# The Street explained — The Murders in Praed Street > Chapter companion for The Murders in Praed Street by John Rhode. ## What happens The chapter introduces Praed Street as a drab, uninviting London thoroughfare, then focuses on Mr. James Tovey, a greengrocer who values his Sunday rest. After a satisfying dinner, he is disturbed by a phone call claiming his daughter Ivy has been in an accident. He rushes to St. Martha's Hospital only to find it a hoax. Furious and humiliated, he walks back through Praed Street, where he is jostled by a crowd outside a pub and suddenly collapses. ## Themes in this chapter ### Class and Respectability Mr. Tovey's aspirations for his daughter Ivy to rise socially, his pride in his business title 'Fruit and Vegetable Merchant,' and his belief that happiness correlates with social class are central to the chapter. ### Deception and Disguise The hoax phone call that lures Mr. Tovey to the hospital under false pretenses is a key event, highlighting deception. ### Urban Anonymity and Community Praed Street is portrayed as indifferent to its crowds, and Mr. Tovey's isolation amid the bustling street and his collapse among strangers underscores urban anonymity. ## Character check-ins ### Mr. James Tovey The protagonist of the chapter, a greengrocer who values his Sunday comfort, is tricked by a hoax phone call and later collapses on the street. ### Mrs. Tovey Mr. Tovey's wife, who prepares the Sunday dinner and has a mild disagreement with him about their daughter Ivy's relationship with Ted Copperdock. ### Ivy Tovey The Toveys' daughter, a competent shorthand typist, who is out with Ted Copperdock, causing her father concern about her future. ### Ted Copperdock Son of old Sam Copperdock, Ivy's companion for the day, whose prospects are limited to his father's shop. ### Mr. Samuel Copperdock Old Sam Copperdock, Mr. Tovey's oldest friend and Ted's father, mentioned as a neighbour and friend. ## Key lines > Praed Street is not at any time one of London's brighter thoroughfares. Certainly it ends upon a note of hope, terminating as it does on the fringe of the unquestioned respectability of Bayswater, but for the rest of its course it is frankly lamentable. Praed Street is a dull, gloomy street that only becomes respectable near Bayswater; otherwise, it is a miserable place. _Sets the tone for the setting and foreshadows the grim events._ > Mr. Tovey, though naturally he would have been justifiably annoyed at such a suggestion, had an incurably romantic core to his plodding and material mind. Despite his practical nature, Mr. Tovey secretly held romantic dreams about his daughter's future. _Reveals Mr. Tovey's hidden aspirations for Ivy's social advancement._ > It was monstrous that he, a citizen and a ratepayer, should be dragged out into the streets on a fool's errand like this. He felt outraged that as a respectable taxpayer, he had been tricked into leaving home for nothing. _Highlights Mr. Tovey's sense of indignity and the theme of deception._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_murders_in_praed_street_se/chapters/i-the-street - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_murders_in_praed_street_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_murders_in_praed_street_se/chapters