MovieChat Forums > Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (2012) Discussion > A Question for Someone Who's Read the Bo...

A Question for Someone Who's Read the Books

posted 11 years ago by otter
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I've read many of the books, and still don't understand: Where precisely does Miss Fisher get her money?

Yes, her father was wealthy, but in those days wealthy men did not usually give their daughters enough money to do as they pleased. It was considered right and honorable to control unmarried daughters through economic means - rich families might give their girls enough money to go to the big city and find a husband, but they'd cut them off if they tried to move to the far side of the world and have affairs with every lovely man in Melbourne.

Is her father really funding her unconventional lifestyle? Or did another relative leave her funds in her own name? Has this ever been addressed?

" Jack, you have debauched my sloth! "

[–] loneandersen 11 years ago

I haven't read the books, but in one of the first episodes it was (very briefly) mentioned that both of Miss Fisher's parents are dead and she inherited the family fortune. So she is a woman of independent means.

There was some talk about a title, an improper marriage and the true heir being killed in WW1. It wasn't really explained very thoroughly, but the way I understood it, Phryne's father wasn't supposed to have inherited , but his brother died in the war, so "Mr Fisher" was left everything by his parents. And when he died, his daughter became very wealthy. Leaving her free to have affairs with every lovely man in Melbourne

I'd also be interested to hear, what it says in the books.

[–] otter 11 years ago

In the books Miss Fisher's father was alive, and they didn't get along because he was a mean, controlling bastard. Which is why it wouldn't make sense for him to voluntarily give her enough money to do as she liked, at least in the books I've read.

I see the TV writers chose to simplify the issue a little. That was probably a good idea.

" Jack, you have debauched my sloth! "

[–] emma_pavitt 11 years ago

Phryne worked as a ambulance driver in the great war so would have made a wage doing this and also i believe a war pension. She also charges for her detective services.

I also seem to recall reading in one of the books that she was left an inheritance from another family member (possibly her gran) but I could be wrong!

[–] vitaechel 11 years ago

Phryne's mother is titled. She married Phryne's working class father against her families wishes. Aunt Prudence is Phryne's mother's sister. After WW1 killed off the previous members of the family, the title and thus the money was inherited down to her parents. Prior to that they had lived a very poor existence in Collingwood, Victoria. As soon as they became Lord and Lady Fisher they packed Phryne off to boarding school. She ran away to become an ambulance driver in WW2. In the books her sister is alive and well and lives with her lesbian lover in Melbourne. She runs a house for the poor. I believe the money is Phryne's as a direct lineage of the title, her father is Lord only by marriage. I have read all the books, but it has been a while, so hopefully I haven't mixed too many details from the tv series (which does not closely follow the books).
Also Jack is happily married in the books and there is no romantic interest there. Lin Chung is Phryne's long term love.

A new book comes out in October! Yay!

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[–] 11 years ago

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[–] hitch-34 11 years ago

Not to mention...that the ubiquitous, wealthy-as-Croesus Aunt Pru, who always had money, let her sister and her children live in abject poverty until someone else conveniently died off and left them a packet. The source of Phryne's money is never adequately explained, for, as the OP pointed out, he would have been far more valuable as a marriageable daughter...and even though I have read the first 9-10 books, I don't recall her coming into money of her own.

And to the person who mentioned ambulance-driving, et al? Trust me, you don't buy an Hispano-Suiza on ANY type of "salary" or pension. That is big money. As is having a butler, a housekeeper (in the books), a companion/ladies' maid, two adopted urchins, and custom gowns and clothes. ;-)

[–] spayer 11 years ago

Go ti WIkipedia.

Put "Miss Fisher Mysteries" in the search window.

Click return.

Read.

Not terribly complicated. It's all there.

[–] macpro75 9 years ago

In the books her sister is alive and well and lives with her lesbian lover in Melbourne. She runs a house for the poor.

Do you think that Dr. Mac is a sort of substitute for the sister?

"It's a real burden being right so often." Captain Malcolm Reynolds, Firefly

[–] keonkwa 9 years ago

Phryne was not always rich, having been born into a poor family in Richmond, Melbourne. In World War I, the other male heirs to a British peerage were killed, and Phryne's father inherited the title; as his daughter, she was granted the style "The Honourable Phryne Fisher" and an enormous fortune. She has an aunt, Mrs Prudence Stanley.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phryne_Fisher