简介：IntheyearssincetheendoftheSecondWorldWar,Britainhasbeenanationindecline:thelossofEmpire,thecollapseofindustry,andthedeclineofpoliticalandeconomicinfluenceinworldaffairs.However,thereisonearenainwhichwecanlegitimatelyclaimsuperpowerstatus-ourpopularculture. Inthepost-waryears,Britain’sculturalcontributionhasbeensecondtonone,frommusicandfashiontoart,film,literatureandtheatre.JamesBondtoAgathaChristie,AndrewLloydWebbertoJohnLennon,itisthroughourculturethattheworldnowseesus. Infourone-hourepisodesforBBCTwo,historianDominicSandbrookarguesthatthisisacontributionanchoredfirmlyinourownpast.AuniquelyBritishculture,reflectinguniquelyBritishvaluesandoutlookswhichwerefirstforged,andarticulated,duringtheIndustrialRevolutionandtheVictorianera.Thesameimpulses,thesameconcerns,thesameambitionsthatdroveourVictorianforbears,remaintheengineofourmodernculturetoday.…