7-percent:Let’s Talk About The British Class SystemOne of the hardest concepts for non-British fanfi

7-percent:Let’s Talk About The British Class SystemOne of the hardest concepts for non-British fanfic writers who are tackling British stories is… the class system.  It doesn’t matter if you are writing a story set in the Victorian era (ACD Sherlock Holmes), the 1920s (Jeeves and Wooster), Harry Potter or BBC Sherlock Holmes; the class system in its various guises has been in the background and affecting how authentic your story will feel. As an American-born writer who has lived more of my life in the UK than I did in America, I found the class system to be EVERWHERE. It’s part of the collective unconscious of the Brits, even while they are denying its relevance in today’s society. It permeates politics, culture, fashion, vocabulary, education and of course, fiction. So, let’s get down to the basics. This comedy sketch was broadcast in 1966, and the fact that people laughed about it was a sign of what everyone was thinking at the time… surely the distinctions were fading? Not on your life! The clothes, accents, attitudes, past-times, occupations and aspirations of each of the three classes are all still as tightly confined and separate as they ever were, even if some of the externalities are different. And there are “new” classes, too. The Brit who meets another Brit for the first time will unconsciously (and sometimes consciously) assign that person to at least one of the three- upper class, middle class or working class, if not one of the “sub-classes” within each. And the prejudices being made fun of in the clip above are just as rampant, even if it is no longer “politically correct” to say so. Class distinctions tend to cluster around what the academics describe as “economic capital”, “cultural capital” and “social capital”- in other words, your wealth, your appetite for culture and who you know.  Now it is always a bit unfair to stereotype, but for the purposes of fanfic writing, there are things that you need to get right, so here is some advice. Part One: The Upper ClassThe privileged group, the elite. Unlike in America, this is not just about wealth that is measured in terms of what the bank balance looks like. The wealth involved is usually “old money”, in that you’ve inherited wealth as well as earned it in your profession. These people own property, mortgage free. They have an investment portfolio, they worry about inheritance tax. They have very large pension provision which is not dependent on the state system. They may well be “asset rich-cash poor” in that a lot of the wealth is tied up in investments rather than stashed in a bank. The Brits would call it “breeding”- a matter of being well-educated. well connected and well-off in your own head. There are plenty of not well off upper class, who have “fallen on hard times” but not lost their “standards.”It’s not about being an “aristocrat”. There aren’t that many of the old “nobility” about these days; As of 2020 there are only 814 hereditary peers (Lords and Ladies): 31 dukes (including seven royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 193 earls, 112 viscounts, and 444 barons. In surveys done by reputable universities, this class forms the elites of Britain. The key characteristics include: a private education at a “good” school (Eton, Harrow, Rugby, etc) followed by university education at Oxbridge or a “good” university. In their family life, school and university they develop cultural tastes for classical music, museums, fine art, attending events like the Derby, Wimbledon, Henley Regatta, sports like cricket and rugby. They holiday overseas at least twice a year, skiing is a fave, as is the exotic beach holiday in the summer. They dress well, expensively. Brands matter but they are not slaves to the latest fashion trends or couturier. So when John Watson walks into the Barts lab and sees Sherlock in a Spencer Hart suit, he will immediately KNOW that this is someone from the elites. That impression would be immediately reinforced when Sherlock spoke to him- accent and vocabulary would mark him out. There is an inbuilt assumption, a sense of entitlement and arrogance that marks out this group. Not to say that they are ALL like that, but still, it’s a distinguishing feature. This group is overwhelmingly white, alas. Upper class families that have children who go to school together, holiday together, go to university together, play sport or do cultural events together, and marry each other build a strong network of social contacts that play a part in getting jobs in the right places at the right salaries that allow them to perpetuate their elite status. Being “one of us” is important to this group, which can sniff out the poser, the imposter, the “wanna be”, the nouveau riche. This photo shows you the sort of “clubbable” essence of the upper class. It’s of the “Bullingdon Club”, a dining society at Christ Church College, Oxford University, and it you look closely you will see two of them will become British Prime Ministers - David Cameron and Boris Johnson. Both Eton boys, too.  Other classes call them “toffs”. David Cameron (upper row, second from left) was described in Vanity Fair magazine as “a snob, a toff, and an upper-class twit, with a pedigree of name-brand families across centuries of finance, culture, and social standing, including the Queen’s, who is a several-times-removed relative.” There are lots of divisions in the upper classes, but generally speaking, they are recognisable as a group of privileged elite. And they dominate politics and the cultural institutions of England. John Watson’s Blog: “It’s mad. I think he might be mad. He was certainly arrogant and really quite rude and he looks about 12 and he’s clearly a bit public school and, yes, I definitely think he might be mad but he was also strangely likeable. He was charming. It really was all just a bit strange.“John is doing that very British thing- seeing someone and putting him into his class. “A bit public school” is the give-away, as is the combination of both arrogant and quite rude, plus charming.Tomorrow, it’s on to the Middle Classes.  -- source link
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