A stop at Somerset House

Loretta reports:

There’s the lady with the drum again.  Yes, it’s Shameless Self-Promotion time.  My new book, Last Night’s Scandal, is out now! That means you can expect to see blogs here and at Loretta Chase In Other Words presenting the kind of Nerdy History Girl background that doesn’t get into the novels.  Plus pictures!

Today we’re taking a look at Somerset House, where Lisle gives a lecture to the Society of Antiquaries.  Since they most inconveniently had their normal meetings between “November until the end of Trinity Term,”* and my story starts in October, I took artistic liberties, and created a special meeting, with, I trust, a reasonable explanation.

The first view is from The Microcosm of London.  You can read the text about the building here. 
This view is a little early—the Microcosm was published between 1808 and 1810—but the exterior is still recognizable, as this photo illustrates.

Outside, on the Strand, an Olivia-generated Incident occurs.  The next illustration shows the general area of the Incident a few years after the time of the story—but it’s near enough for our purposes, and was the view I had in mind when I wrote the scene.

*Mary Cathcart Borer, An Illustrated Guide to London 1800.