Abstract
This chapter uses the political context of the Coalition Government period of 2010–15 to frame analysis of the representational politics of the ITV costume drama Mr Selfridge. Providing the first detailed examination of the series in light of Coalition political philosophy and policy during that pivotal five-year period, this chapter considers the various ways in which the series intersects with contemporary public debates in the UK about spending, consumption, equality, welfare provision and personal responsibility.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Atkinson, W., Roberts, S. & Savage, M. (eds.) (2013). Class Inequality and Austerity Britain: Power, Difference and Suffering. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Bednarek, A. (2011). ‘Responsibility and the Big Society’, Sociological Research Online, 16(2), 17. Available at: http://www.socresonline.org.uk/16/2/17.html [Accessed: 4 February 2016].
Byrne, K. (2015). Edwardians on Screen: From Downton Abbey to Parade’s End. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Cameron, D. (2010). ‘Big Society speech’. Available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/big-society-speech [Accessed: 4 February 2016].
Conservative & Liberal Democrat Manifesto. (2010). The Coalition: Our Programme for Government. Cabinet Office.
Cox, P. & Hobley, A. (2014). Shopgirls: The True Story of Life Behind the Counter. Penguin, Random House (Betty TV Ltd.).
Gurley Brown, H. (2013). Having it All: Love, Success, Sex, Money Even if You’re Starting With Nothing. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Higson, A. (1993). ‘Re-presenting the National Past: Nostalgia and Pastiche in the Heritage Film’ in Friedman, L. (ed.), Fires Were Started: British Cinema and Thatcherism. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, pp. 109–129.
Maloney, A. (2014). The World of Mr Selfridge: the Glamour and Romance. London: Simon & Schuster.
Mason, F. (2014). Selfridge: The Life and Times of Harry Gordon Selfridge. Anaheim, CA: Bookcaps.
Nava, M. (1996). ‘Modernity’s Disavowal: Women, the City and the Department Store’, in M. Nava, & O’Shea, A. (eds) Modern Times: Reflections on a Century of English Modernity. London & New York: Routledge, pp 38–76.
Sandberg, S. (2013). Lean in: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. London: W.H Allen.
Scott, P. M. & Walker, J. T. (2010). ‘Advertising, Promotion, and the Competitive Advantage of Interwar British Department Stores’, Economic History Review, 63(4), pp. 1105–1128.
Veblen, T. (1899/2007). The Theory of the Leisure Class. Oxford & New York: Oxford World Classics.
Wright, A. (2015). ‘This Wonderful Commercial Machine: Gender, Class and the Pleasures and Spectacle of Shopping in The Paradise and Mr Selfridge’ in Leggott & Taddeo (eds), Upstairs and Downstairs: British Costume Drama from The Forsyte Saga to Downton Abbey. London: Rowman and Littlefield, pp. 235–248.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Jamieson, G. (2017). ‘Honest Endeavour Together!’: Social Mobility, Entrepreneurialism and Class in Mr Selfridge . In: Forrest, D., Johnson, B. (eds) Social Class and Television Drama in Contemporary Britain. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-55506-9_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-55506-9_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-55505-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-55506-9
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)