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Inaccuracies in books

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Farmor15 Fri 18-Jan-19 11:56:55

Does anyone else get distracted when reading novels by mistakes? Not spelling or grammar errors but mistakes about the past. I know authors of fiction can alter some things for the sake of the story, but I'll give some examples of things I've read recently that I found annoying:

In an historical novel by Ian Mortimer he described a workhouse in 1740s England - workhouses didn't start till 1800s. In the same book, the main character was going to a cinema in 1942 - and the sign said "Screen One". To my knowledge, this term only started being used in 1970s/80s when the multiplexes started.

I'm now reading "The Heart's Invisible Furies" and while I'm enjoying it, and realise it's a kind of fantasy novel, it still annoys me that 50 pence pocket money was being given in 1959, when it would have been 10 shillings.

When I find these kind of errors, I look at the author profile, and usually find they are relatively young, so writing about times they haven't lived through.

I think this just means I'm a pedant, but can't help it!

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Justanotherwannabe Sun 20-Jan-19 15:16:04

It really annoys me in historical films where someone has a heart attack etc and everyone leaps into CPR mode. Mouth to mouth was invented in 1956, CPR was invented in the 1960.

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Justanotherwannabe Sun 20-Jan-19 15:23:06

My brother and I got a penny for our age ( I was born in '52) until I was about 10!

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vintage1950 Mon 21-Jan-19 09:13:29

Regarding the meerkats, there is a book with the backstory, very funny - they left Africa to escape famine (no mealworms) and arrived in Russia after a terrible navigation error!
I read a novel set in London in 1936 where a man in a bar orders 'chips' meaning 'crisps'. I did contact the author but he didn't see the problem.
Regarding weddings, the recent re-creation of Queen Victoria's wedding (with Lucy Worsley) shows the congregation clapping after the vows are exchanged. Is this accurate? Hardly dare ask since Lucy Worsley was involved!

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FountainPen Mon 21-Jan-19 09:36:33

Last year I attended a talk given by Lucy Worsley about Queen Victoria. The latter was an avid diary writer recording events and her emotions in minute detail. Lucy explained how she was given rare access to the diaries which are kept deep in the Windsor archives. Much of her talk was about what she discovered there. Therefore, I imagine the recreation was accurate.

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vintage1950 Mon 21-Jan-19 10:21:12

I did wonder whether something had slipped in during production which was nothing to do with Lucy Worsley. So it does seem as though the clapping was authentic.

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Wheniwasyourage Wed 23-Jan-19 16:52:11

BrafordLass72, thanks for the information about Pamela Brown starting "The Swish of the Curtain" when she was 14. I didn't know that - she must have been quite some 14-year-old! It is a book I loved, which made me even crosser angry when somebody mucked about with it.

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