North America and Harrods

Would Americans even know what Knightsbridge is? Genuine question. I feel like London is just London to any nonBrits, for the most part.

Edit, I am wrong about harrods having branches! Thinking of Harvey Nicks. Shows how often I go to department stores >.>

Emissarius said:

Hi all,

I have a scene in my story where the protagonist recalls an experience he had in Harrods (a posh department store in Knightsbridge, London). I'm writing primarily for an American audience, do you think I should mention where Harrods is or let my readers look it up?

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Is the precise location of the store pertinent to the plotline? (e.g. it's directly accross the street from a bank the MC is planning to rob). If not, I wouldn't bother. I've never heard of Harrods, but as long as I could figure out "it's a posh department store," I'd be able to follow the story without issue.

Funny coincidence, I literally just saw a thing that referenced Harrods in London as where the original Winnie the Pooh doll was bought for Christopher Robin. That's all the information I needed in that context. Name, generic location, and that something was bought there. I don't need to know the district or street, just that it's in London and that it's an old department store.

I do know about Harrods and where it is, but I'm a bit of an Anglophile.

Knowing that it's a posh department store in a posh part of London is probably sufficient for most readers.

Never heard of Knightsbridge.

Have heard of Harrods. Have heard of London .

"Harrods in London" is probably sufficient, and then by describing the setting as the MC recalls the scene, anyone who's unfamiliar with it would quickly get that it was a posh department store.

Personally I think what's for more important than the specific location of Harrods is a solid description of the store itself. It is crazy decadent and extremely expensive, and those two things I think are essential for understanding it. As for location, maybe mentioning it's in a posh part of downtown London (I know "downtown" isn't quite accurate, but just trying to explain it isn't in the suburbs is important), and that it has a lush history (to make sure people understand it has an oldy-timey vibe).

Emissarius said:

Hi all,

I have a scene in my story where the protagonist recalls an experience he had in Harrods (a posh department store in Knightsbridge, London). I'm writing primarily for an American audience, do you think I should mention where Harrods is or let my readers look it up?

Click to expand...

Unless your character is going to consciously mention to himself ("that time I was in Harrods in Knightsbridge, London") (which of course he wouldn't do, because who would?), there's no need to explain where Harrods is. Harrods is not completely unknown to American readers, particularly those who read British novels and/or have been in London, but even if it is, you don't have to spoonfeed setting details that ultimately don't have any impact on the story.

I link Knightsbridge to Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, myself... but I don't think that's the image you're going for.

Seriously, though, as others have said, unless it's vitally important to know the specific geographical location, it's enough to know it's a high-end store in London. (If the characters are English, specifically Londoners, it wouldn't be out of line to mention the location of Knightsbridge if it's normally associated with the store. It just isn't strictly necessary for me to infer the salient details.)

Echo what Beth just said. As long as you make it clear what kind of store Harrod's is, which shouldn't be hard or take long to do, you'll be fine. Writers often invent a fictitious name and make it work in exactly this manner.

caw

Yes, I'm American and I know what Harrods is, but, like Ultragotha, I'm an Anglophile.

As long as context makes it clear that it's an upscale department store in London, then you're fine. Sometimes, your reader will--gasp--learn something when reading. Couch it in terms that the paragraph and the plot will roll on regardless of whether your reader is familiar with Harrods. Those who know will say to themselves, "Aha, I know that!" Those who don't will say, "Haven't heard of that; apparently it's a department store in London." If they're curious they, might even Google it for more info.

The trick is to know how much to tell your reader in order to ensure that the plot and the paragraph roll on regardless. That requires a knowledge of your audience and how much importance Harrods has in the story. Are they just passing by as they go down the street in London? Then a name-drop is fine, since we should know they're in London and passing by shops. Does the character go in? More description. Do they buy something? Does a major scene happen there? Etc.

I know about Knightsbridge and Harrods because I visited London as a young'un, thrice, but I'd say people who haven't visited London would not know.

The company I work for is Uk based (north and east of London - Enfield to be specific). I've been across the pond thrice (twice for this job and once separately en route to France) and could not have told you I knew of Harrods until now.

It could just be me and my clueless nature about ads (advertisers hate me) though...

Cobalt Jade said:

I know about Knightsbridge and Harrods because I visited London as a young'un, thrice, but I'd say people who haven't visited London would not know.

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Which makes the point: You do need to do a little more than just mention the name "Harrod's" and expect every reader to know what kind of place that is. Another minor slang point: "posh" is very much a Britishism (even though most of us benighted Yanks know what it means. The American equivalent would be "ritzy".

caw

Cobalt Jade said:

I know about Knightsbridge and Harrods because I visited London as a young'un, thrice, but I'd say people who haven't visited London would not know.

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Same here, (but I'm a Canadian anglophile), was expecting to go there when I went.
I'd say the same as most, just let the reader know that it's a fancy old-style department store, unless there are actually scenes set in it.
I've never been to New York or Dallas, but I recognize the names Macy's and Neiman-Marcus from books, movie and TV.

Do they still have the giant gold statue of Princess Diana and Dodi holding an eagle?

Harrod's is a property company about 60 miles from me.

Jeff

Emissarius said:

Hi all,

I have a scene in my story where the protagonist recalls an experience he had in Harrods (a posh department store in Knightsbridge, London). I'm writing primarily for an American audience, do you think I should mention where Harrods is or let my readers look it up?

Click to expand...

Forgive me, but the original question is really vague.

You don't tell us is the anticipated age range of your readership, and we also don't know the point of the recollection. You know both.

Anyway, to me, the issue isn't about worrying whether a reader knows whether Harrods is in Knightsbridge or not. Is that of any significance, storywise?

Does/do the character(s) to whom the protagonist is talking know what the protagonist is talking about?

The way the experience is recalled is paramount, and if the protagonist doesn't cover the luxury nature, maybe one of his listeners could.

"Wish I could afford to shop there."

"Beautiful store -damned expensive though. What did you buy?"

Good luck.

BethS said:

Unless your character is going to consciously mention to himself ("that time I was in Harrods in Knightsbridge, London") (which of course he wouldn't do, because who would?), there's no need to explain where Harrods is. Harrods is not completely unknown to American readers, particularly those who read British novels and/or have been in London, but even if it is, you don't have to spoonfeed setting details that ultimately don't have any impact on the story.

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Of course, a British protagonist wouldn't say/think "Knightsbridge, London" - that construction is an Americanism itself

onesecondglance said:

Of course, a British protagonist wouldn't say/think "Knightsbridge, London" - that construction is an Americanism itself

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I know , but since the OP was wanting to make things clear for the American reader, I went the whole nine yards (as they say) with that example, which is the kind of as-you-know-Bob abomination one occasionally encounters in bad TV writing and sometimes even in books.

i'm an American and i don't know what Harrods is. However i think it depends on your protagonist. just because the American audience may not know what something is doesn't mean it shouldn't be included in the story. if it's authentic to the story and the protagonist, include it. The audience can either guess what it is based on context clues or they can google it.

BethS said:

I know , but since the OP was wanting to make things clear for the American reader, I went the whole nine yards (as they say) with that example, which is the kind of as-you-know-Bob abomination one occasionally encounters in bad TV writing and sometimes even in books.

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Yup And of course, an American protagonist in London absolutely would use that construction.