Wildoak

A story’s setting is the time and place where it occurs. Wildoak is set in the winter of 1963, in two main locations: London and Cornwall. The most important places in the London settings are Arabella’s apartment and Maggie’s home, especially her bedroom. Within the setting of Cornwall, Fred’s home, Cherry Tree Cottage, and the forest, Wildoak, are important places. It matters that the story is set in winter, because this is a cold and snowy winter—appropriate for the unusual appearance of a snow leopard in London and Cornwall. The story is set in 1963, before the principles of environmentalism were widely understood, and before climate change became an imminent crisis. This allows the novel to present a story about The Importance of Environmental Conservation in a hopeful context, since individual actions like planting trees and establishing wildlife sanctuaries can make a significant difference.

The physical locations of the story’s setting are notable for the contrast they provide with one another through juxtaposition. London’s urban environment is full of tight spaces like Maggie’s cupboard and Arabella’s flat. By contrast, the Cornwall settings are expansive. Wildoak is a large old-growth forest, and although Fred’s cottage is just a simple stone house, it is filled with his collections of natural objects, melding it seamlessly into the larger natural environment around it. Maggie notices that “Every window ledge, shelf, and open nook [is] crammed with a collection of something or other: shells, pebbles, dried flowers conkers, beechnuts, acorns” (65). While London stifles and limits both Maggie and Rumpus, Cornwall is an environment where both of them can grow.