Yes, I was hopelessly lost with many of the references, especially to playwrights, actors, etc. As a nerd-child growing up in the 80s, my taste in reading material ran mostly towards American science fiction, leaving me very out of touch. I was similarly confused by a piece a friend of mine did on the life of Alistair Cooke a few months back.
I did pick up quite a bit about England, pre-WWII, from the Dorothy Sayers novels. It seemed like such a romantic period to me. I went so far as to buy and read "Conundrums for the Long Week-End: England, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Lord Peter Wimsey" to flesh out my understanding.
I'm heading back to the USA for my next book -- Boom!, Tom Brokaw.
__________________
per·son \ˈpər-sən\ (noun) - an ephemeral collection of small, irrational decisions
The fun thing about evolution (and science in general) is that it happens whether you believe in it or not.
|