Why you need to read Jane Austen to appreciate perpetual bonds
It takes a nineteenth-century perspective to see the merit of consols
EVERYBODY AGREES that Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” is a love story. A truth less universally acknowledged is that it is also about money. When Mr Darcy first enters the Meryton assembly, the stir he causes owes something to his looks and bearing. But it owes a lot more to the fast-circulating report of his £10,000 a year. Darcy’s money is old money. It comes neither from commerce nor the professions, but from Pemberley, the family pile in Derbyshire.
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Darcy and debt”
From the May 23rd 2020 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionDiscover more
The great-man theory of Wall Street
Why finance is still dominated by bold individuals
Hong Kong’s property slump may be terminal
Demographics and geopolitics will make a recovery harder
Why everyone wants to lend to weak companies
An unanticipated side-effect of Donald Trump’s election victory
American veterans now receive absurdly generous benefits
An enormous rise in disability payments may complicate debt-reduction efforts
Why Black Friday sales grow more annoying every year
Nobody is to blame. Everyone suffers
Trump wastes no time in reigniting trade wars
Canada and Mexico look likely to suffer