The address of 152 Hertford Street does not exist. However Hertford Street is a real street in London, which originated during the building boom in 1760’s and is believed to be named after Hertford Arms which was an Inn and is no longer in operation. Hertford Street is home to Buckingham Palace and is known to be the high end area of London. The people who lived on Hertford Street were either well off or famous as we can see from the Booth Poverty Map. The crimes committed in the area are minimal such as theft (History of the area, n.d.).

                                                                                 Charles Booth Poverty Map

This address is that of Alan Campbell, a young chemist that Dorian Gray has called for. His character is mentioned only briefly and then never to be mentioned again. However because of his part in the novel he is not forgotten. He looked up his name in the book. He was curious if he would come as he seemed a dark part of his past. Dorian calls him to dispose of Basil’s body after he has killed him. He refuses to do so at first but Dorian threatens him to expose him if he did not do what he asked. He reluctantly sends a servant to get the materials he needs to dispose of the body.

Alan Campbell lived in the apartment building and was a single guy. He seemed dependent on Dorian Gray even though he did not want to do his dirty deed for him. He had a hard time letting go of the past. In the novel Gray seemed to go after the younger men in an attempt to savor his youth. The painting aged him so much that he wanted to savor any part that he could.  After Alan Campbell did away with the body Gray made him, he also committed suicide. Maybe his aesthetic lifestyle is just a show and he is a fraud.

                                                                           Hertford Street Victorian London

Works cited:

History of the area. (n.d.). Retrieved December 12, 2015, from http://www.hertford-street.co.uk/history-area

“Charles Booth Online Archive.” Charles Booth Online Archive. Web. 16 Dec. 2015.

“Booth Poverty Map & Modern Map (Charles Booth Online Archive).” N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2015.

New Bond Street

While researching New Bond Street, I noticed on the map the street is divided into two sections; New Bond Street and Old Bond Street. It is a wealthy section of London with many top of the line stores. Charles Booth Online Archive the crimes in the area were minimal with pick pocketing, theft and the like.  From looking at the Booth Poverty Maps I can tell there are mainly wealthy to middle class living in the area which is a good indication why there are such few crimes.

In the novel Portrait of Dorian Gray, Bond Street is where Dorian Gray is looking for a hansom to give him a ride. Before he gets to Bond Street he is out of sorts when Lord Henry questions him about his whereabouts the previous night, He gets nervous because he killed Basil the night before. His guilty conscience gets the best of him and makes him not know what direction to turn. He goes home and burns Basil’s belongings that he hid in the wall and soon goes off to New Bond Street. Once he gets there he calls for a “hansom with a good horse” (The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891). He asked him for a ride, but when he whispers he address to him he says it is too far to travel. Dorian offers him monetary compensation and he agrees to take him there. He told the driver there will be more if he hurries to which he tells him they will be there in an hour.

In Victorian London New Bond Street was known for art, as it had many high end art dealers and is located so close to the Royal Academy of Arts. This location connects to the art theme in the story. Dorian was a symbol of beauty, and beauty was a symbol of art. It also is significant that art was a reflection of moral compass. Dorian’s portrait that Basil painted of him ended up being his demise because his immoral acts were reflected in the painting. Basil wanted to display his portrait at the art gallery, perhaps it was the one on this road. Dorian goes between good and evil and high and low class during the novel. On New Bond Street he is currently in the high class area, but is headed to the low class to the opium den to calm his nerves. This is almost as a turning point in Grays character. He goes to a super ritzy neighborhood to get a cab to the poor area. (Revolutionary road – FT.com)

New Bond Street was an elegant premier shopping area of London. It had all of the high end stores and mostly the rich were found there. After all these years it has not lost its glam and still remains the shopping choice for many. The pictures below are Victorian London New Bond Street and modern day New Bond Street on the right. Both look beautiful and it is clear to see why it is known for the best shopping.

References:

The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891). (n.d.). Retrieved December 12, 2015, from https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Picture_of_Dorian_Gray_(1891)

Revolutionary road – FT.com. (n.d.). Retrieved December 12, 2015, from http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b01d5034-675a-11e5-97d0-1456a776a4f5.html

I found the information in the Victorian Dictionary quite interesting. A wealth of information in one place which is great. The clothing of London always peaked my interest. The pictures of women I have seen in the past always seem to be prim and proper. Upon searching I found an article “Victorian London – Clothing – dress and social status.” The article discusses the dress among men and women, high and low class. It is hard to tell the class of men and women alike by the way they dress. If you were to see a man walking down the street with a black dress coat, it would be hard to tell if he is a rich businessman or simply a shoe maker. A black dress coat could pretty much get men anywhere they wanted, including the ritziest club. Women also did not disappoint. They wore their best out and one could never tell their class based upon their dress. If a woman was wearing a bonnet and dressed in black velvet one would not know if it was the “lady” or the “maid.” After looking at the dress the mannerisms were looked at to see the grace of the person. This also did not give any clues as to the class of the person. It would be nice to have this in today’s society. Many people judge others on their looks including dress and if it does not meet their specifications they look down upon them. At the end of the article it comments on jacket of a man and he must be rich. He is actually not rich at all he is a tailor and makes jackets himself. In this article I learned that women do not “betray their social position by their dress” (Schlesinger, 1853). Both men and women had this mentality.

Max Schlesinger, Saunterings in and about London, 1853, Dictionary of Victorian London – Victorian History – 19th Century London – Social History (Dictionary of Victorian London – Victorian History – 19th Century London – Social History) http://www.victorianlondon.org/index-2012.htm

Hello my name is Laura DeGraw and I am an Early Childhood Education major  with a concentration in English. I am in my junior year at New Paltz. I chose this course as I find it interesting to study London’s history and am glad it is not a run of the mill English course.

Through our reading I learned that the history of London is similar to the history of the United States. Some of the similarities being the north and south divide, segregation as well as the divide between the rich and the poor. I also was not aware of the significance of the train especially to the working class. The train gave them the opportunity to live in safer areas not plagued by crime. However this seemed to make a bigger gap between the rich and poor. The upper class were given opportunities to live a better life. Their money fueled a rapid growing economy. The poor were just being pushed farther and farther into poverty. I am looking forward to exploring London through this class. This made me see that the world has not changed much in some ways. Some of the problems that were present in the 1800’s are very much still an issue today. One in particular was the fact that banks dominated back then and look at them today, not much has changed in that aspect.

Robinson, Bruce. “London: ‘A Modern Babylon’” BBC News. BBC, 11 Feb. 2011. Web. 25 Aug. 2015.