Minors in the Regency

The following is a crossover post from my author blog. It was originally posted March 29, 2009.  

Good grief! There is a reason I never considered becoming a lawyer. I hate law books. 

Legal age of adulthood in Regency England: I've heard 21 or 25, male or female; I've heard 21 for men; 25 for women. Everyone seems to have a different idea. 

If I understand A Compendious and Comprehensive Law Dictionary By Thomas Walter Williams (1816) correctly, the legal age of adulthood was 21, male or female. At 21, a person was old enough, by law, to marry without parental consent. They were also allowed to do whatever they want with whatever unentailed properties they owned. This seems to be true of women, but somewhere I read that women never got the total freedom with their property that men did. I'll be looking into this some more... 

If I got this wrong, feel free to correct me. 

Why I decided to re-post this here: 

This has something to do with Betrayal insomuch as the heroine is under 21. Thus, she is a minor under the law. Her guardian, in this case her uncle, would have power over her money as well as who and when she'd marry. 

And despite the popularity of such a storyline, running off to Gretna Green would have done no good. Under the law, her uncle would have been able to dissolve the union. 

Introductions: Our Heroine, Bri

Bri is wealthy, titled and beautiful. Masses of dark red curls flow down her back, emerald green eyes most often flashing in cynical amusement. She is headstrong, stubborn, and her language can make a fishmonger blush. She used to be a lady. But now...

Bri was born to the Earl and Countess of Rothsmere in 1796. Her birth was a difficult one, leaving the countess barren. Bri was a source of disappointment to her father; predictably, he wanted his immense wealth and title to pass to a son. It was an added vexation that his title could pass to a daughter.

As a child, Bri was not the quiet young lady of which all parents dream. She was into mischief at every opportunity. Her numerous nannies and governesses could not control her. She loved life and loved to live.

Bri's parents died, leaving her a title, wealth, and many, many family members who would oversee the proper care of her fortune. Her family wanted nothing more than her moneybags, content to abuse her at every opportunity, verbally and physically. She loved once, was betrayed, and fled into servitude. Eventually, she found herself on the streets. The unreliability of man became something with which she was all too familiar.

Having gained the age of 20, we are first introduced to her as she sits in Newgate Prison, awaiting her execution.

Next article: Introductions: Adam's Best Friend, Lord Connor Northwicke

*The preceding is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are fictitious or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, to factual events or businesses is coincidental and unintentional.

(c) 2009 Laura J Miller aka Jaimey Grant All rights reserved. No portion of this work may be reproduced in print or electronically without the written permission of the author.