Why Willoughby Chose £50,000 Over Marianne (The Real Numbers)

Why did Willoughby choose Sophia Grey's £50,000 over Marianne in Sense and Sensibility? We put both of his futures on one ledger: his own books, the income Marianne herself called a "competence", Sophia's fortune and the law that handed a wife's money to her husband. 00:00 Why Willoughby Chose £50,000 Over Marianne 00:34 Willoughby's own books: £600–£700 a year 02:57 Book one: Marianne and her own "competence" 05:07 Book two: Sophia Grey's £50,000 and the law 07:41 The balance: the figure Willoughby could not count 09:15 Real women of the era: Austen's own ledger Was Willoughby wrong about the sum, or only about the timing? Tell us in the comments, and subscribe for the next ledger: three honest ways to convert a pound of 1813. Educational content. Modern-money equivalents are estimates; measures and sources are listed above. Illustrations: public-domain archive images credited on screen and original stylised illustrations. SOURCES Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility (1811), Project Gutenberg #161: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/161 MeasuringWorth, UK purchasing power and average earnings: https://www.measuringworth.com/calcul... and https://www.measuringworth.com/datase... William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765), Book I ch. 15 and Book II ch. 29: https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_cent... , https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_cent... Coverture (background): https://en.wikipedia.com/wiki/Coverture Jane Austen's letters to Frank Austen (1813) and Fanny Knight (1814, 1817) Archive images: public-domain archive images credited on screen; other credits on screen. #JaneAusten #SenseAndSensibility #RegencyEngland