Watch A Very British Romance With Lucy Worsley

2015
1 Season
8.2 (213)

A Very British Romance With Lucy Worsley is a fascinating historical documentary series that premiered on BBC Four in 2015, starring the renowned historian Dr. Lucy Worsley. The series explores the evolution of the British romantic culture and how it influenced relationships and love in England, Scotland, and Wales over the years.

Through a unique combination of historical research, social commentary, and personal anecdotes, Worsley takes viewers on a journey through the centuries, highlighting key events and personalities that shaped the British romantic scene. From the Georgian era to the present day, the series is a compelling and insightful exploration of love, courtship, and marriage in Britain.

The series comprises three hour-long episodes and features interviews with various experts and authors, including A.N. Wilson and Doug Grant. Worsley also visits some of the most iconic love locations in Britain, such as Gretna Green, where runaway couples have been eloping since 1754, and London's Hyde Park, where Victorian high society would meet for romantic encounters.

Episode one, entitled "The Pursuit of Pleasure," explores the origins of the British romantic culture in the 18th century. Worsley delves into how the ideals of pleasure, love, and happiness came to shape the Georgian era, with its luxurious lifestyle and sumptuous high society parties. She also examines how the rise of romantic literature during this time helped shape the modern concept of romance and love.

In episode two, "Fatal Attractions," Worsley examines how romantic relationships were not without danger, scandal, and tragedy in the 19th century. She discusses how middle-class morality, constraint, and sexual repression made people yearn for excitement and adventure, leading to secret and illegal relationships, adultery, and even murder.

The final episode, "This Sceptred Isle," takes a look at how the romantic culture survived World War II and the social upheavals of the 20th century. Worsley explores the rise of new attitudes towards love and sex and their impact on relationships in Britain. She also discusses the challenges of modern love, including online dating, long-distance relationships, and the growing prevalence of divorce.

Throughout the series, Worsley masterfully weaves together historical events and personal anecdotes to create a fascinating narrative of the British romantic culture. Her energy, enthusiasm, and humor make the series engaging and entertaining, while her historical expertise lends it a strong sense of authenticity.

In conclusion, A Very British Romance With Lucy Worsley is an exceptional historical documentary series that provides an in-depth exploration of the evolution of the British romantic scene. Through the lens of the past, the series offers insight into modern attitudes towards love, sex, and relationships in Britain, making it a must-watch for anyone interested in history, sociology, or romance.

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Seasons

3. Episode 3

October 22, 2015

Lucy Worsley concludes her series with the most dramatic transformation of romance yet. Out of the carnage of World War I came a racier species of romantic love. It could be found in the novel The Sheik, the Fifty Shades of Grey of its time, while in real life Marie Stopes urged husbands and wives to explore their sexual desire. New entertainments like dining out for two allowed couples to get to know one another without a chaperone, while going to the cinema provided a dark environment where hands could roam free. But as the hedonistic era of World War II encouraged these more permissive attitudes, divorce rates soared. Romance, though, would prevail, with a fightback led by the queen of romance herself, Barbara Cartland.

2. Episode 2

October 15, 2015

Lucy Worsley journeys into the Victorian way of love in the second part of her series on the changing face of British romance. She discovers how medieval chivalry shaped Victorian courtship, and explores theinfluence of valentine's cards and flowers on romantic lives. Lucy uncovers the way that literary passions - in novels by writers such as Charlotte Bront?, Mrs. Henry Wood, and HG Wells - translated into real-life desires, changing the way the British felt. This is a new view of the Victorians in love, which takes us from romance on the factory floor to the curious erotic possibilities of the seance.

1. Episode 1

October 8, 2015

Lucy's romp through three centuries of love's rituals begins with the Georgian age, when the rules of courtship were being rewritten. Traditionally, marriage had been as much about business as love. Now, a glamorisation of romantic love inspired women and men to make their own romantic choices - they could flirt in newly-built assembly rooms, or elope to Gretna Green as an act of romantic rebellion. But the main force of change was the arrival of the novel - Samuel Richardson, Fanny Burney, and Jane Austen didn't just map out women's changing desires, they made people seek out the feelings and emotions described in their own lives, permanently changing how the British feel.

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