Volume 1: Chapter 7 Summary

Neither Mr. nor Mrs. Bennet has been left great fortunes by their ancestors. Mr. Bennet's property consisted of an estate of two thousand pounds a year, and would only be inherited by male heirs, so the estate would not be passed down to Mr. Bennet's offspring as it would have had their been a son in the family. Mrs. Bennet has a small income from her father, who had been an attorney, and a sister married to a Mr. Philips living in the nearby village of Longbourn. She also has a brother who has a trade business in London.

The two youngest daughters, Catherine and Lydia, often walk into Meryton in the morning to visit with their aunt and the milliner's shop in the town. At present, their excursions to Meryton furnish more gossip than usual, as there is a military...