The Middle Classes
Starting and ending with remarkable film of late Victorians, this six-part series charts the rise and rise of 'the backbone of England'.
How did the middle class pull free from the old social system? What effect did its evolution have on those above and below?
In this elegant collage of photographs, diaries, letters and films, experts put their opinions and ageing grandchildren visit the houses where their grandparents (and servants) once lived. Money, education, an emphasis on achievement - these were the hallmarks of the new class.
Geoffrey Palmer's waspish commentary brings the worthies of the late 19th-century glowingly to life. (Pictured: store founder William Whiteley and family.)
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