Smithfield Market is a nearby landmark in the route Emma Corrigan and Lissy take through Clerkenwell while searching for a concealed destination. The scene places the market amid warehouses and empty office buildings, using the surrounding streets to establish an out-of-the-way urban setting rather than depicting a visit to the market itself.

Setting and Approach

Emma and Lissy travel by bus for about fifteen minutes from Islington to Clerkenwell. From there, Lissy leads Emma down an empty road near Smithfield Market, through successive turns until they reach a small alley. The market locates this deserted stretch of the journey within the city, but the pair do not go inside or describe the market’s buildings or activity.

Narrative Role

The market’s role is geographical: it helps orient the reader as the women leave the busier route and move into a less conspicuous part of Clerkenwell. In the alley, Lissy stands beneath a street lamp and consults a tiny scrap of paper, saying the place they seek is hidden away somewhere. The contrast between a recognizable landmark and the unmarked, hard-to-find destination makes Smithfield Market part of the scene’s navigation, not its endpoint.