A Condition of England: The critique of racism, sexism and the ‘back to nature’ movement in the BBC's adaptation of Peter Dickinson's ‘The Changes’ novels

The Changes, the BBC's 1975 adaptation of Peter Dickinson's ‘The Changes’ novels, constitutes a direct critique of racism, sexism and the ‘back to nature’ movement in mid-1970s Britain. This article reads the ten-part serial and its source texts as critical responses to anti-immigration legislation and Powellite extremism which offer positive, if necessarily uncomplicated and distinctly qualified, metaphors for England's progress towards a multicultural society. It then considers Dickson's novels and their adaptation as anti-sexist narratives before concluding with an assessment of the serial's scepticism towards any radical green agenda. Throughout, both the novels and the serial are contextualised more broadly in terms of contemporary trends in British children's literature and within changes to BBC children's television production.