Gentlewomanly capitalism? Spinsters, widows, and wealth holding in England and Wales, c. 1800–1860
Year: 2003
Type: article
Abstract: This article examines the demographic and geographical importance of wealthy middle‐class women. It argues that in certain towns and cities, notably London, such women were of sufficient importance to merit attention in their own right. Drawing upon a sample of wills, it describes the types of wealth owned by these women. By examining women's investment in government securities, it argues that women's wealth was of crucial importance to the British state. Its findings challenge conventional understandings of the relationships between gender ideology, wealth holding, and economic development.
Source: The Economic History Review
Authors: David R. Green, Alastair Owens
Institutions: King's College London, Queen Mary University of London
Language: English
Subfield: Economics and Econometrics
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2045048923