1982. A shop worker saves money all year for a holiday in France, using a magazine as guide to the mode of dress and manners of behaviour she thinks expected of a wealthy woman.

The Onedin Line is a BBC television drama series which ran from 1971 to 1980. The series was created by Cyril Abraham. The series is set in Liverpool from 1860 to 1886 and deals with the rise of a shipping line, the Onedin Line, named after its owner James Onedin. Around this central theme are the lives of his family, most notably his brother and partner, shop owner Robert, and his sister Elizabeth, giving insight into the lifestyle and customs at the time, not only at sea, but also ashore. The series also illustrates some of the changes in business and shipping, such as from wooden to steel ships and from sailing ships to steam ships. It shows the role that ships played in affairs like international politics, uprisings and the slave trade.

Lambert Strether goes to France to rescue a young American from a European adventuress - only to fall under the spell of Europe himself. 1965 BBC adaptation of the Henry James novel.