Roller Skates is set in New York City in the 1890s, when hansom cabs travelled along macadam roads, when vendors arranged pyramids of fruit on sidewalk stands, when colorful "rags and bottles" men collected and sorted discards, and when children thought of books and stories as essential components of leisure time.

Lucinda becomes quite familiar with the city streets, skating along the avenues surrounding Central and Bryant Parks as regularly as possible. During the course of the story, she resides with the Peters sisters who care for her while her parents spend a year abroad. These guardians afford Lucinda freedom to explore parts of the city independently.

Lucinda's world contains brownstone houses, Miss Brackett's Private School, the Gedney House Hotel, the Peterses' apartment, her friend Tony's cellarhome, Aunt Emily's "proper" home, and the various shops and restaurants within skating distance of these places.

Lucinda's physical freedom parallels her...