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

by Rory Muir

A portrait of Jane Austen’s England told through the career paths of younger sons—men of good family but small fortune

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? Rory Muir weaves together the stories of many obscure and well-known young men, 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.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Regency, Research, British Literature, Audiobook, Georgian

384 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 14, 2019

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.

Reviews

[Beata · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting idea to bring forward the younger sons' career paths since usually it is the heirs that books focus on. Well-written and narrated, I'll definitely read the Author's latest book.

[K.J. Charles]

A really interesting look into what younger sons and middle class men did all day. Fascinating on social mobility and money issues, and on the surprising speed with which one could drop down the social ladder, closely related to the grotesque inequity of primogeniture. (Son 1 gets the title and £18,000 a year. Son 2 gets a lump sum of £2000.) Good overviews on Army, Navy, law, clergy, commerce, and a chapter on all those black sheep who went to India in the hope of stealing with both hands.

[Katie Lumsden · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating social history of class, money, work and social status.

[Al · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very entertaining read and a very useful social history, and it uses the framework of Jane Austen’s novels as a way to place the dilemma of younger sons in historical context, as Jane Austen may be said to be the literary representative of Regency England. The first chapter discusses younger sons and their families, and the second chapter has a fascinating discussion on money and how much was required to sustain certain standards of living. For me, this was probably the most interesting part of the book, because Muir also ties this to Appendix 1, Inflation in the Late 18th and Early 19th Centuries. In this appendix, Muir breaks down how much certain amounts of income are worth today, providing a link to the Bank of England so that the reader can perform his or her own calculations.

The rest of the book is broken down by professions that gentlemen might find acceptable. These professions include the church, medicine, the law, banking and commerce, civil service, the army and navy, and working in India. Within each chapter, Muir does a good job in examining each profession and what kind of future and financial remuneration a gentleman might expect. The Law is broken out in two chapters; one on Barristers and one on Attorneys and Solicitors; and the Navy is broken out into two chapters, as well. I found the chapter on medicine very interesting, as Muir does an excellent job in describing the difference between physicians and surgeons.

There are two appendices; one on inflation and the second attempts to give some statistical information on each profession. ****The bibliography is exceptional and well worth further study.**** There are some color plates, but they don’t really add much to the narrative, and I think that the author could have added more in order to enhance the description of each profession.

This book is well worth the time to read. The value of this book lies in the fact that it collects information in one place that all of us have wanted while reading novels or historical works. Some parts lack detail, but I think that’s because of the source material. This is clearly a social history aimed at non-specialists and general readers, and it nicely helps to fill a niche that can use more research.

[Lona Manning · Rating 5 out of 5]

Useful, thought-provoking history
This is an incredibly useful compilation of the real histories of younger sons of the English gentry. Rory Muir uses statistics, journals, letters, and other historical sources to explain the careers that younger sons chose and how much it cost their parents to set them up in those careers. Muir covers the army, the navy, the East India company, the law, medicine, banking, and mentions other trades. There is so much information and so many people mentioned that I read the book slowly, picking it up and putting it down.
There is also information to ponder about the poverty of the lower classes, and corruption and patronage in Regency England (including the banking practices of Jane Austen's brother Henry). As well, Muir gives us an appreciation of the sheer difficulty and hardship of life, even for people from the privileged classes. I wish that more history was taught today in terms of the economic drivers of human behaviour.
A great resource for writers of historical fiction; there are also some inspiring, funny, romantic, and tragic vignettes.

[M.A. Nichols · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know if I can say enough about how interesting this book was. Though rather dense at times (and it took me quite a while to get through the whole thing), it is a detailed look at the lives of the younger sons of the gentry. While mostly focused on their professions, it is a fascinating look at society back then and their attitudes towards their sons. While we tend to focus on how difficult it was for women back then, the truth is that it sucked for anyone who wasn't independently wealthy.

Each chapter discusses a different profession, going into detail about the pros and cons of the very limited career options the younger sons had, and provides a lot of detailed, first-hand accounts from the young men of that era. One of the things I was most struck by was how difficult their situations must have been; to be raised with servants and money and then thrown into the world and expected to succeed with few options (or none at all, as their fathers would decide their career for them). I can't imagine how difficult that would've been for them as they slid down the social ladder while spending their days working in a job they didn't enjoy. As the author said in the introduction, the heir would do okay, but the rest of the sons would take a step down in the world, and with each generation that divide grew.

Seriously, if you're a fan of the Georgian / Regency era, then you should read this. It's extremely informative and well-written.

[Cait · Rating 5 out of 5]

this has been my obsession for the past like two months. I've never before written the words ~~review to come~~, but this might have to be a RTC situation because I have over 75 bookmarks and if I don't just commit to chipping away at those little by little my love of this book will languish, unseen, in the unpublished recesses of my brain forever. so, consider this under construction, I guess?

rest assured, though, that for me, someone who has on multiple occasions jokingly described my gender as 'third son of an earl who should have joined the clergy,' this hit the FUCKING SPOT.

bits n bobs will be organized by section (which I enjoyed with, it must be said, somewhat diminishing returns; by the time the final section, on those fuckers who went to wreak havoc on india, rolled around, I was having some difficulty maintaining my interest).

new-to-me vocabulary
larrikin
binnacle
passim

YOUNGER SONS AND THEIR FAMILIES; MONEY AND SOCIETY

⚜️ [mrs leigh perrot's] favor began to veer back towards james edward. a year or two later and her mind was finally made up, and she announced the decision to francis, but softened the blow most handsomely, with the gift of almost £10,000. as james edward commented wryly, 'she will find plenty of people ready to offend her, if she pays them so liberally for it.'

⚜️ still, it was important that a young man appeared educated, that his speech and language were not totally unpolished, and that his general knowledge was not obviously deficient: for example that he knew that paris was in france, not france in paris. the bar was not set particularly high, and too much learning, displayed ostentatiously, was as bad as too little. (austen-leigh[…] reports that the neighboring squire on one occasion appealed to mr austen to settle a dispute over the relative locations of paris and france.)

THE CHURCH

⛪ few formal qualifications were needed to become an anglican clergyman. in 1804 parliament imposed a minimum age of 23 for deacons and 24 for priests. candidates would then be examined by a bishop who would expect them to produce testimonials from their university college, or from a clergyman who had known them for several years, stating that their character and behaviour made them suitable for holy orders. they were required to have some latin and greek: at least enough to translate short and familiar passages of scripture into english, although some bishops were considerably more demanding in this respect, and the standard required probably rose over the period. candidates were not expected to have studied much theology, and most clergymen were better acquainted with cicero, caesar and other ancient pagan authors than with contemporary biblical criticism.

⛪ in theory, candidates were expected to have felt an inner calling to the church, but apart from a few evangelicals, there was little emphasis on a sense of religious vocation. the church was a career like any other, and just as a soldier was required to have courage, a clergyman needed to have faith, and in most circumstances both the courage and the faith could be taken for granted. the truths of revealed religion as interpreted by the church of england were well established and needed to be expounded and explained to a congregation that already accepted them, not debated with sceptics. a a clergyman was also meant to demonstrate religious virtues by the life he led, although in many cases this did not extend far beyond avoiding the most obvious vices and attending to some of the needs of his parishioners. humility, poverty, self-sacrifice and temperance were not the characteristics most commonly associated with the clergy of the church of england under the georges.

• no retirement income for clergy!!!
• u could just like sell advowsons and rights of presentation, no big (part of a larger theme throughout the entire book about how societal viewpoints of 'corruption' are absolutely sociocultural constructs and highly temporally changeable)
• historical usage of f*g in the sense of drudge (2) ("he has ever since been a F[*]g of mine at Gray's Inn and on other occasions...") made me react like a middle schooler sorry sorry
• many clergymen "tried to support themselves by writing"—looking all the time like a better and better career for me honestly (cf. "[sydney smith's] remedy [for indolence] was the pursuit of knowledge, and many clergy used their leisure for serious study and made important contributions in many fields as diverse as economics and theology")
• are mary russell mitford and the later mitfords (i.e., nancy's family) related? maybe

⛪ the sounds and smells of rural life were seldom far away, and the parish clerk [at foston] would sometimes have to shepherd the gaggle of ducks that lived in the churchyard away from the door when the service was about to begin.

THE LAW

⚖️ jane austen's nephew, on the disproportion between barristers and the amount of work available to them:

Law – always hateful – most so when it winds
Its tangled meshes round unwilling minds
I hate the law – and Equity's worse
More undefined, more arbitrary curse.

So I a briefless barrister
Am haunted by a busy clerk
Who every morning comes with, 'Sir,
I should be glad Sir, of some work.'

⚖️ many an attorney's clerk courted his master's daughter hoping that personal and professional success would go hand in hand. if this was not possible, or did not appeal, a young attorney with money behind him might buy a practice, either from an elderly lawyer or from the widow of a lawyer. the latter situation was not uncommon, for most attorneys never made enough money to retire.

BANKING AND COMMERCE

• though muir allows that "a fortune derived from commerce[…] was not as prestigious as wealth that came from the ownership of land," my general takeaway here is that it was not looked down upon quite as much as the historicals would have us believe, and "while sharp contrasts" "between landed and commercial wealth" "the Country and the City," "made for good arguments and animated many plays and novels, the reality was usually more muddled and human," with "younger sons of good families" sent "to make a fortune in trade of one kind or another."

🏦 one indication of the social standing of merchants, bankers and other prominent businessmen is the significant number who were elected to parliament in this period[…] and all these men, simply by being a member of parliament, had a strong claim to be regarded as gentlemen, unless they were exceptionally vulgar. sir peter pole (1770-1850) is a fair example of a banker who sat in the commons. his father, sir charles pole, was the senior partner in a prosperous london mercantile and banking firm, van notten, and purchased an estate[…] (charles pole had been born charles van notten, but had changed his name when he married millicent, daughter and co-heir of charles pole of holcroft, lancashire.) […] in 1819 [peter pole] was elected for yarmouth on the isle of wight. his partner in the bank[…] described pole as 'a very shy man and perfectly unfit for anything like a popular election', but fortunately for him yarmouth was a pocket borough with only 13 voters who took their orders from the borough's patron sir leonard worsley holmes.

🏦 ruin came [for well respected william manning] in the winter of 1830-31, and his son went with him to the guildhall, to appear before the commissioner of bankruptcy and lawy down his gold watch, chain and seals. they were returned to him, as the custom was, but that was all.

CIVIL OFFICE

✉️ as [clerks] gained seniority or were promoted to more responsible positions, their income rose. […] in most cases the more senior officials also received other benefits that might very considerably increase their remuneration, including fees and bonuses, sinecure offices, free housing, the right to frank letters and newspapers for free postage, and even simple things like an allowance of coals and candles traditionally provided to the holder of particular offices. in purely prudential terms a position as a clerk in a government department was not a bad career for a younger son without good prospects. it was also one of the most gentlemanly of professions. however, its social status was considerably lower, and it required patience and a degree of subordination that did not suit most young gentlemen. nor was it likely that a government clerk could afford to marry until early middle age at best.

• rather better to retire from a government position than a number of other gentlemanly professions, as far as I can tell!!!

✉️ the poet william wordsworth[…] recognized that his private income was insufficient to support and educate his family, and that his writing was not going to fill the gap. he had neither the qualifications nor aptitude for any particular profession, gentlemanly or otherwise, but he […was eventually able to] secur[e] a position […as] distributor of stamps for westmorland. […the radical joseph] hume attached wordsworth[…], accusing him of treating the office as a sinecure[…] the injustice of this attack[…] caused wordsworth great anxiety and distress, and he presented lonsdale with a detailed defence of his conduct, but hume's attention soon wandered on to another outrageous instance of the waste of public funds, and the committee left wordsworth alone, relieved but sore, and without the opportunity publicly to clear his name. he continued to perform his duties conscientiously until 1842 when he resigned his office in favour of his son, who had been sub-distributor at carlisle for some years.

THE NAVY

⛵ one officer wrote: 'never shall I forget the overwhelming and indefinable impression made on my mind upon reaching this wonderful and stupendous floating structure. the immensity[…] so far exceeded every anticipation I had formed, that I continued, unmindful of what was going on in the boat to gaze on her in dumb amazement, until awakened from my stupor by the coxswain, who now gruffly exclaimed, "come, master! come! mount a'reevo, 'less you mean to be boat-keeper."'

⛵ different ships brought out different qualities, and there were stereotypes that had at least some basis in fact: the midshipmen in ships of the line were thought to be sophistaced but hard-swearing; those in little sloops and brigs, slovenly and ill-bred; while those in frigates liked to regard themselves as an elite, smart, audacious and eager to seize every opportunity to distinguish themselves.

⛵ the captain's cabin was spacious even on a frigate. […] his quarters usually included a dining-room, a drawing-room, and one or more sleeping cabins, with the great windows to the stern giving plenty of light; some captains went to considerable expense fitting out these quarters with good furniture and extensive collections or scientific instruments. sometimes his wife or daughter sailed with him. when francis austen sailed to bermuda on the vindictive in 1844 he was accompanied by his two unmarried daughters, cassandra and fanny, who acted as his hostesses[…] the elder miss austen, then aged 30, was not popular on board, with one officer commenting that 'she is the Mistress of the Ship, influences the Adl. in every way, and in fact, I imagine will soon be Command-in-Chief'. that was in peacetime, but naval wives sometimes accompanied their husbands even during the war[…]

⛵ the admirality also promoted large numbers of junior officers immediately before placing them on half-pay at the end of the war, in a quiet but very practical act of compassion that encountered far less opposition than any attempt to increase half-pay or introduce a retirement pension.

⛵ disease, accident and shipwreck, not enemy action, were the great killers, as was true of all wars until the advances of modern science and technology brought about a more satisfactory situation in the twentieth century.

⛵ despite the colourful phrase commonly attributed to winston churchil that equated the traditions of the royal navy with 'rum, sodomy and the lash', there is no reason to belive that johnny or any other young midshipman was in much danger of being buggered on one of his majesty's warships. (churchill is said to have told his personal assistant[…], 'I never said it. I wish I had.')

THE ARMY

🐎 when peter le mesurier joined the 9th foot he found that one of the rules of the officers' mess was a prohibition on using three or more words of latin under any circumstances. very few army officers had been to university, and while there were many highly intelligent men in the army, intellectuals were uncommon.

🐎 having served for a few months in the peninsula, peter le mesurier returned to england in early 1809, but admitted to his brother that he did not much enjoy regimental life: 'When the Officers are together the conversation is generally about the success they had the night previous to it in getting (de bonnes aventures [sic]). I have heard some of these Esprits forts say the Bible was a parcel of Stupid Stuff, unintelligible to their understandings. Plaguing young Officers, whi do not exactly agree with them on these points, is their greatest delight. I had some altercation this morning with one of ours for making some observations on me because I did not go out with them on their nocturnal expeditions. I do not like their morals. They are dissolute in general yet I hope to find some in the Regt: with whom I shall take pleasure to associate.' ('de bonnes aventures', literally 'some good aventures', has clear overtones of roistering and sexual indulgence; 'Esprits forts' meaning 'strong spirits' – probably with the connotation of 'thick headed' and quarrelsome.)

🐎 '[w]hen an officer entered this corp it was the custom to send him to drill with a squad composed of peasant[s] from the plough tail and other raw recruits'

🐎 'I don't know how it was, nor do I know whether we difered from other regiments in the same respect, but our first and most uncharitable aim was to discover the weak points of every fresh arrival, and to attack him through them. if he had redeeming qualities, he, of course, came out scathless, but, if not, he was dealt with most unmercifully. poor tommy [dangerfield] had none such – he was weak on all sides, and therefore went to the wall.'

🐎 some members of the aristocracy served in the army, but they were concentrated in the guards and a few extremely fashionable regiments such as the 12th and 15th hussars[…]

🐎 not all british officers were white, although there was a growing prejudice against non-white officers, especially when serving in india. william light, who had a distinguished career in the peninsula, […] had either a eurasian or malay mother, and while this was unusual it was not unique, and did not attract much comment.

🐎 [henry smith's] wife, juana, after whom ladysmith[, south africa] is named, survived until 1872, a full 60 years after the storming of badajoz.

general thoughts
• it is wild how many of these men remained financially dependent on their parents until their 30s; indeed, success in the chosen career of many a younger son was understood as only being possible with years of parental support until he was established, and parents essentially signed on for that. nice to know the experience of having to shamefacedly appeal to one's family for support whilst in financial straits is not a new one
• some dude who went to india "admitted that he felt some pangs when he heard that his brotehr had decided to become a clergyman. 'I almost envy my brother in the choice he has made; and now think I should have been happier had I fixe upon the same.' !!!!!

a second type of ability counted for less in determining success, but a great deal more in the happiness of an individual. this was the ability to enjoy an impermanent life, to get along with a small circle of fellows, many of whom were not particularly compatible; to put up with the physical discomforts of life on board ship, or an active service, or in an old fashioned and poorly repaired vicarage. it was the ability to make and retain friends even with years of separation; to hold onto religious faith in times of trouble, or to let it go without serious regret or doubts; to tolerate boredom, not drink too much, and to find satisfying outlets for physical and mental energy. it was the ability to prevent disappointed hopes and ambitions from curdling, to accept patronage with gratitude and not to resent the better fortune of an older brother, and ot count blessings as well as misfortunes. hearty good humour, cheeriness, and not too much pride, refinement or delicacy of feeling were all valuable qualities for most members of these professions; while a sharp intellect and independent mind, a strong sense of justice and a reforming spirit were all decided disadvantages in most circumstances, just as they are today in many large organizations. like most abilities, these advantageous qualities were largely a gift of nature, but they could also be improved by diligence and attention, just as unhelpful characteristics could be suppressed and would gradually atrophy.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muir has collected information published about the professions open to Regency-era gentlemen from other sources (both fictional and scholarly) and compiled them into one easy-to-read volume. The opening chapter explains the position of younger sons in the Regency period: those who were not the heir to the family estate/fortune almost always had to work. "Their father, and when he died their eldest brother, would continue to use whatever influence he possessed to help them along, but their success would largely depend on their own endeavors and their own good fortune" (1). Since deference to authority, including family authority, played a far larger role in social relations than it does today, younger sons did not generally protest this unequal treatment, but instead accepted their inferior position and small (if any) inheritance without complaint. "Younger sons were much more likely to regard each other as competitors for the limited rewards on offer than as fellow sufferers in an unjust society" than to join together in protest (5).

Younger sons could maintain their status by inheriting a fortune from a friend or more distant family member (such legacies typically went to the 2nd son); by marrying an heiress; or by pursuing a career. As heiresses and fortunes were far from common, most younger gentry sons pursued the third option. As most of us are likely aware, the professions that one could pursue and still maintain the title "gentleman" were limited:

The Church
The Law
The Navy
The Army
Banking
Overseas trade
Other branches of commerce (but not manufacturing or retail)
Government service
Colonizing
And, more rarely, Medicine

The second chapter focuses on money, and how much of it one needed in order to support oneself, and a family, if one wished to be regarded as genteel.

The average income of knights and squires in the period: £1,500
The average income of a gentleman of private means: £700
The average income of a baronet: £3,000
The average income of a peer: £8,000

A family could hardly maintain the appearance of gentility on anything less than £300; a single man on £150-200.

An income of £1,000 could support a genteel family of husband, wife, and three children, allowing them 3 female servants, a coachman, a footman, a carriage, and a pair of horses, leaving £100 for unexpected expenses.

An income of £1,500 would give the family above two additional servants (a maid and a groom), a gig or other small, light two-wheeler as well as a large carriage, and a third horse. They would also eat better.

An income of £2,000 would allow the same family 10 servants, 2 carriages, and five horses, and to spend more on provisions.

Given that one needed a fortune of £40,000 to secure an annual income of £2,000 a year, a younger son would have to not just do well but excel in his career in order to gain this high level of social status.

Chapters 3-12 each focus on a different profession, detailing what level of social status drew the most younger sons to the profession; how one broke into the field; what qualifications were required (or were not); what one's family had to pay (in money or connections/patronage) to find a son a place; how long families had to support their sons while they established themselves in a profession; what a typical career in that profession was like; how one advanced in it; what one typically earned; how that profession rated in terms of gentility; the benefits and drawbacks to such a career; and a wealth of examples of actual men who succeeded and fared poorly in each.

Fascinating fact: a genteel family had on average 5-6 children who survived to adulthood, but only 3 typically maintained the social standing to which they were born, while the other 3 would "slip down the social scale, usually only a few rungs, but the decline was unmistakable and often cumulative over the generations." (5). When it comes to social mobility, Muir notes that most historians (and I would argue, most Regency romance writers) tend to focus on "the absorption of new blood and new money and the resistance it encountered, rather than the simultaneous decline of the younger branches of almost every great family" (5).

An excellent resource, especially for those who wish to write male protagonists who are not aristocrats or land owners.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy and entertaining read about the options for younger sons during the Napoleonic Wars/Regency era. It could have been less anecdotal and more rigorous, but no doubt at the cost of sheer readability, and ultimately the message is clear: be the first-born son or you’ve blown it. There’s an American saying “from shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations” which seems apropos. The statistic that says it all: in the typical gentlemen’s family of six surviving children, only three could be expected to maintain their social status.

[Farah Mendlesohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed it but it needed a stronger line of argument and to focus more on the experience of being a younger son. Too often the author shaped the material more in the direction of what certain careers were like.

What struck me most was how little has changed: connections still matter and anyone who wants to go into the professions or the media etc needs parents who have connections and can support them for at least five years through internships and various low paid roles until it starts paying.

[QOH · Rating 4 out of 5]

Should be mandatory reading for Regency novelists. Title aside, and as much as I love Jane, I would have loved more examples from sources besides Austen.

[Wealhtheow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Muir chronicles the career options and likely outcomes for young English men who were born to well-off families in the second half of the eighteenth century and came of age right before the Napoleonic Wars broke out. Career options were far more limited then than now: the church, the law, medicine, the army, banking or mercantilism, the navy, government, or the East India Company. Each had their own particular downsides: those in the Navy began in their teens or younger, men working in India might never make enough to return home, while other areas required patronage or a great deal of money to start out well, let alone progress. Random luck and/or men with influence in their career area and good will toward them were vital to success. Many made barely enough to support themselves for decades, and were only able to marry and support a family later in life.

To me, this book is too long for what it is: a collection of dry anecdotes about strangers strung together by a few brief sentences of summarizing text. Muir draws upon many sources and cites well, but they're narrow in scope: for instance, it's super weird to read about the East India Company and have the only sources be the English men's letters and diaries. Surely other people had useful information and perspectives on the matter? This would be better as a history if it included more context and more analysis. This would be better as a resource of writers/readers of novels set in the Regency if it were organized more straightforwardly. It did include a couple wonderful passages from the Austen family's letters to each other, and a particularly enjoyable scathing sentence from a hoity toity gentleman. All in all I don't regret reading it. But it's probably best suited to reading in small amounts rather than all at once.

[Curlemagne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal. Seems like a very niche subject at first but in discussing so many professions, Muir offers insight into the whole of domestic society and economy in Regency England. And it's so densely footnoted with primary sources (diaries and letters of both successful and unsucessful younger sons) as to make my nerdy heart beat faster. I learned the most from the chapters on physicians and bankers, but that's just about which topics I happened to be less familiar with.

Framing the book around Jane Austen's brothers seemed like a slick marketing idea at first (it worked on me!) but turns out that her brothers' varied fortunes really encapsulated how much depended on luck and timing.

This is not a history of the era, so if you're not familiar with the Napoleonic Wars or the East India Trading Company, you won't get a clear picture of exactly what happened at Waterloo or what it meant to be a "writer" (insurance agent, maybe?) in Bengal or Bombay. Muir hardly touches on Empire, in fact, which makes sense given his focus is on the largely powerless younger sons of the lesser gentry -- the laborers rather than the architects of colonialism-- but worth remembering this is hardly the whole picture of British rule in India, let alone the rest of its colonies.


(Right after I finished the chapter on lawyers, I read a Josephine Tey mystery set in the 1930s referencing the Assizes. Very exciting to know what those are now!)

[Holli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being a Jane Austen reader I am well acquainted with the plight of women during the early 19th century but tended to see the men as having it easy. This book thoroughly disabused me of that notion and helped me see that in some ways being a younger son might have been worse than being a daughter.
This book posits the question "What if the Bennet sisters were the Bennet brothers?" How would the four younger brothers have made their way in the world? By using primary sources and other writings on the period Rory Muir shows us not only the most likely options for young men of the time but also discusses the drawbacks and likelihood of success for each career. After an introduction, the book is divided by all the likely professions making it easy to jump around and read about the ones they are interested in/researching. It's full of good scholarship and lots of citations for those who want to dig deeper. It's also easy to read and full of stories of real men who lived these professions.
Highly recommend if you are interested in the period or doing research for a novel in it.


(Now excuse me while I go see if someone has written a genderbent Pride and Prejudice)

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Using, amoung others, Jane Austen's brothers as examples, this provides an engaging explanation of the various career options available to younger sons of the gentry and aristocracy. I appreciated the extended discussion of money and purchasing power included, which provides a better perspective on what "an income of £5000 a year" mean in terms of financial security than simply updating the numbers to account for inflation.

[Catherine Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well-researched book with many entertaining stories and characters, told in an easily understood style.

[Emily Florio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really fascinating- covers a wide range of industries and social settings that often go unremarked on in popular histories of the era. The chapters on the clergy and the navy in particular add useful context to the plight of literary characters in search of a living or a place on a ship- in both fields there were far too many qualified young men in want of employment for the number of positions available to fill. Colonel Brandon's generosity in giving a living to a man he hardly knows is really brought into relief, as well as Mr. Collins' smugness in receiving his valuable living against the odds. Captain Wentworth's immense good fortune- and the degree to which Anne's reluctance to marry a penniless young naval officer was reasonable- are also clearly illustrated.

Even if you've read a lot about the regency, you will probably find there is fresh information here.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book about how younger sons found their way in the world in the 18th and 19th centuries when older sons inherited titles and estates and the bulk of their father's wealth. The book is divided by sections such as Clergy, Army, India, Law, Medicine, Banking. Very thoroughly researched and well written, though at times a tad dense. I took me over a year to finish it, but it's the kind of book you can pick up and put down and easily go back to when you're ready. If you're a Jane Austen fan, this book is helpful as she frequently mentions characters going into the army, clergy, or law.

This makes an excellent companion book to the fabulous Irene Collins book, "Jane Austen and the Clergy," which explores the world of Anglican clergy in the 19th century, how they were educated, and how they lived.

[Renuka · Rating 5 out of 5]

JUST started reading this and find it extremely engaging and I love the easy to read style - dived right in beautifully, leaving aside the Austen Memoir halfway, and Jane Austen letters untouched - and that during this Jane Austen July Challenge month!
THS is going to be one of my Jane Austen Challenge Non-Fiction reads.
As another reviewer said, this should be compulsory for Regency writers and also for Austen fans! Gives a good explanation as to why Colnel Fitzwilliam just couldn't afford Lizzy.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Featured in Financial Times weekend

[Julie Yates · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absolute must read for any Jane Austen fan, with fantastic background on Regency careers, money and social mobility. A book "about the well born second sons and his younger brothers: about the spares that never became 'heirs' Using examples from historical sources, but also Jane Austen's family and (most wonderfully!!) her novels, he gives real world examples of the challenges (and likelihood of success) inherent in each career.

The first 2 chapters, Younger sons and their families and Money and Society are particularly illuminative. Chapter 1 discusses the plight of younger sons, and the possibility of sliding down the social scale. We start with the example of the Earl of Aberdeen: Eldest George received an estate giving him 16,000 pounds a year while his 5 brothers each received a total of only 2,000 each (100 a year income!) Aberdeen was an eldest son ... and entitled to all the good things the earth had to offer; while Alexander was a younger son, a very promising officer who might even rise to greatness, but who needed to win his fortune. Aberdeen eventually rose to be Prime Minister while Alexander was killed at Waterloo. The author notes the younger sons accepted their place in society, usually without complaint, even though the odds were stacked against them.

An important point to note is that, while so many historians highlight the rising middle class, much less attention has been paid to the decline of the younger branches. Born part of the Gentlemanly class, there were simply not enough "gentleman jobs" were they could keep both money and their social standing.

If I could, I would highlight the entire second chapter! How much money did you need to be in the lowest rung of gentility? [Here the descriptions of the Dashwood's, Bennets and the unmarried women of the Auten family give excellent examples.] It would be hard to maintain any claims to gentility on annual income < 300 pounds a year; yet for the majority of the population the income was much lower. Agricultural labors earned < 30 pounds a year while in 1839 Charlotte Bronte took a position for only 20.

What follows in the remaining chapters are detailed exploration of the few careers left to the younger sons of gentry: what can you do that allows you to make enough money to marry and still remain in the "gentleman class"? It is better to be a surgeon than an apothecary, and within the law you can be a gentleman barrister but not a solicitor. I especially enjoyed the chapters on the Church, Army and Navy. Each chapter highlights the importance of family wealth in setting a son up in any profession, how knowing the right people within the profession is the key to success, and how hard it was to actually succeed. Many men never made enough to marry (for example Muir lists several navy men only married in late 50s, one at age 70.) And most continued to need a family allowance while young. Corruption was rife from the clergy to clerks. So: Wealth, Patronage and Polical Power were necessary to succeed.

The reason I didn't give this 5 stars as every now and then he goes into the weeds with his sources. I loved when he used the Austen family and her novels, but sometimes my eyes were glazing over when he was discussing random people for ages on end.

I really highly recommend! Every regency romance writer needs to read this!!

[History Today]

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a younger son in possession of no fortune must be in want of a job, so Jane Austen might have written.

This book is a fascinating study of the effects of the British tradition of primogeniture on Regency society, which ruled that the eldest son bagged the inheritance, often consigning his brothers to downward mobility. What did that mean in practice for younger sons from genteel and aristocratic backgrounds, whose chances of continuing to live in the style to which they had grown up accustomed were dependent upon their employment prospects?

In this humane and carefully researched book, rich in individual stories, Rory Muir explores the various career paths on offer to such gentlemen, which weren’t that many if they wanted to maintain caste. The church, chosen by Jane Austen’s Edward Ferrars in Sense and Sensibility, was the steadiest, but not usually regarded as a career for the most ambitious. Requiring a university degree, and a level of patronage at the outset, it could become a springboard for intellectual and literary distinction, as in the case of the redoubtable Sydney Smith. But without luck or connections, a failed curate could end up denuded of rank.

The law was riskier and required more graft and brains, but the financial rewards at the top were far greater. In Austen’s Emma, Mr Knightley’s younger brother, a successful barrister, is as much of a workaholic as any top-flight QC today. Medicine did not have quite the social and professional status that we now associate with it: an aristocratic younger son might become a clergyman or a lawyer, but is unlikely to have trained as a doctor, though a country clergyman’s son would not have regarded it as beneath him. Banking and commerce remained a little iffy, as money derived that way lacked the prestige of landed wealth, but gentlemen entered the finance sector nonetheless. Muir offers an insightful portrait of Jane Austen’s banker brother Henry, who was ruined following the 1816 crash and then reinvented himself as a clergyman.

Read the rest of the review at HistoryToday.com.

Lucasta Miller is the author of L.E.L. The Lost Life and Scandalous Death of Letitia Elizabeth Landon, the Celebrated ‘Female Byron’ (Vintage, 2019).

[Tahlia Fernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Yale University Press publication is one that I have mixed feelings about. On the one hand, the pacing can be a bit slow at times and I found my mind wandering at points. This may be due to a more academic style; though I like academic history books, this kind of style does not always make for quick reading. I did not find this to be a fatal flaw within the book, however, as there were many times where I was very much invested in the book. One of the ways the author chose to convey information was through examples through the lived experience of specific men of the era. This was a very effective technique for making what could have been a very dry and abstract book into something more concrete and personal. I became invested in the stories of these men and found myself wanting to know more about certain ones that he referenced… to the point that I actually did pick up the autobiography of one of them (Sir Harry Smith).

This was the book’s strong suit, although the footnotes could also be quite interesting at times. I recommend not missing out on them, as might often be the temptation. This does slow down one’s reading, but the footnotes did contain certain tidbits that were not mentioned in the main text that were nonetheless rather interesting.

While this might not be a book that I will frequently reread, I could possibly see myself rereading it in the future, if only to revisit some of the men to whom this book gives a voice. To any lover of Jane Austen, this book is a must-read. It makes more clear some important things that the contemporary reader of Jane Austen would have known automatically, but that the modern reader might otherwise miss. We learn why Edward Ferrars might not have been expected to be able to marry immediately upon taking orders and why it seemed so odd to Mary Crawford that Edmund Bertram should choose to be present at his parish instead of decamping to London. Lady Russell’s objection to Anne Elliot’s romance with Captain Wentworth in their youth also becomes more understandable and makes the character’s objection seem less classist than it otherwise does to a modern reader.

I learned a lot from this book and heard the stories of a lot of men whose stories deserved to be told. For that, I would rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’re a Jane Austen fan who wants to learn more about the era in which she and her characters lived, you’re going to like this book. Putting aside that a “genteel poverty” cannot compare to the true poverty suffered by the working classes in the Georgian period and beyond, it’s still astounding how far a second son from a noble family might fall down the social scale without access to patronage, wit, and luck. People just two generations down the line from that second son might not even be toeing the line of gentry by that point, becoming very much the “middling sort” and depending on less respectable jobs to make ends meet. What a precarious existence just because you weren’t a firstborn son.

The only issue I had with this book was the multitude of names the author expects you to remember both within each chapter and the book as a whole. This might not be an problem to someone brought up on British history, but to an American who can really only reliably recognize Wellington, Nelson, Pitt the Younger, and the Georgian royals, the names became dizzying. That could honestly just be a “me” problem, though.

Like I said, if you love Austen and history, this is the book for you. The author’s writing even has the same “brain feel” of Austen’s novels. (Brain feel is the phrase I use when talking about a novel’s cadence, word texture, etc. Some of you will know what I mean.) Use this book as a companion the next time you read about Austenite naval captains, army colonels, and newly minted gentlemen who made their money in trade and would be happy to introduce you around at the Court of St. James’s.

(Any typos or grammatical errors I blame on Long COVID.)

[Avril · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating social history that starts with the question: what could Jane Austen’s Bennetts have done if they had had five sons instead of five daughters? The eldest, the equivalent of Jane, would have inherited the entailed estate and been able to provide a home for Mrs Bennett and any Bennett sisters, but the remaining boys would have had to find ways of earning a gentlemanly living. This would have been almost, if not quite, as difficult as making a good marriage. There were very limited occupations open to ‘gentlemen’ and many of them demanded a large outlay by families for years before men began to be able to support themselves. Muir looks at the Church, Médecine, the Law, Banking, the embryo Civil Service, the Navy, the Army, and working for the East India Company as options for an impoverished young gentleman.

Fascinating to read about the Church as one of the learned professions that gentlemen entered simply because a living was available, without any sense of a call whatsoever. No wonder the Church of England needed to be reformed by Methodism at one extreme and the Oxford Movement at the other.

I was also unaware of just how few men made fortunes in India, and how many Englishmen died there, possibly misled by the few ‘Indian Nabobs’ I read about in Georgette Heyer.

Also fascinating that in a time of patronage the idea of promotion by ‘merit’ rather than seniority was seen as so discriminatory, because ‘merit’ would actually mean ‘interest’.

Muir ends by saying, “Hearty good humour, cheeriness, and not too much pride, refinement or delicacy of feeling were all valuable qualities for most members of these professions; while a sharp intellect and independent mind, a strong sense of justice and a reforming spirit were all decided disadvantages in most circumstances, just as they are today in many large organizations.” Good to know the ‘woke’ have always been squashed by society. 😉

Muir ends

[Rosalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is full of information about the lives of younger sons, and as Rory Muir highlights with countless examples, much depended on who your family knew. Connections were all important, especially in getting early opportunities. Salaries in most occupations were low especially for the first years. A young man who most likely be in his mid to late 20s before he was to afford to marry. While they faced different challenges to women it was till a difficult time for younger sons. However, they still did have advantages over women in generally have a better education and more career options.
The book is a comprehensive look at young men who had to support themselves, with chapters covering a number of occupations, from the clergy to going out to India. However, there was too much information, that it all merged into one long repetitive story. Rory Muir’s research is meticulous and he has spent considerable time working on this book and it shows, with his attention to detail and the facts and figures used to highlight the situation of young men. This is backed up with a lot of anecdotal evidence to support his data, much from Jane Austen her family and novels as well as other contemporary material. The style was rather dry and at times a bit long winded with many anecdotal stories being very similar. I can appreciate that it was challenging and difficult time for young men to have to make their way in the world, but I did feel that a bit of light humour would have made this easier to read.
I would have given it 2.5 stars if that was an option.

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book, providing a description of the employment environment for the “second sons” of British middle and upper classes in the Regency and early Victorian periods. The author, history professor Rory Muir, gives a detailed description of the professions and employment prospects available to those English Aristocratic sons unable to inherit their family’s wealth or lands. Though initially motivated by, and using examples from, the “seconds sons” appearing in 19th century English literature, the author admits to evolving the book into a broader history of the “white collar” labor market during the early Industrial Revolution. The book offers chapters on law, medicine, trade, religion, academics, military, and government occupations. Job searches, education, advancement, and pay scales are all covered in detail. The economic and social transformations taking place in England play a major role in the book. The chapters are full of comparisons across time, enabling a view of the evolution of each profession. A great book for understanding the conditions of employment for the middle and upper classes in early 19th century England. Recommended for assessing labor market evolution during industrial transformations.

[Rob Markley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rory Muir's normal field is in the same period albeit regarding the Napoleonic wars where it makes marketing sense, regardless of any meaningfulness to the work, to title everything either "Napoleon's...." or "Wellington's...." but here it is "Jane Austen's England". It says something of whose name has the pulling power and the target market!

This is an entertaining read which mainly fleshed out what we largely already know from context in Austen's novels, Hornblower and Napoleonic reading et al. Although it breaks little new ground Muir does a really excellent job in surveying the field and filling in a broader understanding of these various career options.

Really what has changed today? Nothing really - except we today are less honest in our denying the need for patronage, for money invested in getting started (education or otherwise) and in our misplaced illusion that every career is open based on ability alone! (Not withstanding the woke politics of blame and victim-hood) Those days when all the above were much more clearly delineated and divided on class lines; and the choices in life such that existed were much narrower; were indeed simpler times and more honest too. The chances of actual success and failure are no different today either - simply the consequences of failure slightly less dire.

[Fionnuala · Rating 3 out of 5]

For whatever reason, I didn't vibe with the writing style of this. There's nothing wrong with it; it's definitely a me thing, but I found it dreadfully dry and difficult to get through even though I knew what I was reading was interesting. There were moments where this wasn't so bad, and I really enjoyed it, but overall this book kind of put me into a reading slump. It's such a shame, because again, there's nothing technically wrong with this book at all. But so it goes.

I'm still rating it three stars because it's impeccably well-researched, and I think other people would get a lot more out of it. I don't want to penalise a book too harshly because of a personal preference like this: if it was badly written, or shoddily researched, fair enough, but it's not. It's a solid little book and it contains a lot of interesting research and I'm sure lots of people would really enjoy it. It just wasn't entirely for me.

[Emma]

What did all those second and third sons do under the strict rules of primogeniture? The eldest son inherited the title (if there was one), the land, and the money. The rest of the sons had to get on in a limited field of "gentlemanly professions" which were: the Church, the Law, the Military and maybe medicine or civil service. FYI being a Member of Parliament did you actually pay you anything in and of itself unless you ended up with a sinecure.
An interesting look into the neglected second sons. Makes the point that many of them ended up downwardly mobile unless they married money. Also, the purchasing of commissions in the army and way patronage worked to get a young man a job seems SO weird, although I guess it is still a matter of who you know and who can put in a good word for you.