Nelson and Fanny

[PMarione]

HN's biographers have often said that he was financially generous with his wife when they separated.

The arrangement was 2,000 GBP/year (less income tax) ie 400 GBP/ quarter.
The 4,000 GBP she had inherited from her uncle Herbert to be returned to her.
The debts and bills left till his departure to be paid.

That left her with a net income of 1,800 GBP/year which was not bad.

In fact HN was not generous, he was simply following the normal practice for the period.

Following the Marriage Act of 1753, divorce with no proved criminal conversation (adultery) at charge of the wife was impossible, and even in that case very expensive.
A separation by private deed was more common.
The husband agreed to pay an annual allowance for life (usually a third of his income). In exchange he was then protected from suit by creditors for debts his wife may do in the future: as the wife lost all legal existence by marriage, he was responsible for all her debts and running in debts could end in unlimited imprisonment.
The return of her heritage was also normal: she would have kept it in case of widowhood too.
If they had had children, Fanny would have lost custody.

The only unusual thing in the situation is the separation in itself: it has been estimated that only 4% of the marriages ended in separation or divorce at the time (common life was probably not easier than today but adult life expectation was short both for men and women).

Lawrence Stone, Broken Lives: separation and divorce in England 1669-1857, Oxford, 1993.

For a modern biography of Fanny: Sheila Hardy, Frances, Lady Nelson, Staplehurst, 2005, ISBN: 978-1862272729.

An article by Captain Colin White, The Wife's Tale: Frances, Lady Nelson and the break-up of her marriage
http://www.jmr.nmm.ac.uk/server/show/conJmrArticle.121

[Redfish]

I believe, the source of this information is also Margarette Lincoln; Naval Wives & Mistresses, unless she has all her information from the sources as mentioned above. In that case she forgot some notes...

[PMarione]

She also mentions the info.
As I said a book to read.

@+P