The time a guy at my book club argued a character's name was a secret code for 17th century tax law

We were discussing a normal historical fiction novel at the library last Tuesday, and this new member, Mark, spent twenty minutes explaining how the protagonist's surname, 'Fletcher', was a direct reference to obscure wool tariffs from 1685. He had a whole binder. Has anyone else had a book club theory that went completely off the rails like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

annas8718d ago

Mark with the binder sounds like he was prepared for a debate, not a book club... did anyone actually argue back, or did everyone just nod along? The wool tariff connection feels like a stretch, but I've seen weirder coincidences in historical fiction that turned out to be true. Was his theory actually based on something in the author's notes, or was it all him?

finleyh891mo ago

Ever think those theories were just silly? I used to, but a guy in my group once connected a nursery rhyme to medieval plumbing and it was weirdly convincing!

robin_roberts841mo ago

Totally get that, lol. A friend once linked "Pop Goes the Weasel" to old spinning wheel factory shifts and the details were shockingly solid. Makes you wonder what else we're just singing without knowing.