Life in“Downton”: The Representation of Edwardian Social Hierarchies in Downton Abbey (2010) (2024)

FAQs

What was life like for the working class in the Edwardian era? ›

The working class made up 80% of Britain but they owned very little. They worked in factories or shops and had very physical jobs. They led tough lives and barely had enough money to live. This meant that they lived on vegetables and grains like bread.

The Edwardian Era (1901–1914) represents a period of extreme socio-economic inequality in Britain. The upper-class invested its financial resources on land and built luxurious estates with large country houses; the lower-class struggled to survive.

The series, set on the fictional Yorkshire country estate of Downton Abbey between 1912 and 1926, depicts the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their domestic servants in the post-Edwardian era, and the effects the great events of the time have on their lives and on the British social hierarchy.

According to the American author Samuel Hynes, the Edwardian period was a “leisurely time when women wore picture hats and did not vote, when the rich were not ashamed to live conspicuously, and the sun never really set on the British flag”.

In Edwardian society, men were the source of wealth. The law restricted relief for unemployed, able-bodied male workers, due to the prevailing view that they would find work in the absence of financial assistance. However, women were treated differently.

The Edwardian period was known for elegance and luxury among the rich and powerful in Britain but also for moral looseness and for a general failure to prepare for some of the challenges of the twentieth century — particularly World War I , which broke out four years after the death of King Edward.

Compared to the more ornate Victorian architecture that preceded it, Edwardian architecture embraced a simpler and more elegant design approach. Clean lines and understated detailing characterise the exteriors. Edwardian houses tend to have a symmetrical facade, with balanced and evenly spaced windows and doors.

The Edwardian era is viewed nostalgically and often called the "Gilded Age". In Britain, it was a time of peace: sandwiched between the Boer War (1899-1902) and the First World War which broke out in 1914.

If you were wealthy in Edwardian England, you enjoyed a life of luxury, mixing with high society at exclusive events. If you were poor, however, life wasn't as sweet and you'd find yourself working long hours in sometimes appalling conditions.

Downton Abbey: A New Era, out May 18, is set in 1928 and finds the Crawley family enjoying the last years of the Roaring Twenties in various gigantic homes before the Great Depression arrives. In A New Era, the family finds out they've inherited yet another gorgeous property: A villa in the South of France.

Does Lady Grantham know Thomas is his son? ›

She knows that Thomas is the illegitimate son of O'Brien and Lord Grantham – and the rightful heir to the house. She knows it will kill her husband to see an illegitimate child inherit Downton Abbey and she has waited a long time for this moment.

Marriage was the norm, and divorce was rare. In Britain in 1910, there were only 1000 divorces a year, compared with around 100,000 divorces a year in Britain today. Perhaps the Edwardians had "stronger" marriages than we have today.

Women in Edwardian society were very much regarded as second-class citizens. They had fewer rights than men, were expected to abide by different social rules, and did not have the vote, so were unable to influence or change laws that discriminated against them.

The dominant theme of the Edwardian era was the exploration of power, nostalgia, and a contrasting lightness of touch. This period was characterized by rapid political, economic, and artistic change, culminating in the First World War.

The Edwardian period was indeed a “Gilded Age,” both in England and America.

American workers toiled in difficult jobs for long hours and little pay. Mechanization and mass production threw skilled laborers into unskilled positions. Industrial work ebbed and flowed with the economy. The typical industrial laborer could expect to be unemployed one month out of the year.

Working-class and immigrant families often needed to have many family members, including women and children, work in factories to survive. The working conditions in factories were often harsh. Hours were long, typically ten to twelve hours a day. Working conditions were frequently unsafe and led to deadly accidents.

Introduction. Nowadays, childhood lasts a long time with children remaining dependant on their parents, sometimes into adulthood, as they take advantage of educational opportunities. But during the Edwardian era, most children left school much earlier and went into the world of work to earn their keep.

At the start of the Edwardian era, a polarised class system was very much in place. An upstairs-downstairs culture of lords and ladies with scullery maids and servant staff, the real-life Downton Abbey. If you were wealthy in Edwardian England, you enjoyed a life of luxury, mixing with high society at exclusive events.