Half a Soul (Regency Faerie Tales, #1)

by Olivia Atwater

“You had no way to know. Pleasant-mannered men will not tell you of that side of the war because it is distressing. Pleasant-mannered women, like the countess, will not hear of it in their presence. As a result, the ugly parts are largely not thought about by those who did not cross the channel.” A bitter weariness flickered across his face. “I cannot help but feel that if we had fewer pleasant-mannered people, then perhaps there would also be fewer of these hideous wars.”

My husband's grandfather would not speak of the war until right before he died and even then we didn't get all the stories.

“There is such a thing as evil in this world,” Elias told her quietly. “It does not help to look away from it. It does not even help necessarily to look at it.” His fingers brushed through her hair, and she shivered. “But sometimes, when you cannot force the world to come to its senses, you must settle only for wiping away some of the small evils in front of you.”

Very timely

“No one gives what they could, Albert!” Elias hissed. “Everyone gives what they please – and certainly not without plenty of self-congratulations for their miserly gestures. With one hand, they raise grain tariffs, muster soldiers and create the workhouses. With the other, they deign to save a few poor souls from the very hell they made. This country is mad. It’s rotten. It’s unthinkable, and none of you can see it.”

This is applicable to our current climate as well