Barnaby Grimes - Setting

Setting

The fictional city in which the action takes place is never mentioned by name, but it appears to be rather large, with several named neighborhoods and areas;

• Hartley Square - Much like the real world's Harley Street in London, the Square contains the offices and surgeries of the wealthiest and most well-connected doctors and medical practitioners in the fictional city. The Square itself is described in Curse of the Night Wolf as "great marble-stepped mansions forming a square around an exclusive park".
• The Wasps' Nest - A series of very old slums in various levels of decay, the buildings and people crammed together tightly. Called the Wasps' Nest because of the "swarm" of thieves and killers that call it home. Described in Curse of the Night Wolf as "crumbling brick buildings, underground tunnels and attic rat runs linking one to the other to form a vast three-dimensional labyrinth through which its occupants buzzed and scurried". Known streets in the area include Beale Terrace, Seed Row, and Spieler Lane.
• Riverhythe - The main port of the city, a natural inlet of the river that was recently refurbished to accommodate more ships. Both the bank and river bed have been excavated and strengthened with a brick lining.

The series seems to take place in England during the late Georgian era, with much use of historical slang and reference to various fashions and conventions of the time. This time period is further confirmed in Phantom of Blood Alley with the advent of early experiments in photography being central to the plot. The city has a clearly defined rich/poor divide, with opulent town-houses and offices to the East, and factories and poor slums to the West of the city.