897

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