Yes. That bad. And the authors have such a poor grasp of history, it's unbelievable. I encountered an instance in which 18C characters stayed at an old inn... in Glenrothes, a 'New Town' in Fife which didn't exist until the 1950s. White-slaving from the small Fife port of Crail (which cracked me up entirely). Authors who believe Jacobitism was England-vs-Scotland warfare and that Scotland was "conquered by England". Authors who believe that Hadrian's Wall marked the border in 18C, and that there was still border warfare in Queen Anne's reign. Authors who invent ridiculous non-existent laws to bring their characters together. Authors who have female characters wearing kilts...
And an industry pundit actually claims in a "how to write romance" books that authors generally get the history "right", and that readers find them educational...
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2006-12-15 09:31 am (UTC)And the authors have such a poor grasp of history, it's unbelievable. I encountered an instance in which 18C characters stayed at an old inn... in Glenrothes, a 'New Town' in Fife which didn't exist until the 1950s. White-slaving from the small Fife port of Crail (which cracked me up entirely). Authors who believe Jacobitism was England-vs-Scotland warfare and that Scotland was "conquered by England". Authors who believe that Hadrian's Wall marked the border in 18C, and that there was still border warfare in Queen Anne's reign. Authors who invent ridiculous non-existent laws to bring their characters together. Authors who have female characters wearing kilts...
And an industry pundit actually claims in a "how to write romance" books that authors generally get the history "right", and that readers find them educational...