Arcadia

In Classical Greek mythology, Arcadia was the home of the god Pan and a place of pastoral ideal and natural harmony. Arcadia was an unspoiled wilderness that created a utopian environment free from vanity and avarice. However, Arcadia is a lost Eden that can no longer be attained.

Sidley Park

Sidley Park is a manor home in the idyllic, picturesque English countryside and the home of the Coverly family. The large room overlooking the gardens of Sidley Park is the location of both of the stories from 1809 and the present day.

Gardens

In the 1809 narrative, the gardens of Sidley Park are receiving a Gothic makeover from landscape architect Richard Noakes. Noakes transforms the garden from a pastoral paradise to a Gothic wilderness. The transformation of the garden symbolizes the struggle between Realism and Romanticism.

Hermitage

Among the false ruins and briars of Noakes’s garden, he builds...