![]() ![]() (Note that a dairymaid at that time would earn 8 guineas per annum so this tax was significant). By 1808, this had been increased to £7 per head in households that had 11 or more male servants. ![]() Taxation on male servants was introduced in 1777, at one guinea per head. Judith Terry states that the number of male servants in a household was “a mark of rank and wealth”. ![]() This led to a discussion of taxation on male servants because of the war. One member was intrigued by the reference to “footboy” in Persuasion, as she, like others of us, hadn’t heard the term before. We began by sharing some interesting snippets of information. The theme was partly inspired by the publication last year of Jo Baker’s novel Longbourn: Pride and Prejudice, the Servants’ Story, so we included a discussion of this book in our meeting. Having enjoyed last year’s theme of looking at how Jane Austen explored specific emotions – such as anger, desire, envy and jealousy – in her novels, we decided to turn to roles, starting this month with servants. ![]()
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