At the time when...he had long since...

[Superguay]

Hi there:

How could I improve the following sentence (if there is any need to) so that it would sound more idiomatic?

At the time when the book came out, the author had long since become a Puritan.

Why does it seem like "long since" is out of place here, whereas in the next sentence it doesn't:

By the time Tutankhamun was sixteen the court had long since left Akhetaten.

Does it have something to do with "At the time when" pointing to one concrete moment, as opposed to the durability implied by "By the time"?

One more thing: can you think of any synonym collocations in lieu of "come out"?

Thanks a lot

 

[teechar]

Does it have something to do with "At the time when" pointing to one concrete moment, as opposed to the [STRIKE]durability[/STRIKE] duration implied by "By the time"?

Yes, it does.
Consider the simplified version of that sentence:

______ the time the book came out, he had become a Puritan.

Can you see why only "by" makes sense?

One more thing: can you think of any synonym collocations in lieu of "come out"?

I don't know what you mean by synonym collocations, but try "was/got published".

 

[Superguay]

Could you conceive of any other configuration to the original period that would combine "At the time when" and "long since" in the subordinate clause and the principle one, respectively?

If it wasn't the case, could I say: At the time when the book came out, the author had long been a Puritan.