bradygirl_12 | (Reply)

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*grin* Honey, you write Victoriana, you know I'll be there!

Glad to know I'll have one reader at least! ;)

Gotta say, the flavour of the era seems to have been slightly different this side of the pond. At least as far as the preoccupation with war goes. That is to say, the British Empire had a LOT of wars throughout the whole era, so it was more of a general thing rather than a focused interest in one particular war.

I'd guess it's because your country was at the height of its Empire and accustomed to wars across the globe. We were isolationist here, and the Civil War literally changed nearly everything about American society, and pushed us into becoming more of a united country after the crucible. The War touched everyone in some way. Entire towns lost their young men as it was the habit of the day to go to war as a unit, so if said unit was wiped out in a particular battle...
The North had some industrial experience before the War, and honed and refined it during the War. Afterwards, the Industrial Revolution really took off here.

The South was destroyed, literally from ruined plantations to towns. They lost incredible numbers of men to the modern technology, disease and medieval treatment of it, and the sheer number of battlefield deaths.

There was so much social upheaval caused by the War that it became the touchstone, neatly dividing the century right in the middle. Tales from the War and the symbolism of losing Lincoln on Good Friday guaranteed the subject would be in generations of novels, movies and art right up to the present day.

Ack! Rambling again! :)

I haven't read those novels. I do find the British Empire's might and power in those days to be endlessly fascinating, almost like the Roman Empire of the ancient world.