Why do British authors keep making this very obvious mistake?

[YaWeeFurryBastard]

Yet again I’m reading an otherwise good book which refers to a character being unable to put up the money to make bail. This is set in England, bail in England does not require a surety payment except in very limited circumstances. Why do authors or editors not check this to make sure it’s factually accurate?!

See also characters being bailed after they’ve been charged with murder, something which is particularly unheard of in England. Magistrates don’t have the power to grant bail for murder charges.

Surely at some point pre publishing, someone with a basic knowledge of the English legal system reads the book, or do they just not care?

I’m probably very over invested but it’s bloody annoying and almost undermines an otherwise believable story.

Ooh, fascinating @Sethera - didn’t know that, what an interesting thing to ponder. Thanks!

I know people in the legal system get annoyed that TV shows/films show judges using a gavel. It's not done in England/Wlaes apparently

KW seemed not at all distressed by the death, going on stage in the play he was in as normal on the evening of his father's death

That's what actors of his generation did, surely? As long as you could walk and talk, you carried on with the show.

Yes, you probably didn't have a fortnight off work.

I was sent back to school as normal the day after my fathers death.

teachers commented that I seemed “fine”, but what was I supposed to do? Sit and cry all day? Nobody even mentioned it and carried on like nothing had happened so I took my cues from them.

What a story @Sethera ! Thank you for sharing it. (Also for using the word "linctus" which is rare & excellent)

Quite possibly! KW did get signed off for what we'd now call stress on another occasion, though.

I don't think we'll ever know whether he had any culpability, it's just an interesting case. I find the whole of the KW diaries fascinating and would highly recommend the published version as an interesting read, especially if you are interested in theatre.

😃It was called 'Gee's Linctus' - a very old-fashioned sounding remedy.

Indeed! Love the old brand names. Someone upthread mentioned antimacassars - a good example of an old-fashioned thing that most of us (I think) would still recognise the name of, and know what was being referred to. That made me go and look up its nemesis, Rowland's macassar oil, the hair goo that would stain your chair. Interesting that the protective cover survived in the public mind long after what it was meant to protect against.

In fact, if only there was a word for someone whose job is to look like they are experiencing feelings they are not feeling...

I think there are many worse errors, with Adele Parks being one example, of poor grammar, spelling and just using the wrong words. It seems that editing and proofreading are done (if at all) by those without any skills whatsoever, but who are so sure of themselves that they don't even bother to use a spellchecker or look anything up. I don't really understand how they are ever employed.
The worst is the ubiquitous 'he was sat/she was stood' etc, which should not escape any half decent proofreader and causes me to abandon books, as it sets the tone for the rest of the book. Some other examples from recently abandoned books:

• 'he tucked into a plate of freshly caught kippers'
• (novel set in Tudor England) the main character describes his 'mom and pop's grocery store' and describes the noble ladies shopping in there. The previous scene had Henry the Eighth saying to Anne Boleyn 'scooch over, honey'
• 'he bore his teeth at me' (meaning 'bared')

I can't abide 'she was sat'. It's awful. Everywhere now though, unfortunately. It really grates on me.

I don't think you can blame authors for that. British regional dialect, maybe, but not authors.

I don’t think it’s particularly regional, I’ve heard both Northerners and Southerners use it. It’s just wrong.

There are both Northern and Southern dialects that use the final "r" in words like "car".
Doesn't mean it isn't regional.

I'm an editor and proofreader.

It may be that Adele Parks' publisher thinks that people will buy her books, regardless of errors. Or Parks may be very resistant to changes to her work, and the publisher allows this. Or they may have been on a very tight deadline to get the book published... who knows?

'he tucked into a plate of freshly caught kippers'
(novel set in Tudor England) the main character describes his 'mom and pop's grocery store' and describes the noble ladies shopping in there. The previous scene had Henry the Eighth saying to Anne Boleyn 'scooch over, honey'

God Grief! Though I do think some US authors (and even some UK authors) see UK history as some fancy stage set against which they can pose their characters in something possibly approaching authentic costume, spouting something which may possibly approach authentic dialogue.

Oooh didn’t know this.

Probably. But Lee Child is married to an American and has lived in the USA since the late 90s. I don't imagine he makes basic mistakes with factual stuff simply because he's British. He's probably as aware as most Americans are of how things work.

I imagine there are errors in the Reacher books to improve the drama or excitement, but not simply because Child isn't American.

I think I might know the one you mean…It didn’t involve tennis, a gay husband and an Edith Wharton pastiche background, did it?

I think I might know the one you mean…It didn’t involve tennis, a gay husband and an Edith Wharton pastiche background, did it?

No, it was a fairly run of the mill mystery/crime about a (rather drippy) woman with a husband who was obviously going to turn out to be a villain.

But other authors are equally guilty. I read a couple of the new Poirots by Sophie Hannah. The new sidekick, a police detective, was said to have a thing about dead bodies, due to having seen his deceased grandfather lying tidily in his bed. But he was of an age to have served in the Great War .... Sophie Hannah didn't mention what he did in the War when introducing him, but it was so fundamental to shaping that generation, you'd think it would be one of the first things she'd decide on when planning the character.

Meant to comment on this before:

I’ve read some old novels where the reference to a woman being pregnant has been so oblique that it’s a real surprise when a baby turns up!

Going to be busy
Knitting a tiny garment - or knitting something white
Wearing a loose coat
Not feeling like dancing
Having breakfast in bed
In a delicate situation or condition

Good God that is bad!

I was SO disappointed in the new Poirots. I am a big Agatha Christie fan and was excited at the idea that someone had been commissioned to write new stuff, but it was dreary and second rate. I read the first one, got part way through the second and then didn't bother any more.

'he tucked into a plate of freshly caught kippers'

😂brilliant @Portakalkedi

DH is a professional writer, but not of fiction. I think very few writers of fiction make any money out of it, so you've got to do it just because you want to, as a hobby more or less.

As PPs have said, to be a freelance writer or editor you almost certainly need to have worked 'in-house' first, to have established a reputation and built up a solid core of contacts. DH worked for 2 of the biggest names in the UK in his field before he went freelance so they already knew and trusted him and carried on giving him work once he left their employ.