The last stop of the tour focuses on all the Lorimer sisters, in their connections to one another. Throughout the novel the relationship of the sisters proves to run deep in their personalities and bonds. The women find a distinction among themselves with their roles in the family, “...Gertrude may be the cleverest, and Phyllis the prettiest, but Lucy is far and away the nicest of the Lorimer girls"(Levy ch. VI). In this sense the sisters inhabit their struggles and loneliness into a strength to depend on the predictability of one another. This sense is particularly seen near the beginning of the novel, but through their time living in 20B Upper Baker St. there is a shift into growth. The apartment allows them to flourish on their own. “The Photographic Studio is let to an enterprising young photographer…”(Levy Epilogue), indulged is the mark that the apartment and street had on their life's but along with their readiness to keep it as a fond memory.
Now to understand the environment of the sister’s home, indicates the final and most memorable location of the novel: 20B Upper Baker St. The street was laid out in the mid 18th century, closest to 1755 by a gentleman named William Baker (“Baker Street: More than Sherlock”). Noted to be located in the Marylebone district of the City Westminster in London, it was common to watch as the affluent wandered down the street with their bags weighed by coinage, with newly opened businesses occupied by commonfolk trying to lure in the pockets and wrists adorned with riches (“Guide to Baker Street”). The street was populated and “...when the whole party drove across the park to that pleasant, if unfashionable, region,...”(Levy ch. IV), there could be no striking criticism. The area also held many middle class families and with a street above housing the poor, indicating the distinction of the Lorimers financial situation between wealth and financial ruin (“Virtually London”).
The street held notable features of Madame Tussauds first wax museum in 1835, and housed novelists Arnold Bennett and H.G. Wells in. Most known is the street's famous 221B Baker Street address, not a real location, written in the detective novel Sherlock Holmes in 1881. In 1863 The Baker station was the first underground station in the world. During WWII it housed the Office of Special Operations along with sabotage and intelligence for the UK (“Бэйкер Стрит. Бейкер-Стрит”). Today Baker St. is a commercial area that houses an array of museums and tourist attractions to discover and continues to promote new businesses and entrepreneurs on the street (“Baker Street: More than Just”).
The most interesting aspect of its history towards the novel comes from Laurence Irving, the son of Henry Ivring, a photographer that lived in 20B Upper Baker St. and died at a young age (“Dcphotoartist”). Providing that the sisters are a realistic indication of youth in the late 1800s, expressing similar passions and business ventures of the era. In any case, Upper Baker Street was the sister’s greatest love and restraint. It was the environment for development and personal achievements.
Work Cited:
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“Baker Street: More than Just Holmes.” London for Free, 16 Apr. 2020, https://www.londonforfree.net/baker-street-more-than-just-holmes/.
“Guide to Baker Street: History, Architecture, Business and Tourism.” London Office Space Blog, 22 Oct. 2012, https://www.londonofficespace.com/buzz/baker-street-guide/.
“Baker Street: More than Sherlock Holmes.” Thestreetnames, 26 Aug. 2014, https://thestreetnames.com/2014/01/18/baker-street-more-than-sherlock-h…;
Dcphotoartist. “Laurence Irving, by Ellis, 20 Upper Baker Street, London.” Dcphotoartist, 23 Jan. 2014, https://dcphotoartist.com/2014/01/22/laurence-irving-by-ellis-20-upper-…;
“Baker Street.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 24 June 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baker_Street.
Levy, Amy. The Romance of a Shop. Boston, The Algonquin Press, 1889.
Molyneaux, Dean. “Baker Street, W1 Dean Molyneaux.” Baker Street, Dean Molyneaux :: Geograph Britain and Ireland, https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1752307.
TMS), (Image: UGC, and (Image: Westminster City Archives). “Baker Street through the Years.” MyLondon, 27 July 2017,
https://www.mylondon.news/news/west-london-news/gallery/baker-street-th…;
“Бэйкер Стрит. Бейкер-Стрит.” ÐоÑÑаÐ" дÐ"Ñ ÑкоÐ"Ñника. СамоподгоÑовка, https://ik-ptz.ru/en/history/beiker-strit-beiker-strit-kak-dobratsya-do….