The history of the area is very well researched, to a degree. What is particularly interesting is that Elgin was a nurse in the Forces during WWII, and posted at one point to Liverpool. Her knowledge of the area shows through in the novel, but what is particularly fascinating ( to me anyway) is that parts of it ( vegetable growing in the square for example, ot the use of houses as temporary nursing accommodation ) clearly come from her wartime experiences of the area rather than the correct historical setting.
I hope I'm not giving away any spoilers when I tell you that the hero and heroine end up together.
ps. Sidenote. The painting on the cover is based on a nineteen sixties photograph and a nineteenth century engraving, but shows the wrong side of the Square for the action of the book.