dapplegrey I agree with you about attitudes. I'm about halfway through an old recording of Maison Close on Sky Arts.
It's set in a Parisian brothel in the 1880s. It's glossy and has definitely been made to be titillating but in reality it's unflinching and brutal.
The women are prisoners - a 15 year old was tricked into spending money thinking she was being taken out to dinner and was raped to pay off part of her debt. It's not clear when the debt will end - it keeps growing because they have to pay for board and lodging and clothes.
Another teenager was diagnosed with syphilis and had no idea how serious it was because the lesion wasn't painful. They did though and she was sold on to a cheaper brothel. She will undoubtedly die soon in misery and pain.
The police, courts, doctors and 'respectable' society perpetuate the misery and don't think they're doing wrong. The women have no rights and were banned by law from mixing with 'decent' people on the streets and confined to certain neighbourhoods.
I'm sure attitudes in Britain 40 years later weren't that much different. I can see how 'decent' women thought they deserved it and men were able to ignore their own hypocrisy.
Sorry about that rant.
Back to Downton. I see from the trailer the innocent new footman is horrified by Thomas's predatory gay ways 