Teenage Audiences and British Period Drama

“Galpin’s sensitive research, based on her experience of teaching in London, is welcome and wide-ranging. It challenges assumptions about young audiences by exploring how period drama carries significance in contemporary lives. A crucial book on genre, it also makes original contributions to debates about diversity, identity formation, and emotional engagement.” — Christine Geraghty, University of Glasgow, UK This book provides an engaging insight into the responses of teenage audiences to British period drama, presenting original data collected from young people across England. Situated in relation to debates regarding the heritage film and young people’s consumption of the media, Teenage Audiences and British Period Drama challenges the often homogenous characterisation of teenagers by demonstrating the range of responses this genre inspires in young viewers. Arguing for the period drama’s underestimated relevance to younger audiences, the book details the varied ways that young people use film and television drama to make sense of the world and their place in it, and highlights the under-researched significance of group watching in influencing viewer response. Analysis demonstrates the key role that values play in influencing judgements amongst youth audiences, the importance of perceived historical accuracy and the potential for screen texts to inspire a deeper relationship with the past. Shelley Anne Galpin is currently a Lecturer at King’s College London, having previously taught at a number of UK universities including the University of York, Royal Holloway and Goldsmiths. Prior to her academic career, she worked for several years in the secondary and further education sectors in London.