In Jane Austen’s writing we encounter a number of characters like Edward Ferrars and Edmund Bertram who are planning on taking orders. Her readers understood what that meant, but the concept is a little foreign to us, so here’s a quick rundown on what ‘taking orders’ meant.  The English laws or primogenitor, intended to preserve the integrity of large landed estates, made it a challenge for younger sons of the landed gentry to establish themselves … Continue reading →