Grammar Girl here, I'm in Yonfogarty and you can think of me as your friendly guide to

the English language.

We talk about writing, history, rules, and cool stuff.

Today we'll talk about anachronisms, words that are out of place in time, and how you

can tell.

And we'll talk about the two different spellings of OK and why I prefer one over the other.

To get started, this piece about anachronisms is by Nev March, the author of Murder in Old

Bombay.

So when I say me or I, that's her.

Historical novels attempt to take readers into a different time, and sometimes a different

place, too.

For example, my historical mystery, Murder in Old Bombay, transports readers to 19th

century Bombay, the center of colonial India during the British Raj.

To be effective, a historical narrative has to weave the facts and sounds of the time

in place into the story.

So readers feel that this story could not have occurred in any other time.

Anachronisms, the use of words, objects, or phrases in a period where they didn't

exist, are the bane of the historical fiction writer's life.

So why does this matter?

Well, a reader cracks open a new book with a sense of anticipation.

Expectations, fed by the cover art in the book, blurb, suspending disbelief as they

began.

...