The setting of The Secret Lake is a London communal garden, a type of private park accessible only to residents of the surrounding houses. In the book’s acknowledgements, author Karen Inglis confirms that the “magical communal gardens in West London inspired this story” (vii), grounding the novel’s fantastical premise in a real, albeit hidden, urban landscape. This style of building became common in London during the Georgian and Victorian Eras. In order to give the emerging professional classes both access to green spaces and the privacy they desired, the houses were commonly built close together, around the perimeter of a large open space; since the houses themselves formed a kind of fence around the open space, only the residents could enter the communal garden. In places where the houses were more spaced out, fences and thick plantings of evergreen trees excluded non-residents. Inside the communal garden, flowers, trees, and paths created a pastoral escape from the surrounding city (“A Short History of London’s Garden Squares.” London Parks and Gardens Trust).

Today, London is home to hundreds of such gardens, particularly in boroughs like Kensington and Chelsea, with notable examples like Ladbroke Square Garden and Arundel Gardens serving as models of this unique urban design. The London Squares Preservation Act of 1931 was even passed to protect many of these green spaces from development, underscoring their cultural significance. In the novel, the garden is not merely a backdrop but an essential element of the plot. Its insular and secluded nature makes it a plausible location for a secret lake and a time portal, allowing Stella and Tom the freedom to explore without external interference. The description of it as a “vast rambling garden that stretche[s] as far as the eye could see” transforms this real-world feature into a realm of possibility (3), where the boundaries between past and present can dissolve.