The area in London where Cork street is situated is called Mayfair,Reeba.

Cork Street, where JA was staying, runs paralell with New Bond Street, which was then, and still is now, a very fashionable shopping centre.

JA may have been joking about being corrupted by all the shopping opprtunities with which she was now surrounded :-P.

it may interest you to note that some of the places she mentio ns in S+S are in this area .

The jewelery shop, Grays, where Robert Farras took an age purchashing his toothpick ,was at Number 41 Sackville Streeet in Mayfair.This shop actually exisited,and it is quite possible that JA visited it on one of her trips to London.

Mrs Jennings lived in Berkley Street( just off Berkley Square) and Lady Middleton lived in Conduit Street ( very close to Cork Street) :the Palmers lived in Hanover Square.

This was a very fashionable and rich area in JA's day.

I have asked Myretta to help me post a scan of a contemporary map of the area to try and help you visualise it, Reeba.Fingers crossed.

However, it is not an area normally associated with too much vice: -).That is what I meant when I pointed out that London brothels etc were to be found at this time mainly in the areas of Covent Garden and St James.