In “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle,” Goodge Street is mentioned as the place in which James Ryder was attacked by the street gang while fleeing with the stolen gem inside the goose. I looked at the real Goodge Street to see if there was any outside information which may have influenced Doyle’s representation of that street.

Goodge Street is located right next to the Goodge Street Underground Station. The first fact that there is tube station located on this street is one sign for why Doyle may have written that there was minor violence and physical attacks near this location. Street crime is attached to locations near train and tube stations, as people are usually quick on the move and not paying attention. This knowledge paired with the late night that James Ryder was walking down this street would suggest that violence could happen in this location.

Other sites that I attempted to research this street turned up with no information, except for British History Online. This site writes that Goodge Street was mainly commercial and more of a shopping district, rather than residential. This information makes sense within the context of the story, as not many people were around in the area and the window James Ryder broke was a shop’s window. Some type of violence late at night, by an underground station, and in a shopping district would make total sense, and Conan Doyle’s representation seems accurate according to my outside research.