The term "landed gentry" was meant to distinguish those who had land, i.e. estates, from those who did not. The lands and estates of the nobility were perhaps more important to them, and to others, than any other possessions massed together. It is the topic of land and estates that brings us to that much asked question, "How can I manage to have my heroine inherit a title and the family estates?" Once and for all, you can't. Oh, it's happened once or twice since 1066 that a woman was given a title in her own right, but for practical purposes, a woman cannot inherit a title. Another question that is raised repeatedly is that of the inheritance of estates and possessions. In the hopes of clarifying both of these issues let us examine a little known subject called the entail.

It is commonly known that the law of primogeniture existed for centuries in England amongst noble families. What this means is that the lands and estates automatically went to the eldest son in the event that the father died. But if the eldest son was a Tudor toad, Georgian gambler or Regency ruin, what recourse did a fretting father have? The entail. This was a legal loophole used through the centuries to ensure that the eldest son received the land only for his life time. He was, in effect, only holding the properties in trust for future generations. He was entitled to the income from the land and properties but could not sell or mortgage either the land or the estates.

One important feature of the entail should be noted-the law only allowed an entail to remain in effect until the grandson of the person making the entail became twenty-one. When the entail was lifted, the heir had the option of selling the property he inherited. It was therefore routine for the father to ensure that the grandson renewed the entail before his death, thus tying up the property until the son's grandson reached majority. Should a son be reluctant to renew an entail, English fathers were not above using coercive measures such as refusing to pay his bills, club dues, etc.

Now that we've explored the entail, we shall see how it relates to the topic of women being able to inherit. First of all, let us remember primogeniture-the properties automatically going to the eldest son. Aha, says you! What if the eldest son died before the father? The property went to the next son in line. And what, thou asks, if he and all remaining younger sons died? The property and title then moved laterally through the family to the eldest male relative-a cousin, nephew, etc. You see, painful as it may be, a family would rather have a title pass out of the immediate family than give it to a female.

Alright, I hear you say, suppose everyone in the family died save the daughter, then what? In cases where there was absolutely no male to inherit a title, it was said to be in abeyance. The daughter still did not inherit the title, but rather the title was held in abeyance, put on the shelf, so to speak, until the time that the daughter married and had children. The title would then be dusted off and bestowed upon her son or even grandson, who would inherit the lands and estates which his mother had been keeping in trust for him. If no male issue made an appearance after a few generations, the title was then said to be extant, or no longer in existence.

One last point-whilst a daughter could not inherit the family seat and lands, she could be left other property, monies, jewels, etc. at the discretion of her father or other male relative, but it should be remembered that, until the late 19th and early 20th centuries, women were not thought capable of handling their own finances and so the inheritance by a woman of a large holding was rare, if not impossible.