[LMB] OT: When Favourite Authors Screw Up

[Raye Johnsen]

I was rereading one of my favourite Georgette Heyers,
'The Grand Sophy', this weekend, and one of the minor
characters - in fact, the male half of the secondary
pairing - has just recovered from mumps when he enters
the action, after an absence of about six weeks.

So I spent the entire weekend sitting there, telling
myself, /German measles!  Not mumps, German measles!/ 
Because mumps in an adult body isn't the same as mumps
in a juvenile body.  It's a longer, more debilitating
illness and one of the consequences is permanent
impotence - NOT something a male romance hero, even in
a comedy of manners where everyone's clothes stay
firmly on, should have.

It's clearly a case of, Heyer gave him an illness she
thought would be silly and harmless, and didn't
realise that it isn't.  It still jars me to read.

Anyone else encountered something like that, where
what should be a casually passed-over aside hits just
the right way to reveal a sad lack of research, and
colours the rest of the book?

Raye

raye_j at yahoo.com
http://windtear.livejournal.com
http://www.thejohnsens.com/index.html

I believe in dragons, unicorns, good men
and other mythical creatures.


       
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