简介：Kirsty Young begins a four-part history of how British families have changed since the Second World War. The story begins in the post-war era and concludes with the present day, exploring the dramatic changes that The British Family has witnessed along the way. Each episode tackles a major theme during a different era, beginning with marriage in the Forties, Fifties and Sixties, moving on to sex through the Seventies and into the Eighties, exploring the impact of money during the Eighties and Nineties, and finishing with a look at children over the last dozen years. In the first episode, which examines marriage during the period from the end of the Second World War to the end of the Sixties, Young meets ordinary British families and discovers that marriage in the post-war era was in crisis. She explores how organisations such as the Marriage Guidance Council attempted to change marriage from an "institution" into a "relationship". The programme also delves into the shadow of shame that hung over many British families, with illicit sex, illegitimate children and hasty marriages common throughout an era often thought of as a golden age for the family. This episode also charts the relentless rise of divorce in the period and explores how the emotional decisions of ordinary British families eventually led to changes in divorce laws that have had a profound effect on British family life.
