�5000 a year

[albalass]

In classic books, when people mention how much someone is worth, they say "she has �800 a year" etc. Where does this money come from? Is a type of trust fund? Would it ever run out? Why don't you hear it said now?

[jno]

yes, most probably a trust fund, a legacy from some deceased relative perhaps, or a widow's pension

[dot.haukes]

If you mean books like Austen etc, then the allowance talked about might be an allowance from a dowry or a bequest , like jno says, it could be money held in trust that gives a single woman of reasonable social standing a means of living comfortably without having to sink to the depths of seeking employment.

[jno]

just second thoughts about a pension: I don't think people would talk about a widow as 'having �800 a year' - it might be true but you wouldn't classify a widow according to her income like that even if you knew what it was. More likely a young lady eligible for marriage. A dowry is another suggestion, as Dot says.

[dundurn]

Try this link for the experiences of someone else with the same sort of enquiry.

http://www.hoboes.com/Mimsy/Books/funds-victor ian/

[craft1948]

In Austen's time women were not thought capable of handling their finances so were not left a lump sum but an income paid out, usually by, the family solicitor.

[fredpuli47]

Women were not just seen as not capable of handling finances, a married woman's property belonged to her husband. It was not until the Married Women's Property Act 1882 was passed that they had rights to their own property. A result was that the family of a single woman would create a trust, whereby the woman's property belonged to trustees, who might be her father or other males of the family or trusted professionals. They then paid sums specified and/or at their discretion, to her from the income of the trust's property and investments.That stopped her future husband owning that property and, naturally, getting his hands on wealth from her family which she might have or receive later.