This is a daring, provocative, and unusually frank discussion of the Gap--the invisible, yet powerful, divide between classes--which always has, and perhaps always will, plague Britain. To pretend that class distinctions are a thing of the past, is, as Ferdinand Mount argues, nothing more than an ostrich-like attempt at idealism. Through fine observation and extensive research, covering issues as diverse as the distribution of wealth, the significance of speech patterns, and the politics of egalitarianism, the author pursues an oft-times illusive answer to the fundamental question: How can oppressive inequality in Britain be wiped out once and for all?