Calling Cards
Today Miss Manners's column discusses an early 20th century calling card that one of her readers discovered in an antique book, inspiring me to write about calling cards in early nineteenth century England. At that time a call was a…
Mrs. Bennet and her place in society
In Part II of Mr. Bennet and the Entailment I mentioned the fact that the Bennet girls do not have any familiarity with household tasks such as cooking (and presumably cleaning). After further consideration of that point, I have a…
Barristers and Attorneys
Lady Catherine is shocked that her nephew will marry a woman whose uncle is an attorney, while we are presented Darcy's great-uncle the judge as yet another sign of his family's prestige. This post isn't going to go into the…
Why is Jane Miss Bennet?
Because she is the most eldest, and therefore most important of the unmarried Bennet daughters. Speaking as an eldest child, I see the logic in this reasoning. As Miss Manners explains, the traditional rule was that if you addressed John…