The Forsyte Saga/The Six Wives of Henry VIII

This chapter explores two very different costume dramas spanning the end of the 1960s to the early 1970s. One, The Forsyte Saga , is notable for being the period drama that deserted English pubs and forced churches to rearrange their services. With reference to succeeding adaptations, it will be discussed in terms of the late-19th- and early-20th-century costumes that contributed to this captivation and their influence on the already emerging “vintage” trend. The Six Wives of Henry VIII is a six-part television play focusing on the wives of the Tudor king. Sumptuous costumes were created on a low budget, but their accuracy in terms of construction set a gold standard for future period dramas, including the equally highly regarded Elizabeth R (1971) starring Glenda Jackson. This makes it a prescient comparison to The Tudors , which aired 37 years later. It also coincided with an interest in the 16th century, fuelled by the growing popularity of the “Renaissance faire” across the United States.