Marylebone Church

In Amy Levy’s The Romance of a Shop, Marylebone Church is only mentioned once: “Fanny was quietly married at Marylebone Church” (129). The location of this church emphasizes the idea of social class. The surrounding area primarily consisted of a number of homes ranging from middle-class to poor (Charles Booth). There is a distinct boundary along Devonshire Place—a road not far away—that marks the beginning of upper class society. The fact that higher classes are concentrated within a separate, distinct area suggests that this church was typically frequented by lower to middle class Londoners. Though the upper class homes are nearby, the church was surrounded by middle to lower class. These people were more likely to be the ones who went there. The upper class would have gone to a church within a wealthy neighborhood. The theme of class is also suggested in the text by the fact that Fanny would have preferred to have a better wedding: “She would have dearly liked a ‘white wedding’; and sisters would suggest what she dared not … Truth to tell so an idea never entered the heads of those practical young women; and poor Fanny went soberly to the altar in a dark green travelling dress, which was becoming if not festive” (Levy 129). If Fanny or Edward Marsh, her groom, had been wealthier, they would have been able to have a white wedding in a prestigious church. Instead, Fanny must wear a plain, presumably cheap dress, and marry in an affordable church. Her sisters do not suggest a more expensive, white wedding because they are not of a high class and have other, more practical, things to think about. Someone like Constance Devonshire would likely marry in a more luxurious, class appropriate place. Having Fanny marry in this church fits with the theme of social class that is woven throughout the novel. Throughout the novel is clear that there are distinct places that certain classes are expected to go, and certain rules that they should abide by. It makes sense to have this family in this church because it is in an area that someone of their social class could afford. Franny being able to marry in a better church would not have been realistic or logical.