In the story “In Dull Brown” by Evelyn Sharp, Oxford Street plays a huge role. The story takes place among a few different streets, one of which is Oxford Street. Oxford Street was a shopping district in Victorian London. It was home to over two-hundred guilty theft charges over a span of 50 years.1 Located in the west end of London the street, other than the thefts, was a popular place. The street contains the Oxford/Regent circus which is also a detail in the story. From west to east the road crosses Regent Street, Berners Street and turns into New Oxford Street.
Oxford Street “…consisted almost uniformly of modest, irregular Georgian houses with shop fronts; only at the very west end close to Park Lane, where there was a scatter of substantial private houses and their outbuildings…”.2 This quote explains a little bit more about the importance of the dull brown dress Jean is originally wearing. The understated dress against the understated background would normally be unnoticed. Also it explains the comment, “That comes of the simple russet gown,” she thought ; “of course he thinks I am a little shop-girl.”
“They had reached the corner of Berners Street, and she came to a standstill”, the streets Jean and Tom are on and cross are important not only because of setting but also because of the historical aspects of their location. Jean mentions Tom walking to business which is relative to the shopping district. This area of London was not poverty stricken, was not industrial, instead it was a district of moderate wealth and fashion forward ideas. Buckingham Palace is accessible through Green Park, which Tom and Jean later meet in after winter passes.
Today, Oxford Street is still a shopping district and is home to some very famous and very expensive retailers such as Dior and Louis Vuitton.
Sharp, Evelyn. “In Dull Brown.” The Yellow Book 8 (January 1896): 181-200. The Yellow Nineties Online. Ed. Dennis Denisoff and Lorraine Janzen Kooistra. Ryerson University, 2012. Web. [Date of access]. http://1890s.ca/HTML.aspx?s=YBV8_sharp_dull.html
- ‘Oxford Street: Introduction.’ Survey of London: Volume 40, the Grosvenor Estate in Mayfair, Part 2 (The Buildings). Ed. F H W Sheppard. London: London County Council, 1980. 171. British History Online. Web. 8 September 2015. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol40/pt2/p171.
- 2. 115 guilty verdicts for theft 1800-1819, 292 guilty 1771 – 1819 -old Bailey proceedings, as found through http://www.locatinglondon.org/