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Episode 3

Episode 3 of 3

Lucy concludes her series. Out of the carnage of World War One came a racier species of romantic love, and the hedonistic era of World War Two encouraged more permissive attitudes.

Lucy Worsley concludes her series with the most dramatic transformation of romance yet. Out of the carnage of World War One 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 Two encouraged these more permissive attitudes, divorce rates soared. Romance, though, would prevail, with a fightback led by the queen of romance herself, Barbara Cartland.

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59 minutes

Last on

Wed 7 Dec 2022 02:30
ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Four

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Music Played

Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes

  • 00:00

    Pink Martini

    Let's Never Stop Falling In Love

  • 00:16

    Etta James

    At Last

  • 00:18

    Diddy

    I Don't Like That (Interlude) (feat. Bristal & Mark Curry)

  • 00:27

    Fred Astaire

    Cheek To Cheek

  • 00:35

    Joe Loss

    Are You Having Any Fun?

  • 00:36

    Harry Roy

    They CanΒ’t Black Out The Moon

  • 00:38

    Ambrose

    Blue Skies Are Just Around The Corner

  • 00:50

    Donna Summer

    Love to Love You Baby

  • 00:53

    Luba Organasova, Will Humberg & Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra

    La Rondine / Chi Il Bel Sogno Di Doretta

Lucy on EM Forster's "Maurice"

Lucy on EM Forster's "Maurice"

By the twentieth century, it was less and less likely that your parents would determine who you would marry as they had done in Georgian times. The two World Wars liberated people from convention. But for some people – like author E.M. Forster himself – barriers still remained.Β  Some of the most romantic, heart-rending literature of the twentieth century involves gay protagonists, who still faced insurmountable obstacles to getting together with 'The One'. It often led to great fiction because such a plot has built-in tension.Β Β 

Written in 1913-14, Maurice could be only published in 1971, well after its author’s death.Β  Forster dedicated it to β€˜a happier day’. And although the lovers do get happily together, the romance is tinged with sadness for they have to defy society to continue their relationship.

Credits

Presenter Lucy Worsley
Executive Producer Michael Poole
Executive Producer John Das
Director Rebecca Whyte
Producer Rebecca Whyte

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