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Article: Jane Austen and the enclosure movement: the sense and sensibility of land reform.(Conference Papers)
- Article from:
- Persuasions: The Jane Austen Journal
- Article date:
- January 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Jane Austen Society of North America. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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"'NOT so LARGE, I DARE SAY, as many people suppose,'" John Dashwood tells his half-sister, Elinor, in Sense and Sensibility, when she comments that although it is expensive for him to maintain households both in town and in the country, his income is "a large one." He hopes to increase his wealth by making improvements in his country estate--her former home--but his investment has required considerable capital outlay:
"The inclosure of Norland Common, now carrying on," he notes, "is a most serious drain. And then I have made a little purchase within this half year; East Kingham Farm, you must remember the place, where old Gibson used to live. The land was so very ...