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Warning: didn't realize how long verifying historical fiction details would take me
Spent 4 hours last night trying to confirm if a specific type of carriage existed in 1840s London for my book club debate on "The Lacemaker." Turns out the author made it up entirely, and now I have to re-read 50 pages to see what else is fiction.
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amymiller5d ago
Oh man, I feel this in my bones. I once spent a whole weekend fact-checking a single scene about Victorian mourning jewelry only to find out the author had the dates completely wrong for jet vs. vulcanite use. I literally had to make a spreadsheet to keep track of what was real and what was made up. It was like a full time job I didn't sign up for. I ended up printing out a list of historical inaccuracies and bringing it to book club like some kind of crazed period drama detective. Now I can't even enjoy a simple carriage scene without pulling out my phone to google if it's historically plausible.
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valgibson5d ago
The spreadsheet is a real moment of surrender, isn't it. I did that once for a book set in 1912 - the author had a character using a telephone switchboard that wasn't even invented until 1915. My book club still won't let me live down the three pages of notes I brought. Now I can't watch any period piece without checking the hem lengths first.
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