Varies
Posted by Ken on September 04, 1998 at 07:32:19:
In response to 4%, or 5?, written by Patricia R. on September 04, 1998 at 07:02:56
] I know that Mr Colins refers to Elizabeth as being entitles to 1000 pounds in the 4%, but when Lydia elopes doesn't Mr. Bennet say to accept 100 pounds/annum during his life and only fifty after he dies?
I've seen novelistic & historical references ranging from 3.5% to 5.5% from roughly the 1780's to the 1820's, the lower figure pertaining to times of peace; the higher, times when the activity of the wars reached a peak. If it's after Amiens, but before Waterloo, I usually think to myself 5%, unless given a direct estimate in the text. Of course, we generally don't get any direct references to what year it is in Austen (-:
YHOS,
Snarkhunter
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