Mini

Excerpt

Excerpt from Mini:

Britain was changing in the 1960s.The early part of the decade is hard to distinguish from the post-war era in terms of attitudes and fashions, but gradually the culture of shortage and stoicism gave way to a strong desire to leave memories of the war and its consequences behind. The economy began to boom, and young people in particular wanted to enjoy themselves, rebelling against the restrictions of tradition, convention and class. As much as any pop star, the romance of the photographer and the princess epitomized a modern era when a commoner could marry into royalty. People took notice when the popular young couple took to the road in this unusual car. Before long Issigonis was being asked to give the queen a drive round Windsor Park and, as the decade progressed, a whole host of people who were famous for very different reasons became fans; the Beatles, Twiggy, Peter Sellers, Marianne Faithful, Christine Keeler – suddenly, it was the thing to have.

Excerpted from Mini by Gillian Bardsley. Copyright © 2013 by Gillian Bardsley. Excerpted by permission of Shire, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.