
Like “Upstairs, Downstairs” and “Downton Abbey,” a new novel titled “Park Lane” explores social boundaries during the Edwardian age in Britain. Author Frances Osborne knows well the world about which she writes. She was inspired by her great grandmother, heir to an industrial dynasty who became involved in the politics of women's suffrage and workers' rights in the early 20th century. Osborne's novel features two heroines from opposite sides of the class divide. She joins us to discuss the effect of World War I on British society and why stories about that period are so appealing today.
Excerpted from "Park Lane" by Frances Osborne. Copyright © 2012 by Frances Osborne. Excerpted by permission of Vintage Books, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

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