Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy
Time period*: 1813, early Regency era
Social status of the bride: Lower rungs of the British landed gentry (Mr. Bennet: £2,000 a year, Elizabeth: £40 a year after death of father)
Social status of the groom: Upper level of the British landed gentry (£10,000 a year)
Wedding location: Longbourn, Hertfordshire
Margaret Hale and Mr. Thornton
Novel: North and South
Time period: 1855, mid-Victorian era
Social status of the bride: Upper level middle class (Inheriting from Mr. Bell: "about two thousand pounds, and the remainder about forty thousand, at the present value of property in Milton.")
Social status of the groom: Upper level middle class, temporarily restructuring from business failure ("I have been unsuccessful in business, and have had to give up my position as a master. I am on the look out for a situation in Milton, where I may meet with employment under some one who will be willing to let me go along my own way in such matters as these.")
Wedding location: Milton, the North of England
Bessie Lee and Mr. Leaven
Novel: Jane Eyre
Time period: 1847, early mid-Victorian era
Social status of the bride: Skilled working class ("well-dressed servant")
Social status of the groom: Skilled working class ("coachman")
Wedding location: Near Gateshead Hall, the North of England
*As none of the novels researched here are historical fiction, it is safe to assume that they are set in the same time and year that the book was published. Therefore, I will put in the date of the first novel publication as the time period for each wedding.