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Hrm
I started reading a cozy mystery set in England in 1921, and I’m already
thrown out of it on the first page because a character is described as
having a “festive” red poppy pinned to her coat for Armstice Day.
Er...they’re meant to invoke the dead. I can’t tell if it’s supposed to
help characterize the character as an airhead or not yet, but I think even
the most self-absorbed person in 1921 would be aware of the somber
associations.
thrown out of it on the first page because a character is described as
having a “festive” red poppy pinned to her coat for Armstice Day.
Er...they’re meant to invoke the dead. I can’t tell if it’s supposed to
help characterize the character as an airhead or not yet, but I think even
the most self-absorbed person in 1921 would be aware of the somber
associations.
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First, that part of why the association exists is that poppies need churned up soil to grow in - so you had all these fields where there had been battles, where they wouldn't have grown previously.
And second, that the initial association of wearing them (rather than McCrae's poem) was American (Moina Michael) and she started in 1918, and it wasn't until 1921 when it was picked up in the UK.
Wikipedia has a rather detailed description of the timeline and variations.
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After a few pages I decided it was supposed to be part of characterising the person and her associates as Bright Young Things and I decided they were all unlikable and I didn't need to continue reading, even if the narrative was going to sober them up some. I've got too many books on my TBR list to bother reading something on the off chance I might like it later. (And it was via Kindle Unlimited, so I'll return it and the author will get a cent or two based on my pagereads, and I'm not out any money.)
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(And yeah. I was just rather startled by a bit of the history.)
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