Romantic Stops Within the Novel "The Romance of a Shop"

AN OVERVIEW OF NOTTING HILL: OF HUMBLE – UNROMANTIC – ORIGINS 

Made internationally renowned by the namesake 1999 romantic comedy, Notting Hill hasn’t always been the scene of a star-studded love.  In the 18th century, before being absorbed into London, Notting Hill was known for two pursuits polar to romance: pig farming and brick making. The land upon which Notting Hill rests contains heavy and rich soil that proved useful for pig farming and clay production (Kelly). In fact, the now quaint Avondale Park, established in 1892, was built atop the Ocean, a…

     Across Baker Street stands Regent’s Park, the second stop of this tour. Those who read The Romance of a Shop (published in 1888) by Amy Levy, may recognize this park as the location of Lord Watergate’s home: Sussex Place. The “white curve of houses with the columns, the cupolas, and the railed-in space of garden which fronted the Park” (Levy) as described by the narrator in chapter five can all be found at the south western portion of Regent’s Park .

     Regents Park began with Prince Regent (later known as King George IV of the United Kingdom),…

Baker Street, located in Marylebone, is in the City of Westminster. The name originated from the man who laid out the streets in the 18th century for construction, William Baker (Guide to Baker Street). It started off as a high-class residential area and slowly turned into a commercial street of vendors (Baker Street Throughout the Years).

The street itself started off running from South Regent's Park to Park Road. It is noted that it was parallel to Gaucher's Place and had points with Marylebone Road, Portman Square, and Wigmore Street. Now, it lives in the postal areas NW1/W1 and…

In congruence with today's tour, Charing Cross Station gained its name in a rather morbidly romantic manner: the story of the station’s namesake begins with the relationship of Eleanor of Castille and King Edward I, whose arranged marriage blossomed into a warm, passionate romance. Upon the early death of Eleanor at the age of 48, Edward found himself overcome with grief; in his sorrows, a funeral procession was commanded, stretching from Lincoln to Westminster, a harrowing 143 miles in distance from point to point. Along this procession Edward ordered 12 memorial crosses to be erected in…

 An isolated yet pristine location, Cornwall lies on the southwestern tip of England. The county of Cornwall has a vibrant history and is present in many works of literature, including The Romance of a Shop by Amy Levy.  Settlement in the Cornwall area dates back to the Stone Age, in which evidence of early hunter-gatherer civilization from roughly 10,000 BCE has been found near the sea shore. Specifically, settlements have been found near two specific locations:  “The Lizard” and “Bodmin Moor” (Cornish History).