: You only have to watch Downton Abbey to realize that the 1920s were a period of rapid social upheaval in the UK. Some people clung to the old ways with a death-grip; others cast aside

@Berumen699

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You only have to watch Downton Abbey to realize that the 1920s were a period of rapid social upheaval in the UK. Some people clung to the old ways with a death-grip; others cast aside all conventional behavior (and mostly got ostracized for it). Most people sought a middle ground, which was tricky because the ground kept shifting. So, the first thing you must do is establish which kind of person your main character is. Then, no matter your choice for him, you've got to set up conflict with people who've made other choices. This has nothing to do with your main plot. It's just the setting of the time period. There was widespread disagreement as to what ought to constitute proper social and moral behavior for the "modern" day (i.e., post-WWI) British.

I think you must maintain this, or your world won't be recognizably 1920s UK, even as an alternate reality. So, for example, if your minor lord has a valet, he might or might not treat his "inferior" with respect. But your minor lord's not going to treat his valet as an equal unless your minor lord is incredibly rebellious against the social order. In that case, the valet would probably be uncomfortable with that level of familiarity. Even if the two of them are fine with being pals, most people around them would be shocked by it and would come up with bad explanations for it. And of course that begs the question (both for the reader and in-world): why does such a lord HAVE a valet? [character development and plot development opportunity]

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