Setting

The short story “The Landlady” by Roald Dahl takes place in Bath, England. The time setting is in the first part of the 20th century, probably around the time the story was published, in 1960. The reference to the landlady probably losing a son in “the war” places the story after either the First World War or the Second World War.

When Billy arrives in Bath, it is nine o’clock in the evening. It is probably autumn or the beginning of winter, judging by the description of the weather. The houses which Billy passes by on the street are buildings which have once been well-maintained but have since fallen into disrepair: “even in the darkness, he could see that the paint was peeling from the woodwork on their doors and windows, and that the handsome ...