Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I think most negative reviews for this program come from a misunderstanding of the project. It's not meant to be a realistic depiction of Edwardian life, but a reflection on it. That's why they chose ordinary people rather than actors. The point is to see how our modern sensibilities and ideals clash with Edwardian standards of living. And indeed, this was the most interesting part of the show--seeing how the servants found it so hard to accept the inequalities and rigid codes of conduct, while the lord and lady so easily took to oppressing the servants and living indolent, purposeless lives. By the end of the show, their attitudes were really appalling, and I'm guessing they won't be too pleased when they watch the show and see how they come off. Regardless of the rebelliousness of the cast, the show still provided historical education. The voiceovers that accompanied the action conveyed a great deal of information about the realities of Edwardian life--better, in fact, than some documentaries on the period. While, from a pure entertainment standpoint, the show did sometimes drag, and the characters did get annoying, Manor House is both an interesting social experiment and a good source of knowledge about the period.