MovieChat Forums > Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (2012) Discussion > MISS FISHER'S WEALTH?

MISS FISHER'S WEALTH?

posted 9 years ago by lsieg
10 replies | jump to latest

What is the source of her income? She lives so well - servants, lovely home, great car, and fabulous clothes. Her detective work doesn't pay for this. Did she inherit wealth from family?

[–] pauli_gomez 9 years ago

Yes, it is said several times. If I remember well, she is the daughter of a rich woman amd a man who had no money but was a relative of very wealthy people. When all those rich relatives died in the war, Fisher's dad inherited their money and the title of Baron.
Her mom was the richest, that is why her aunt is so rich too.

[–] bpollen 9 years ago

She inherited wealth AND a title.

[–] elizabethlovesflowers 9 years ago

I was confused about this too because her dad is shown alive & broke in season 3 & the mom is mentioned to be alive as well.

[–] ph75006 9 years ago

I think her mother is extremely wealthy and her dad comes from wealth but is always short on cash b/c he likes to gamble. When he first appeared, I thought he was a con-artist, but I think he is of legit peerage.

[–] fanaticita 9 years ago

What is the title she inherited?????

[–] greenbudgie 9 years ago

I've just checked on Wiki. On there, it says that she was granted the title of 'The Honourable Phryne Fisher' from the British Peerage.

[–] !!!deleted!!! (41638798) 9 years ago

Phryne's father inherited a Baronetage. Ergo, as the unmarried daughter, she is allowed to use the title "Honorable."

[–] jmac7106 9 years ago

Mother isnt wealthy she tries to borrow money from auntie prudence. She gave her dad 10k pounds to wire to england and he took it for himself. Ten thousand pounds in 1929 is ridiculous.Remember the constable wants a promotion so he can earn 5 pounds a week to afford a house.

[–] LeofricsBeloved 9 years ago

In the tv show, it wasn't really explained very well how Phryne came into her wealth. I don't know how it was explained in the novels, but I'm sure someone will know.

When they showed scenes from her childhood with her little sister, it was shown she and her sister were unkempt, unsupervised children - that's why her sister got taken away by a serial killer.

I did not get the impression that Phryne was always wealthy or had wealthy parents until that was proven otherwise in Season 3. It seemed to me that she came into her wealth and title as an adult as her father inherited the wealth and title only when all the other relatives died off in World War I. Phryne as a young woman had to pose nude for painters, perhaps for money; it didn't seem she was yet wealthy then.

If her parents were alive, she would not have likely been financially independent as she is shown in the show; at best she would have living off handouts whose amounts are determined by her parents. Or, she would have needed to make her own fortune or marry into it - neither of these premises are supported by any evidence. In the show, her parents are suddenly shown to be alive and well, yet somehow she came into her own vast inheritance.

Phryne's source of wealth has been kept quite vague. After all, this is a whodunit, entertaining show whose main character leads a carefree lifestyle - laborious questions about estate planning are for another show, I guess. The answer is the writers of the show are as clueless as we are.

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[–] maggieameanderings 9 years ago

I just watched the first episodes last night and in it it was specifically stated that she did not grow up wealthy and made clear that her family got title and money because of relatives (cousins) dying in the war.

The behind the scenes footage aired specifically stated that she grew up poor so was familiar with a range of economic classes.