Posted by Robert Hill on 12/06/99 from 129.11.153.35 via proxy proxy2.leeds.ac.uk:
In Reply to: The Walker Family Home Address posted by Iain Hobbs on December 06, 1999 at 12:49:08:
Not content with suggesting that Mrs Blackett's name was Margaret,
Iain Hobbs now introduces several other curious ideas.
Harrogate is not Manchester. Harrogate is at least 50 miles from
Manchester and they are on opposite sides of the Pennines.
The Great Aunt lived in Harrogate, but I don't believe it is ever
suggested that either the Walkers or the D's lived in or near
either Harrogate or Manchester.
If I remember correctly it is pretty unambiguous that the D's lived in
London.
All we know for certain about the Swallows' home is that they lived in
the south. This excludes both Harrogate and Manchester. They may have
had to move around if their father was posted to different naval bases.
There is something near the end of S&A about going back to "town and
home and school" or some such, and "town" could be taken to mean London.
On the other hand, somebody, probably Susan, says in Winter Holiday,
with regard to the D's, something like "people oughtn't to be allowed
to be brought up in towns", strongly suggesting that the Walkers were
not.
As for Titty and Roger getting on at Euston, I would have to consult
the book to see exactly what it says. Were they coming straight
from their boarding schools or had they been home first?
The most consistent explanation about the Walkers' home may be that
they lived in a small town fairly near London, and had to go via London
when travelling to the Lakes. The younger Walkers and Dorothea probably
attended boarding schools not too distant from their homes. Since Dick
joins the train at Crewe in tP&tM, I have a private suspicion that he
was at Shrewsbury school, but this is a guess that goes well beyond the
evidence.