A Mixture of Real Places and Imaginary

• Book: The Facts of Life
• Location: England
• Author: Patrick Gale

At first the characters live in a university town called Redbridge and many comparisons can be drawn with Cambridge, especially with scenes taking place along the river. When the time shifts to modern day, the scenes take place increasingly in London. The contrast between the lives of Jamie and his sister and their grandparents decades earlier is enhanced by the business and bustle of the big city, as well as its dangers. The one location that remains a constant in both parts of the book is the Roundel, a property passed down from female to female. The Roundel anchors the lives of the characters and its usage provides a great way to show their idiosyncrasies and histories, such as Miriam’s transformation of the Roundel into a hippy commune.

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