According to The Complete Servant by Samuel and Sarah Adams, "...there is a constant demand for females of genteel manners, and finished education, at salaries which vary according to qualifications, and number and age of pupils, between £25 and £120 pounds per annum, and often improved, on certain great length of service, by some provision for life." Samuel and Sarah Adams published their book in 1825, but the wages suggested for a governess would not have changed much since the Regency. Compare the above figures to the wage received by Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, who, in the 1830's, received £30 per year, plus the services of a day servant, to run a village school. Written by Marie-Bernadette (August 13, 2001 )

] £25 a year is enough to buy some clothes and still leaving a small amount of spending money, but it's not enough to save anything.