“ ‘Altogether, they will have five hundred a year amongst them, and what on earth can four women want for more than that?’” (Ch. 2).

Although I know that Fanny Dashwood is a cold, selfish beast, to put it plainly, five hundred a year still seems ample for the Dashwood sisters. I suppose that at this point, the readers are not meant to share Fanny’s view (and believe me, I am nothing like Fanny Dashwood!) but I cannot help thinking that £500, roughly translated into today’s money*, is £30, 000 per annum, and that is more than enough for the Dashwoods to live very comfortably.

They will not even have to pay rent; Sir John is generous and assures Mrs Dashwood “that every thing should be done to it [Barton Cottage] which she might think necessary, if the situation pleased her”. The Dashwoods will certainly not be hard-up. In fact, I was discussing this yesterday (not at Pemberley) and when I mentioned that the Dashwood sisters and their mother would have around £30, 000 a year in today’s money, the people with whom I was talking seemed surprised that that the Dashwoods would be considered impoverished. Their standard of living will be different from what they are used to: a large Sussex estate, and they may have to economise more but they are a long way from being on the breadline. JA’s families may be deprived of some things, but they are never seriously badly off.