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- Jun 20, 2018
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I'm writing a historical fantasy story set in the early 1900s. The concept is based off the fanfiction trope of the 'soulmate AU'. The very basic rundown of my version is that at some point in their lives, everybody (or almost everybody) gets a band of skin on their wedding-ring finger that means they'll find their soulmate within a year. I'm not really interested in how or why this happens- the point of the story is to explore the ways a patriarchal Edwardian society interprets it. Soulmates recognise each other when they touch skin-to-skin, but it happens only between them- nothing happens that's visible to anyone watching.
Generally speaking, I'm trying to be as historically accurate as possible. Obviously there are some things that are different from real-world-1905, because there's a different set of societal conventions, laws etc. that have been built up around the facts of the universe, but I want those things to feel consistent with the real-world elements.
One of the things that's different is that upper-class girls 'come out' in society basically as soon as possible once their marking appears. My question is, how long would it realistically take to plan a coming-out ball? Would a month be believable?
Another, unrelated question- when an untitled girl is talking to Lady X (widow of a baronet, so it's a courtesy title, if that's relevant), is it rude for her to just answer questions without adding a title or anything? (e.g. 'How old are you?' 'Sixteen'.) Does she have to say 'Sixteen, Lady X' every single time? Does she call her 'madam'? She's not a servant, she's from a well-off family, and 'ma'am' feels too servant-y to me, but I fully accept I may be wrong and that may be correct.
Generally speaking, I'm trying to be as historically accurate as possible. Obviously there are some things that are different from real-world-1905, because there's a different set of societal conventions, laws etc. that have been built up around the facts of the universe, but I want those things to feel consistent with the real-world elements.
One of the things that's different is that upper-class girls 'come out' in society basically as soon as possible once their marking appears. My question is, how long would it realistically take to plan a coming-out ball? Would a month be believable?
Another, unrelated question- when an untitled girl is talking to Lady X (widow of a baronet, so it's a courtesy title, if that's relevant), is it rude for her to just answer questions without adding a title or anything? (e.g. 'How old are you?' 'Sixteen'.) Does she have to say 'Sixteen, Lady X' every single time? Does she call her 'madam'? She's not a servant, she's from a well-off family, and 'ma'am' feels too servant-y to me, but I fully accept I may be wrong and that may be correct.
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