Marleybone is a unique world. It was a traumatic world if you fell victim to battles you didn't mean to fight. Big Ben felt like forever. But I think we all secretly enjoyed Marleybone for the scenery: It was refreshing. It was nice to see something modern. The clothing was fancy enough to be stitched even today. There's more to Marleybone's real life history than meets the eye!
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| Wolfminster Abbey |
London in the Time of the Late Victorian Era
London, in the time of the late Victorian Era, was divided by the rich and the poor. Slums were overly crowded and crawling with diseases. The wealthy had little idea of the state of the poor. The use of coal burning stoves clogged the air. Street Gangs cast a looming shadow, striking fear into the hearts of many. Police Officers were known as "Bobbies."
Food for Thought:
The name Marleybone is clearly derived from Marylebone, an inner-city area in London, England. This simple fact points us in the right direction.
Locations, Locations
- Kensington, Chelsea, and Hyde Park are all real places in London. They all happen to be near each other, just like how they are located near each other at Digmoore Station.
- Located not to far from Hyde Park is Buckingham Palace. Barkingham Palace is near Digmoore Station and Hyde Park.
- Scotland Yard, which is police headquarters in-game, is also the name of the Metropolitan Police Service headquarters. The real Scotland Yard is located near Westminster Abbey.
- Wolfminster Abbey could be derived from Westminster Abbey. Wolfminster Abbey is located near the in-game Scotland Yard.
- Newgate Prison is real. The in-game version is aligned with the real version. The real prison was located in London.
- The Royal Museum is loosely based off of The British Museum. Both display artifacts of the same culture: Ancient Egypt (Krokotopia.)
- Halley's Observatory maybe referencing Edmund Halley, the English astronomer who calculated the times when Halley's Comet appears.
Marleybone is indeed London, England.
More Real Life Connections
One of the easiest evidence to recognize is Sherlock Bones and his fearless assistant Watson.
- The stories of Sherlock Holmes were written in Victorian-Era England by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
- Something even less obvious is our sinister villain Meowiarty. Meowiarty happens to be the adaptation of the criminal mastermind Professor Moriarty in the Sherlock Holmes series.
- 221B Barker St. is a direct adaptation of 221B Baker St, which is the address of Sherlock Holmes.
Katzenstein is clearly based off Frakenstein by English Author Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley in 1818. Both are crazy scientists.
Something less obvious is the plot of the Four Dungeons series instance of Barkingham Palace. Some of the characters and part of the plot follows closely with a well-known story. That story is The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson.
Interestingly, the name of the State Wing quest is"A Strange Case," referencing the title of the story. Margherita Vizzini even calls Dr, Jackall "two-faced," further prooving the inspiration of the plot. At the end of the Rooftop dungeon, Dr. Jackall mentions a duality of self, unbound by rules and conscience. He even talks about research and alchemy.
In the Wizard101 version, Dr. Jackall is trying to permanently become his evil alternate, Mister Hound. At the end of the instance, Dr. Jackall realizes what he did and asks us to leave him to his doom. In the real story, Dr. Jeckyll tries to prevent himself from becoming his evil alternate Mr. Hyde. In the end, his evil form completely takes over. Both end the same way.
- Dr. Jackall = Dr. Jeckyll/Mr. Hyde -- Two-Faced/Double Personality
- Enfield Trickster = Richard Enfield
- Lanyon Scratcher = Dr. Hastie Lanyon
- Mister Poole = Mr. Poole
- Mister Utterson = Gabriel John Utterson
Even though this is obvious, this needs to be included. Marleybone has a queen, which is a monarch. England was also a monarchy. The queen of Marleybone resides in Barkingham Palace, just like the queen of England resides in Buckingham Palace.
As mentioned earlier, street gangs were very much a part of everyday life. So much so that people were fearful of their lives, This is why there are so many street gangs in Marleybone, such as the O'Leary and the McTavish. Generally speaking, Dogs, Cats, and Rats are also gangs. The Marleybone gangs fight, rob, and cause trouble wherever they go. The London gangs did that and far worse.
The rise of the use of coal plagued London with horribly dangerous air. Often, the smoke from the burning coal would mix with fog, creating the toxic "smog." The smog was so thick that it was near impossible to see things. Many respiratory diseases where contracted because of it. This is why there are so many references to smog, (i.e. Smogger) coal, (i.e. Stoker) and industry. (i.e. The Ironworks) Also, to clean the soot-covered chimneys, chimney sweeps would travel rooftop to rooftop to do their jobs. This is why we see Chimney Sweep mobs AND that most or Marleybone takes place on the roofs of the city.
Closing Time
As the pubs in Marleybone begin to close for the night, I hope you've enjoyed learning a little bit about this elegant city and London. We can firmly conclude that Marleybone is London and heavily based on England.
What other connections can you make?
Sources
