This week in our Downton Abbey series we are getting on our gender and class soap boxes, so buckle up!

We see Mary, Anna, Sybil, Daisy, and the other women of Downton navigating the changing roles of women in English society, but what would these roles have looked like for real women of the time?

We also look at one the largest media influences on Downton Abbey--the 1970s ITV series Upstairs, Downstairs--and how these two shows’ handling of social class reflects the respective times in which they were made.

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