Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortune: How Younger Sons Made Their Way in Jane Austen's England

by Rory Muir

Overview

A history of younger sons in Regency England and how these “spares” supported themselves: “Illuminates the hard facts with vignettes of actual lives lived.” —The Spectator

In Regency England the eldest son usually inherited almost everything—while his younger brothers, left with little inheritance, had to make a crucial decision: What should they do to make an independent living?

Historian Rory Muir weaves together the stories of many obscure and well-known young men of good family but small fortune, shedding light on an overlooked aspect of Regency society. This is the first scholarly yet accessible exploration of the lifestyle and prospects of these younger sons.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780300249545
Publisher:	Yale University Press
Publication date:	06/24/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	399
File size:	18 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Rory Muir is a visiting research fellow at the University of Adelaide and a renowned expert on British history. His books include Britain and the Defeat of Napoleon and his two-part biography of Wellington, which won the SAHR Templer Medal.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations vi

Preface viii

A Note on Money xv

1 Younger Sons and their Families 1

2 Money and Society 22

3 The Church 42

4 Medicine 71

5 The Law: Barristers 94

6 The Law: Attorneys and Solicitors 114

7 Banking and Commerce 132

8 Civil Office 164

9 The Navy: Young Gentlemen at Sea 194

10 The Navy: Promotion and Employment 212

11 The Army 242

12 India 283

Conclusion 311

Appendix 1 Inflation in the Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries 325

Appendix 2 Some Numbers 327

Notes 331

Bibliography 351

Index 363

Editorial Reviews

Energetic and scholarly.”—Paula Byrne, Times (UK)

“A readable book.”—Jonathan Guthrie, Financial Times

“Muir gives us plenty of detail—numbers recruited at different periods, premiums paid and salaries earned—he illuminates the hard facts with vignettes of actual lives lived.”—Richard Francis, Spectator

“[A] wonderful, fascinating . . . tour de force.”—Journal of Modern History

“Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortune is an ambitious and lively meditation on the prospects in the 1750s–1790s for young Englishmen who considered careers in the church, medicine, the law, banking, the military, the East India Company, or government. . . . One can open this book anywhere and find gems.”—Paul J. de Gategno, 1650–1850

From the Publisher