1960s

The 1960s mark a shift in how property acquires social and economic value in the novel. The decade is associated both with newly wealthy Americans discovering Bahamian real estate and with Atlanta buyers turning views into a competitive asset. In each case, a feature once taken for granted—or overlooked—becomes something to seek out, market, and use to distinguish oneself.

Real Estate and the Bahamas

Arthur Wyndham’s business flourished in the 1960s as newly rich Americans began discovering the Bahamas’ scattered islands and clear blue water. The growth of interest in the islands provided a market for Arthur Wyndham & Son Realty, which sold island property to status-conscious American, British, and German buyers. The decade appears here not simply as a date but as a period when new wealth generated new destinations and new forms of conspicuous ownership.

The firm’s name also links that business history to a family story. Arthur Wyndham added “& Son” in the early 1960s, when Harvey was only six or seven, partly to please his young son and partly to give the business an air of established history it did not yet possess. Arthur did not pressure Harvey to take over. Harvey later returned to the Bahamas after finding that he was not suited to setting the American business world alight; in time, he became an able property salesman and succeeded to the firm. The name that began as a father’s affectionate hope thus became the designation of an actual successor’s business.

Views Become a Commodity

The decade also figures in Charlie Croker’s account of Atlanta real estate. Looking out over a vast stretch of treetops, he reflects that people once cared little about views: they were readily available and cheaper than land. Around the 1960s, he says, buyers discovered them, turning a prospect into another feature over which people could compete. His recollection frames the decade as a moment when real-estate value expanded beyond the ground itself to include what could be seen from it.

Croker’s observation makes the changing status of views part of a broader pattern of rivalry. Once treated as incidental, a view becomes an amenity with social value because buyers recognize and desire it. The shift parallels the Bahamian property market’s appeal to status-seeking purchasers: in both settings, changing tastes make particular places and features newly marketable.

Place in the Novel’s History of Status

The novel gives the 1960s two related roles: a period of discovery in the Bahamas and a turning point in Atlanta’s valuation of property. These references connect business opportunity to changing consumer desire without suggesting that the decade alone explains either market. Instead, they show how status can attach to newly prized places and experiences—and how real estate becomes more valuable when people begin competing for what it offers.