Paul and Sophie's Victorian-Era Setting

The Victorian-era setting of Paul and Sophie Pettingell’s story is made concrete through a journey across time: Pip recalls life in 1877, while Paul tries to explain to Sophie that the men before them are Victorians from the past. The setting is not merely a period backdrop; it is a collision between distinct historical presents, and the firm of sorcerers at its center gives that collision its institutional shape.

A Past Identified as 1877

Pip dates the beginning of his account to “seventy-seven,” then clarifies that he means 1877. His recollection opens a window onto an earlier period in the company’s history, distinguishing it from the time occupied by Paul and Sophie. The casual correction also makes the gap between their worlds part of the conversation: Pip must explain not only what happened, but when it happened.

Clerks at a Victorian Firm

In 1877, Pip and Arthur were young clerks, newly out of their indentures and employed by the well-respected City firm of sorcerers, J.W. Wells & Co. Their working lives were already shaped by the firm’s peculiar business: after two years there, they had grown used to its senior partner, John Wells, being mysterious about his instructions. When he summoned both clerks to his office on a Monday morning to look after something, they were surprised that he went on to explain the matter without being asked.

The Past Meets Paul and Sophie

The historical distance becomes immediate when Paul explains that the men are Victorians. Sophie’s reaction makes clear that the label does not make them familiar; they seem so alien to her that even Martians might have appeared less strange. The exchange places the period’s people in the same room as characters from another time, turning historical difference into a social encounter rather than an abstract date. Pip’s recollection then supplies the setting’s defining detail: this Victorian world includes a respectable City business whose work is sorcery.