Preparing for The Bennet Brother
So, are you ready for Pride & Prejudice Readers Choice? I’m not! That’s because I’m writing the first scene of this new Austen Authors group writing project, The Bennet Brother, and I’m probably going to need every minute of the next week to get it done. But it’s already proving to be an interesting experience.
The Bennet Brother has made me discover some interesting things I’d never thought about in Pride & Prejudice before. Here’s the eye-opening one: Darcy would never have made his original insulting comment about Elizabeth at the Meryton assembly if she had a brother or father who would defend her. I’ve played it through in all kinds of scenarios with different male characters involved and different social settings in the country and in town, and gentlemen just didn’t insult women publicly if they had a male protector around. Can you imagine Darcy insulting Charlotte Lucas at the assembly? No, because her father was there and involved with her, and likely a brother or two as well. Darcy can say what he likes about Elizabeth because he knows she’s unprotected. That concept made me stop in my tracks, I can tell you!
I’ve also had to rethink my initial assumptions about how things would have changed for the Bennets if they had a son. Before I started working on the backstory, I assumed this would mean that their future would be assured because of the end of the entail, and that there would be less pressure on the daughters to marry since they wouldn’t be losing their home. Unfortunately, that scenario didn’t hold up when I looked at it carefully.
Longbourn barely supports the current seven inhabitants – Mr. & Mrs. Bennet and their five daughters – with no extra income to put aside. Now, suppose Mr. Bennet dies, leaving Longbourn to his son Edward, who then marries and has three children. If none of his sisters marry, the income from Longbourn now has to support eleven people. See the problem? At least some of the sisters need to marry anyway.
It gets even trickier when you think about the expenses of raising a son in the Regency. The Bennets never bothered to get a governess or tutor for their daughters, but a son needs to be educated. Suddenly we’re looking not just at school fees, but the expenses of keeping up a gentleman’s lifestyle while attending university aren’t small. Georgette Heyer, in her utterly delightful Sylvester or The Wicked Uncle, says this about Mr. Orde, the squire whose income is 8000 pounds per year, and his thoughts on his only child attending university:
Had his son shown the least leaning towards academic pursuits, he would have sent him to Oxford upon his leaving Rugby, whatever retrenchments this might have entailed. That they must have been heavy he knew, for it was impossible for such a thoroughgoing sportsman as Tom to maintain a creditable appearance at Oxford on a penny less than six hundred pounds a year, setting aside such debts as the squire thought him bound to incur.
Now, she has her tongue firmly in cheek in saying that the retrenchments would be heavy, since she also says that the sacrifice would include cutting back his stable and selling his cocks, but since she was an amazing researcher, I’ll take the 600 pounds a year, plus debts of honor, as a reasonable figure. Estimates of Mr. Bennet’s income tend to range between 1000-2500 pounds a year, in which case 600 pounds is 1/4 to 1/2 of the income the entire family lives on. Either young Edward Bennet would remain uneducated – hard to believe given Mr. Bennet’s attachment to his books and Mrs. Bennet’s ambitions for her children – or the family would have had to scale back their expenses dramatically to pay his fees and expenses. Instead of being more financially secure, they would be pinching pennies. Wouldn’t Kitty and Lydia love having to wear old dresses so that their brother could attend Oxford?
See how complicated this gets? Well, if you want to see how it turns out, you’ll have to come back on January 30 to read the first installment of The Bennet Brother. In the meantime, you can get in on the fun on Twitter, where you can get hints by chatting with the flirtatious and charming @EdwBennet, or use the hashtag coined by Jakki Leatherberry and friends, #HotBennetBrother.
So, what do you think Mr. Edward Bennet will be like?
74 Responses to Preparing for The Bennet Brother
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love reading your thought processes. Can’t wait for your part of the story. I do feel for you being first in line. I imagine coming off a story someone has started for you seems much easier than starting it from scratch. Good luck. I look forward to reading it.
The hardest thing about starting it is going to be letting it go. I can’t develop a character without thinking about what would happen next, and it’s going to be really hard to let other people decide something different!
And what if the brother married a Fanny Dashwood?
A very good point!
Oh yeah! I know I’m gonna like this story (well, at least the beginning) as you have so well encapsulated several of my thoughts on how the dynamics would change with a Bennet son. I was totally thinking that, esp if he’s the eldest child, Bennet Jr would totally be hankering to marry off those sisters of his. I too think that he’d want to wait to marry till he had the money to afford a wife and children (that is, if he was responsible, which, given his father’s example, is also a question mark). Then again, most men didn’t marry till they were older (like in their 30s) so maybe he’s not worried (his dad didn’t worry over much about this kind of stuff after all). But still (if he did care), trying to reign in his mother’s and sisters’ spending habits in an effort to save a bit (and probably without the support of dear old, I could care less, dad) would be quite the undertaking. I remember reading a period romance in which the niece of a duke was given 10 (ten) pounds to buy her entire wardrobe for the year. Compare this to Mr Bennet’s talk of Lydia’s costing him 100 (one hundred) pounds per year in presents and allowance, etc.. Really, that family has no idea how to be frugal. No, not even that. They have no idea how to be *sensible* about their money. If the well-off niece of a duke could make do on 10 pounds, surely Lydia, the daughter of an insignificant country squire, could too (and wouldn’t need to be frugal at all, just less stupid). I personally don’t even think they’d have to wear old dresses so that their brother could go to school. They’d just have to limit themselves to what they actually need. What a concept! Given the 10/100 thing, I always imagine Lydia was one to buy 100 dresses/ribbons/hats/whatever when she only really needed 10. Mr Bennet was a well-off man and the Longbourn estate should really have no problem sending a son to school while the inmates who remained lived a comfortable existence at home IMO.
This reminds me to say though that I remember reading another period rom where a country squire was in financial straights (for reasons I can’t remember now), with two sons at University. The family pinned their hopes on the sons doing well when sitting for their exams as the top students were given scholarships (based on their performance obviously) so you could have Bennet Jr be a scholar who does well on his exams, therefore relieving that financial burden for his family. That little tidbit was from a Gaskell novel so I’d imagine the intimation that the top students were awarded fellowships is a valid one as she was of her time.
As you can tell, I’m invested.
Glad you’re invested! Your figures are helpful. I’ve been assuming that since JA tells us that Mr. & Mrs. Bennet had not thought it worth the trouble to save money for the future, it must mean that Longbourn *should* have been able to provide a good enough income for them all to live on and still provide dowries.
Another question in my mind is about Mrs. Bennet. Let’s suppose Edward is financially practical and in agreement with her about needing to marry off his sisters if possible. Would Mrs. Bennet still be so silly if Edward agreed with her, or is she silly because she’s spent her adult life being laughed at by Mr. Bennet?
I like your point about Elizabeth not having a protector. It is true with women today. Males can be very disrespectful to woman that have no men in their lives. They tend to view you, much like Mr. Darcy did to Elizabeth as, “being slighted by other men.” I have experienced this personally. The fact that Elizabeth did not have a protector at the Assembly is really no excuse for Mr. Darcy insulting her. She IS a daughter of a gentleman and should have been treated as such even if she was of a lower social status than Darcy and had no male protectors, i.e, father, brother, male cousins, or uncle present. Darcy is supposed to be a gentleman and should therefore, not insult any female of the gentry however low their position. It is just ironic that he tolerated Miss Bingley, daughter of a tradesman simply because of his relationship with her brother, or maybe because they had money. Also, I think the Bennet family would be able to support a son–education, and a gentleman’s lifestyle–if Mr. Bennet wasn’t so doleful. He could probably get more out of his estate if he put some effort in it and got out of his book room for awhile
. Lizzy states while at Huntsford that her father hated town (London). Perhaps if he went to town he would have become more well known in the gentry circles and be exposed to ways and means of increasing his yield. His family, particularly, his daughters, would have gained as well as he if he had done so. His brother in-law, Mr. Gardiner, a tradesmen, is doing better than him. Mr. Bennet is too doleful and selfish to see anything beyond his own pursuits. Mr. Darcy, for whatever reason, rude and ungentlemanly.
My, my! I hadn’t given much thought to how a son would affect a household. As to Edward- his personality could go either way as to sense and disposition just like his parents. He might be as nonsensical as a Mr. Collins who had an education, but no common sense or he might be a man of wit and sense, but no ready funds. Lots to think on there.
Looking forward to that first installment!
A lot will depend on his personality. It’ll be interesting to see how that develops!
I am so ridiculously excited to start reading this, and I’ve enjoyed getting to know Edward via Twitter. He seems sensible and amiable so far but one never knows, in that family. He could not want anything to do with being heir to Longbourn and wish to run off and be a stage actor or something. lol Can’t wait to find out.
With Jack Caldwell taking over from me, anything could happen!
(insert evil laugh here)
I’m sure you have been enjoying “getting to know Edward” (I see we are using Christian names, Monica). After all, you are the one with the private interview on the balcony!
Must invite you over for tea after the assembly to hear all the details! 
Good point, Abigail. Who knows where Jack will take this!
Oh, I can’t wait! It is going to be *so* good!! 
You really have my mind spinning in circles at the possibilities here.
Scary, isn’t it? There are so many different ways this could go!
This certainly throws a spanner into the works! If it’s a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a fortune, must be in want of a wife, then the same could be said for the reverse…I can’t see why ‘Edward’ can’t be ‘looking’ for a wife to help with his fortune and Caroline would be a perfect candidate, other than her personality…lol. Maybe, ‘Edward’ saw Caroline at a ball in London and was struck by her beauty not realizing she was the sister of a ‘friend’, Bingley. In speaking with Bingley one day, he mentioned Netherfield being free for let and the next thing you know they all meet at the assembly! In order for ‘Edward’ to spend more time getting to know Caroline he uses his sisters (Jane and Elizabeth) to make it happen therefore throwing them into the path of richer men! I know…so many holes in this!
This is going to be great fun! I can’t wait to read your part on Jan 30th! We have great faith in you!
It’s occurred to me that Caroline Bingley would suit his purposes, but I don’t know that it would be a love match. What I’d love to see Edward do is to answer back when Caroline goes on about uncles in Cheapside – asking with a mock innocence, “And where were *your* parents from, Miss Bingley?”
I’ve already an idea about that.
Ooh, I can’t wait!
LOL! How true! This is so much fun!
I’m curious. Is Edward the eldest of the Bennets? I’d like to think of him as being born after Jane and Elizabeth so that he might benefit from their example.
I decided to have Edward be the eldest so that he would be close in age to Darcy (then 27) and Bingley (~25). If he came after Elizabeth, he’d be 18 or 19, and that would cut out some possibilities for complications in their relationships. And I do dearly love complications!
You are absolutely right. He’d be too young.
I’m glad you did this post. It was good to have Edward a bit grounded for me before you turned him loose on JAFF. You can’t do that with only 140 characters!
And it’s really hard to fit Regency-appropriate words and syntax into 140 characters!
Yes, I thought he’d have to be older, if he was around Lizzy’s age I would imagine he might still be at university, although I’m not sure what age university students generally were in those times.
It occurred to me, would there even have been so many younger Bennet siblings? Mrs Bennet was sure that there would be an heir for years after Lydia’s birth so presumably they were actively trying, but if they already had an heir would they have tried to avoid so many younger children? As you say, less children would have been more financially prudent. Having said that, Mr Bennet didn’t do much planning as regards his daughters’ dowries, maybe he would have still assumed that the future would take care of itself.
That’s a good question. I hadn’t thought about that. You’re probably right, but I already have Lydia on page 1. Oh, well.
Or maybe Mrs. Bennet simply enjoyed her husband’s attentions and the lack of them after Lydia’s birth added to her “nerves.” Just a thought.
An heir and a spare?
I think that’s true – Mrs. Bennet would have kept having children in hope of having a second son. After all, her future depends on having a living son.
I was thinking the same thing, wouldn’t need to keep having all those children since there was already an heir.
Can’t wait to read all about Edward Bennet!
Given the very questionable nature of birth control back then, the question is whether they had 5 daughters because they kept trying for a boy, or whether that was just how often Mrs. Bennet happened to end up pregnant. I’ll have to ponder that!
Two words: “wild thing.”
I read a comment once that I found very enlightening on the money issue with the Bennets. I couldn’t find it so I went to an interest calculator online to recreate the math. In essence, someone pointed out that if all the Bennets did to secure the girls’ futures financially was to reinvest the *interest* on Mrs Bennet’s 5000 pound dowry she brought to the marriage (not saving a bit of the profits from the Longbourn estate), at 4% (the standard expected interest of those times) the Bennets could have amassed a dowry of about 20,000 pounds to split between the girls. I would think a family with even a little bit of money sense could put aside that much for the future. They’d still have all the profits from the Longbourn estate to live off of.
Wow. That’s rather sad given how bleak the outcome would have been for their daughters if Bingley and Darcy hadn’t shown up.
Yeah, facts such as these remind me why I don’t like Mr Bennet. The Bennet daughters really should have had dowries and easily could have had if he weren’t such a negligent father. Some might blame Mrs Bennet but I put this firmly on him. He was the one who needed to lay down the law on spending in their house. He was the one who needed to say, “you each get 10 pounds to spend on your wardrobe this year” and then stick to it. His daughters wouldn’t have felt it a hardship at all if they had been raised properly. And it wouldn’t have been. They still would have all been beautifully dressed. It would have only cut out the waste. And then he would have had to limit his book spending to 10 pounds/year too. LOL.
No need for frugality, just a budget.
Given how many children didn’t make adulthood, and then possible illness/accidents etc it would have made sense for them to keep trying so they had another son to provide for the daughters if the worst happened to #HotBennetBrother anyway.
I am really looking forward to this story! I am hoping that even if Mr Bennet the younger is interested in Miss Bingley she will not be interested as she has her sights set on a brilliant match for herself. Not only for Edward’s sake, but also to prevent disappointment for Lady Monica, who has an assignation planned with him on the balcony
Hmm, I can see that Edward’s and my private interview on the balcony will not be as private as it should be, with all the gossip-mongers peeking at us. Lol I assure you, should I find him favorable, Miss Bingley will be no match for me
Let’s see; a handsome gentleman with expectations of 2,000/year with 5 unmarried, un-doweried sisters vs. a handsome gentleman in possession of an estate of 10,000/yr with 1 well-doweried sister.
I know which one Caro would have her cap set on.
So many possibilities and in the hands of such talented authors. Cannot wait to see what you all come up with.
My secret wish is that Edward turns out to be a flake like his mother. Somehow I always think everyone assumes a Bennet brother would be smart and sassy like his sister, Elizabeth. I’d like to see what would happen with a brother Darcy couldn’t like or befriend.
I toyed with that possibility, but decided it’s too hard to pass a comic character from one author to another. I took the easy way out.
Wow, fabulous information and research done. It’s crazy just at how much went into investing for your family, and how important it was for one of your children to be married right away. I don’t think I would be able to handle that much pressure, I’d probably be Mary in this story. Haha.
I really can’t wait to see what you come up with. It sounds really interesting and I am positive it will be really well done.
Always,
Mostly Lisa
I’d have trouble with the pressure, too. It seems like Elizabeth dealt with it by denial that there was a problem.
I guess ignorance is bliss, right?
Abigail, I am so disappointed in Mr. Darcy’s manners. Its one thing to make an off handed remark about someone you know nothing about in order to get friends to stop harassing you, its quite another to do it so deliberately. I never quite understood why Elizabeth was so stung by that comment. She seemed so full of herself. Now I see it in a whole new light.
The most disturbing thing in that scene is that Darcy catches Elizabeth’s eye just before he says she is tolerable. It seems like he intended her to hear it, and that’s a little disturbing. Of course, he also says some pretty unkind things to Miss Bingley.
Huh, I never thought about that. Now I’m looking forward to this even more, which I did not think was possible.
I agree!
I’m glad you’re both excited about it!
If Edwaed is the oldest, presumably he is out of university. What has he been doing? Adventuring on another continent, looking to swell the coffers perhaps? Or something else entirely, hmmm, less proper?
You’ll see.
Oh, Jack, you’re so cruel!
While I can’t see that most of the Bennet sisters will be much different in this incarnation of their family — except at least there’s probably one more authority figure watching over the younger ones — I am wondering how Lizzy will have changed — she was very much her father’s favorite in the original, and I think it’s assumed that was partly because there was no son or heir to share in her father’s interests. Will Lizzy still have a special relationship with Mr. Bennet, or will the oldest brother have assumed that companion role? Would that make Lizzy even more independent or more like her sisters?
That’s something I’m trying to figure out as well. I’ve always thought that perhaps Mr. Bennet was able to cope with having two small children, but when the third was born, he stopped being involved and started hiding in his library. If that’s the case, Lizzy wouldn’t be a favorite at all, and that would make her quite different. She might even be the angry child.
Thanks for sharing, you made some really interesting points that I had never thought of either.
Just dropped in and saw this. Sounds interesting. As for my thoughts on a Bennet son, I imagine him being a lot like Lizzy. After all, Mr. Bennet seemed to teach Lizzy as he would have a son, so I can see him doing the same with his real son. I doubt if anything could dampen Lizzy’s overall intelligence and love of knowledge so she would probably still spend a lot of time with her father and brother.
As for Mrs. Bennet, the entail, I’m sure played a lot on her ‘nerves’ but I also think that since her sister was not encumbered by an entail and she was a gossip and silly, too, that is probably something that came from their mother since they were not raised as gentlewomen on an estate.
Having a Bennet son, if he is any gentleman at all, would lessen the antics of Lydia and Kitty and therefore, would have lessened Mary’s possibility of wanting to go to such extremes to distance herself from her silly and obnoxious younger sisters.
And, since there is a son, Mr. Bennet would feel the need to save…and with the younger daughters not being out, money would not have been wasted on their frills, either.
Now, since there would be a Bennet son, I wonder how he would fare with the women in the area. He would be an heir to an estate…wonder who is going to be after him? And…wonder how Mrs Bennet would act concerning who would be good enough for her son? Hmmm….would she see more into the machinations of say a Caroline Bingley?
And since so many seem to think that Darcy was after Bingley for Georgiana (never liked that pairing…he is still from trade and I would expect Georgiana to at least merit a land owner) would Darcy then think of the Bennet son (being a landowner) as a possibility and just how would Caroline react to that?
Who knows…could there be a connection or two tucked in there somewhere?
Well…I have no idea where this is going to go but it certainly opens up a lot of possibilities. Sounds like a lot of fun and many of your stories are among my favorites
Hugs,
Sandy
Interesting questions, Sandy! I’d wondered about Caroline Bingley as a possibility, but hadn’t considered Georgiana, who might be even better. Of course, Georgiana wouldn’t show up until long after my segment is over, so perhaps I’d better not think too hard about that!
Very interesting and well thought out comments, Sandy. I like your ideas.
All the thought and research you are putting in this story is very much appreciated. I look forward to reading!!
Abigail,
.
I’m getting really excited about this new writing venture, particularly the enigmatic #HotBennetBrother, LOL! He’s been such fun on Twitter already
He’s great fun on Twitter – and I’m someone who hates to tweet!
Thank you, Abigail, for sharing your thoughts! I never realized how complicated this scenario could get. I’m having a hard time envisioning what the Bennet brother will be like. Maybe a cross between Colonel Fitzwilliam and Charles Bingley? Probably not as refined or reserved as Darcy. Definitely not silly like William Collins! Can’t wait to see what you come up with – I’m sure you’ll do a fantastic job!
From what @edwbennet says on Twitter, he resembles Jane most in looks, but has eyes like Lizzy’s. Can’t go wrong there, can you?
Well, well! This is gearing up to be VERY interesting!
This all sounds fascinating! What great comments everyone is coming up with! Can’t wait to read the first instalment, Abigail, and see what Jack follows you on!
I wonder why Edward is still unmarried at 27-ish? A woman at that age is in danger of being on the shelf forever – it was different for men, of course, but even so… has he been so busy (like Darcy was) focusing on the family and improving the Estate to increase the coffers to pay any mind to courting?
I too am wondering how this will affect the relationship and dynamic between Lizzy and Mr Bennet… perhaps that will be transferred to the brother!
So exciting to see this developing, and Abigail, I suspect you will soon be writing another of your wonderful variations inspired by this!
I wouldn’t be surprised if I end up with a novella at least, since my Muse doesn’t seem capable of turning off after writing one chapter!
That’s what we all love to hear!!!
Too bad, Lizzy and Edward couldn’t be twins. Then the whole dynamics of whether Elizabeth would remain her father’s favorite would not be such an issue.
Yeah, I was thinking that might be a very nice variation too as it would mean that E and her brother would most likely do everything together and be very close (as is the usual thing with twins). My mind kinda imagines that with the son as eldest and then beautiful Jane as second, that E would end up being the forgotten middle sister (like Mary). I always hate to imagine E in that position and yet I just don’t see the Bennets having much more in them (at least, not Mr Bennet). Would he really exert much energy with E if he already had a son to love and share his interests with? I really don’t see the version of him I keep in my head rising to the occasion. Of course, you all should feel free to make him a better person than written in canon.
It would be fun to have them as twins, though that might lead to Elizabeth being even more neglected by her father in favor of her twin. My mental version of Mr. Bennet doesn’t rise to the occasion either.
That would be really interesting to see!
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