“Why is it that at a bachelor’s establishment the servants invariably drink the champagne?”
—Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest.
If you want a roseate take on the British class system, where the overlords (and mistresses) are mostly benign and well mannered, and the loyal servant class remains contentedly belowstairs, then watch Downton Abbey. If you want a truer, albeit cynical, picture of how England’s strict social barriers began to fray after two World Wars and the upheavals of the Swinging 60s, The Servant is your cup of builder’s tea.
