Re: Sweetness at the Bottom of the Hangman's Mustard

On 08/10/2012 18:51, Wayne Morrison wrote:
> I just finished the third Flavia de Luce book -- "A Red Herring Without
> Mustard". I've got a question I'm hoping someone here can clear up for me.
>
> This book, as well as the first two FdL books, talk about Buckshaw having
> been in the de Luce family for centuries. All sorts of dead de Luces are
> named as having done this or that with the estate.
>
> Flavia's father is Col. de Luce.
>
> There's also some discussion about the property being owned by Harriet,
> Flavia's mother. I think there's some discussion about her having grown up
> at Buckshaw.
>
> How is the property owned by Harriet if Flavia's father is the de Luce with
> the aforementioned decedents?
>
> Possibilities I've thought of:
>
> - Flavia's parents are siblings/cousins and this is a case of
> inbreeding amongst the aristocracy.
>
> - Flavia's father took his wife's name when they married in order
> to keep alive the "important" lineage.
> (Was this a possibility in 1950's England? I have no idea when it
> became possible in the US, much less anywhere else in the world.)
>
> - The author is confused.
>
> - I am confused. (Actually, this is a certainty and not a possibility.)
>
> I don't remember this being explained in the first two books, and I'm pretty
> certain it wasn't in the third.
>
> Thanks,
> Wayne
>


the house was gifted (technical term) to the bride in the matrimonial
settlement?
(more common than you'd guess - at least in Scottish historical deeds)

BTW, yes a man could take his wife's name even in the 1950s, just as he
could in the 1750s or the 1350s. There is no law that says a woman
*has* to take her husband's name, it's just convention - and indeed
until recently (mid 20th C) she was only known by his name in connection
with him. So if Jenny Brown married John Smith she would be Mrs John
Smith, but still known as Jenny Brown when you're referring to *her*,
not her as his wife.


--
Jette Goldie
jette.goldie@gmail.com