Historical‑fiction literacy gap

A large share of Americans are unsure about the historical settings of canonical novels; among those who have read the books, correct identification is common, but non‑readers produce noisy public beliefs. Tricky framing (e.g., Narnia’s Blitz frame) and popular familiarity distort aggregate impressions of which works convey which historical periods. — If citizens lack basic cultural‑historical literacy, public conversations about memory, commemoration, curriculum, and the policing of historical narratives become more fragile and easier to misframe or politicize.