Everyone's comments about American history not being taught are missing one very important, nay essential fact.
WRITERS DO RESEARCH.
Writers who write about something they know nothing about and don't do research deserve to be called out. And yes, if you're setting something in a very specific place/year, you make damn sure you know if anything major happened in that place/year.
Accents... well, that's sloppy but it happens. Overlooking something that consumed the entire city for the entire year? Bad writing.
[for the record: I learned about the British abdication crisis in high school. It was in the section called "WWI-WWII" and it was standard textbook stuff 20 years ago...]
(EtA: we also learned about the French Revolution, the Spanish Civil War (ok, that was English class, not history) and "World History" as it dealt with things like the colonization of Australia and smatterings of Indian, Japanese and Chinese history. Standard stuff in American education ca 1970's/80's, from 6th grade on. So much for the "ignorant American" meme.)
no subject
WRITERS DO RESEARCH.
Writers who write about something they know nothing about and don't do research deserve to be called out. And yes, if you're setting something in a very specific place/year, you make damn sure you know if anything major happened in that place/year.
Accents... well, that's sloppy but it happens. Overlooking something that consumed the entire city for the entire year? Bad writing.
[for the record: I learned about the British abdication crisis in high school. It was in the section called "WWI-WWII" and it was standard textbook stuff 20 years ago...]
(EtA: we also learned about the French Revolution, the Spanish Civil War (ok, that was English class, not history) and "World History" as it dealt with things like the colonization of Australia and smatterings of Indian, Japanese and Chinese history. Standard stuff in American education ca 1970's/80's, from 6th grade on. So much for the "ignorant American" meme.)