Visit Under Her Roof Locations with A A Chaudhuri

Submitted: 8th September 2024

Under Her Roof Locations – A A Chaudhuri

You would think that a lovely stroll around leafy Hampstead in London would be relaxing? Well, not with AA Chaudhuri. There’s never a dull moment however when she takes you around the streets, pubs and dark dark corners….

Locations in Under Her Roof

Under Her Roof A. A. Chaudhuri

Locations in Under Her Roof

Hi there, I’m so excited to be able to tell you a bit about Hampstead in North London.

This is the location for my new dark and twisty psychological thriller, Under Her Roof.

In the book, struggling writer, Sebastian, rents a room in a palatial Hampstead mansion. It belongs to beautiful, mysterious widow, Adriana.

However, he has misgivings about her strange rules and the fact that the last lodger died under tragic circumstances.

Things soon take an ominous turn for Sebastian when he realises that both he and his landlady are being watched. What’s more, the terrifying situation he finds himself in may be linked to Adriana’s turbulent past.

Locations in Under Her Roof

Hampstead is a quaint picturesque village, home to many of London’s most famous literary greats, including Sigmund Freud and John Keats. It offers a unique blend of history, culture and nature in the form of the stunning Hampstead Heath.

Locations in Under Her Roof

With Sebastian, one of my main characters, being an aspiring writer, for me it was the perfect choice of setting. Having lived in Northwest London for 13 years it’s also a place I’m very familiar with, and one I’ve always hoped to base one of my thrillers in.

Being an incredibly affluent, desirable part of London, it’s therefore an area in which, on the face of it, a person should feel incredibly safe. But of course, this is not the case for Seb and Adriana. Therein lies the dramatic irony I wanted to convey.

Locations in Under Her Roof

The idea that in a place of beauty there is often unimaginable darkness, and that despite living in a vast sprawling mansion typical of the area, Adriana and Sebastian feel incredibly claustrophobic knowing their every move is being watched.

Locations in Under Her Roof

As a student living in West Hampstead for four years, I remember my flatmates and I taking leisurely strolls up to Hampstead on weekends, admiring the many elegant Georgian houses we’d pass along the way, gawping at the more imposing mansions with their stately gates, wondering to ourselves who lived in them. We’d amble along its charming cobbled streets, browsing in the many chic boutiques and art galleries we could never afford to buy anything in (!) and would always stop off for hot chocolate in the winter months, or an ice cream in summertime.

Years later, living in Queen’s Park and then in Kilburn, I’d do the same with my husband, and later still with my NCT friends. All in all, it’s a place that holds very happy memories for me, and what with it being such an attractive, charming and apparently safe area of London, is it any wonder that Seb, despite his misgivings, is quick to take up the room?

Locations in Under Her Roof

Heath Street

Locations in Under Her Roof

In the book, Adriana invites Seb to have dinner out with her at a restaurant. They go to a fictional restaurant off Heath Street, probably the most famous street in Hampstead, which runs from the centre of Hampstead Village northwards towards Hampstead Heath, and with many notable streets running off it, including Church Row. Heath Street is peppered with a fabulous assortment of cafes, boutiques, bars and restaurants, and has a real energy to it, but without being manic like central London.

Hampstead Heath

Locations in Under Her Roof

Hampstead Heath is a vast park with sprawling woodlands, stunning ponds and sweeping views of London’s skyline. A hotspot for dog walkers, joggers and families alike, it’s popular all-year round, and when we lived in nearby Kilburn I remember taking brisk walks around it in the cold winter months, and picnicking with my husband and son in the summer.

Locations in Under Her Roof

In my book, ‘Serenity House’, the fictional mansion in which Seb rents a room from Adriana, is positioned on East Heath Street, just across from the Heath and in an early scene, having been contacted by the mysterious ‘watcher’ the previous night, Seb takes an early morning jog on the Heath to try and clear his mind, only to be confronted by Adriana’s neighbour, Stella, who Adriana has forbidden Seb from speaking to. As it’s very early in the morning, the park is almost deserted and Seb, whose nerves are already frayed, nearly jumps out of his skin when Stella appears. The above photo is the kind of pathway I envisaged Seb running along.

The Spaniards Inn

Locations in Under Her Roof

Built in 1585, and perched on the edge of Hampstead Heath, The Spaniards is a hidden gem of a pub with a romantic, nostalgic air to it. It was immortalised by Dickens in The Pickwick Papers and allegedly the place in which Keats penned ‘Ode to a Nightingale.’

Having had many fabulous times there, I was itching to feature it in my book. Because of its spaciousness and numerous cosy alcoves it provided the perfect setting for a clandestine meeting which occurs towards the end of the book between Seb and another character.

Locations in Under Her Roof

Soho, Mayfair and Covent Garden are other London locations that feature in my book. Not only are they extremely well-known, fascinating and beloved areas of Central London, they form a contrast to the intimacy of Hampstead. This is where both Adriana and Seb feel able to get lost in the crowds without the fear of being watched or hunted. I

adore all three areas for their cosmopolitan, eclectic and energetic vibes, iconic streets and famous hotspots. As a student and then working as a lawyer in central London, I had a lot of fun checking out the cool bars, fabulous range of shops and diverse restaurants.