The call to war is evident by the myriad of propaganda posters encouraging the general public to enlist, serve as civilians, donate money, or to take in the downtrodden.
One of the scenes in Lady Grace touches on the heroine’s thoughts of a poster she sees at the train station depicted below, “Women of Britain Say GO!” Rather than inciting empathy for the cause, she questions the ability of any rational woman to encourage their husbands to join and face the probability of certain death. Writing about this era in England has been a challenging exercise in examining the struggles of those left behind and the fears they may have endured. Of course, there is often passionate love based on the uncertainty of survival.
As you can see from the examples of posters below, each carries their own theme that is meant for the very purpose of moving individuals to action. These posters are termed propaganda, which for me has a negative connotation. We think of it as brainwashing or the evil side spreading untruths.
However, propaganda, in the sense of these posters, is a general message designed to persuade the citizens of England to think and behave in a manner that supports the cause of war. They stir emotions in the hopes of action.
Here are only very few I’ve chosen that are relevant to Lady Grace. If you Google the subject matter, more will come up from not only the United Kingdom but the United States, who entered the Great War in 1917.
Ladies of Disgrace 