context Flashcards
(56 cards)
What social changes occur between the prologue (1919) and the main body (1947)?
- empire
- domestic politics
- healthcare
Empire Day
introduced in 1902 as a celebration of British imperialism and power, schoolchildren given afternoon off to attend local celebrations
choice to begin novel on Empire Day = ideas of hierarchy, patriotism, tradition, nationalism
How did Claire O’Callahan describe Empire Day and the significance of the one in 1919?
1919 Empire Day - “served as a post WWI restoration of Victorian values”
Examples of 1919 being a point of change which they were unaware of
- British empire was at its geographical height, would slowly shift
- Gandhi begins civil disobedience campaign in India
- Amritsar massacre, over 2000 unarmed civilians killed or injured
(can use above context for when Mrs Ayres refers to the elections in India)
When was the Diphtheria vaccine introduced?
1940 - first vaccine to be offered free at the point of use to British children on a national scale - healthcare becoming a right rather than a privilege
(Suki dies of diptheria in the 1920s - Betty, a working class girl, gets the vaccine - social progress for all)
When was the Beveridge Report published?
942 - laid out the blueprint for the post-war welfare state, including the NHS
what did the beveridge report do
-laid out the blueprint for the post-war welfare state, including the NHS
-the new welfare system was to rid britain of the ‘5 great evils’ it composed in the report
-after report was published, due to british popularity, labour were 18 percent ahead of conservatives in the opinion role
Which government was elected in 1945?
Clement Attlee’s Labour government on a platform of social reform, landslide election that shockingly defeated Conservative war leader and proponent of the British Empire, Churchill
-gained 47.7% of the vote
WHO WAS PRIME MINISTER UNDER THE NEW LABOUR GOV
CLEMENT ATTLEE
-had become leader of labour party in 1935
-understood working class life
labour manifesto 1945
promised to take control of the economy, manufacturing industries, fuel and power industriues and transport
also promised social reform as stated in the beveridge report: induction of NHS, tackling poverty and unemployment, and modernising factories
has was clement attlee devoted to social justice
-had worked voluntarily with working class children in east London
-joined laour due to experience with impoverished families in the slums of London
-had great sympathy with working class
who was attlees opponent in the election and how did he win
opponent was conservative war leader and proponent of the british empire churchill
-attlees victory shows the decline of the values of the british empire (and decline of upper class)
When was the Indian Independence Act passed?
1947 - grants freedom to India, key moment in collapse of the British Empire as it was known as the ‘crown jewel’ of the british empire
When was the NHS founded?
1948, a year after TLS is set - Faraday fears it will impact his income (it doesn’t), resents having benefitted from this change in his youth
was proposed in the 1942 beveridge report
how did the induction of the NHS impact faraday
-faraday had concerns as he was in the private healthcare sector
-as he grew up in a working class family he had resentment after the announcement of the blueprint as he didnt have access to free healthcare during his childhood
Conservative response to the NHS
former chairman of the British medical association likened it to “national socialism as practiced in Germany” and compared Bevan to Hitler in 1946
right wing press, like daily sketch claimed it was a part of the socialist plot to convert britain into a national socialist economy
PTSD
- not recognised as a medical condition until 1980
- treated with electric shock therapy
- 37% of war veterans had it
- known as ‘shell shock’
What are the four main symptoms of PTSD and what did Faraday identify which don’t align with them?
- symptoms: intrusive memories, avoidance, negative changes in mood, changes in emotional and physical reactions
- things that Faraday said were symptoms but weren’t: hallucinations - suggests a subconscious willingness to exploit his medical position
What happened under Attlee’s social housing program?
to tackle private rented slums and the destruction of war, social housebuilding provided stable long-term tenancies to millions of people.
How many homes needed to be build post-war
750,000
What did the Labour government say in their pledge for new council estates in the countryside?
“the working man, the doctor and the clergyman will live in close proximity to each other”
Which pieces of legislation led to radical, democratising re-development schemes?
1946 New Towns Act, Town and Country Planning Act of 1947
how were countries houses percieved in 18th and 19th century
county houses were heavily romanticised and revered in he media (mainly novels) from 18th to 19th C
they were seen as the alluring face of luxury in british high society- being luxurious and lavishly decorated, the upper. class led similarly lavish lifestyles
for centuries this was the ultimately unattainable but highly enviable lifestyle (links to the root of faraday’s desire)
What was the future of country houses looking like during the war?
by 1942, owners could’ve guessed that, post-war, the nation would be “heavily weighted against the squirearchical system”, as they were already facing challenges such as “high taxations, lack of domestic staff, and the disesteem of the Zeitgeist [e.g. Baker Hydes]” - James Lees Milne, secretary of the National Trust
