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Re: Meaning of name & book
1918 is a toughy. There was 'Air Stewardess' by Nellie Graf in 1936 with Nerine..At that time Nerine wouldn't have been used as a flower name - common English and French names for flowers were well established for girls by that time but not Latin names - no Japonica's and such and the trends around 1918 played heavily upon jewels and French. Nerina was a common Italian name in the 1800's, feminine of the now defunct Nerino, from Nero or Nereus, the Greek sea god. Nerissa, from nereis 'of the sea' is closely related and also enjoyed a minor vogue at that time - the Art Nouveau movement with it's nymphs, mermaids and fairies helped such fanciful names along. Nerima and Nerice also occurred.In all likelihood, it was a minor novel and not something you're likely to find today unless extremely lucky. Of the thousands of books published and read, few become noted classics and the same was true then. It could well have been that the name Nerine was the best part of the book. She certainly made out better then my aunt who was dubbed 'Louvada' from another minor and forgotten novel of that time ;o)Devon
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