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Originally Posted by BWinmill
I must ask, how old is this novel? If it was written in the 1950's, it may have been a cultural reference that most readers would have been familiar with. I think it's an important point because you'll run into cultural references in modern literature, but you may choose to learn about it by means other than Google (e.g. family and friends).
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Absolutely. One classic example (no pun intended) is this sentence I came across in a detective story recently:
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Like Gaul, the large picture window behind the drapes was divided into three parts...
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50 years ago, the reference to "Gaul" would have been instantly understandable to any reader. Today I suspect that I'm in a minority in understanding it. Anyone care to explain it?