EP 08 - The Thing About Sir Walter's Favorite Book

EP08: The Thing About Sir Walter's Favorite Book

10/3/2021

We're deep in the nerdery weeds this week as we unpack the beginning of Persuasion and discuss Sir Walter's obsession with status and prestige and how that manifests in his love for his favorite book. If you've ever trawled LinkedIn looking for potential dates, this episode is for you.

Selected episode sources:

Debrett’s. “About Us,” May 30, 2021. https://debretts.com/about-us/.
The British Library. “Debrett’s Peerage.” The British Library. Accessed January 28, 2022. https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/debretts-peerage.
Sutherland, Eileen. “The Rise and Fall of the House of Elliot.” Persuasions 15 (1993): 57–62.

Kathy Petersen

4/2/2022 09:49:37 pm

Hi, I just found this podcast and have enjoyed listening to the past episodes. They've been great, and I have learned a lot. I do think there is an error in this one, though. When speaking of Mary's marriage to Charles Musgrove, it says, "Married, December 16, 1810, Charles, son and heir of Charles Musgrove, Esq. of Uppercross, in the county of Somerset,"

You said that Sir Walter put the birth of Mary's firstborn son, Charles, but I think that is incorrect. I think that the first Charles mentioned is Mary's husband, while the second is Mary's father-in-law. The elder Mr. Musgrove is still living, so the younger Mr. Musgrove (Mary's husband) is "his heir". Mary's son Charles will of course be his own father's "son and heir", but only after his father actually inherits, once the elder Mr. Musgrove passes away.

It gets confusing because I'm not sure if we're ever told the elder Mr. Musgrove's first name, but it stands to reason that it would be Charles, and Mary's husband and son were both given the same name as well, just as Charles has a Hayter cousin named Charles as well. (Too many Charleses!!)

Zan

10/24/2022 05:59:54 pm

Sorry, I'm just seeing this!

Too many Charleses INDEED! I think you're right about the phrasing here. There is a certain amount of ambiguity in the phrasing, but the likelihood that Charles M., Esq. is the one currently living at Uppercross (and therefore not Mary's husband) is, I think, the correct reading. Thanks for the eagle eye and attention to detail! We'll make a note to correct this in the episode. Thanks again!

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