<P> Alternately, the reader can presume is that a younger Collins son (possibly an ancestor of Mr. Bennet's) once changed his name to Bennet, possibly in anticipation of receiving an inheritance (as Jane Austen's own brother did; it was a common practice in Georgian England). Readers of the time would have recognized the impossibility of Mr. Collins being the descendant of a female relative of Mr. Bennet's, as entails always descended through a strict male line (although this would not account for how the Bennets and Collinses came to be related to each other in the first place). </P> <P> Mr. Bennet, Esquire, the patriarch of the now - dwindling Bennet family (a family of Hertfordshire landed gentry) is a late - middle - aged landed gentleman of modest income . He is married to Mrs. Bennet, the daughter of a Meryton attorney, the late Mr. Gardener Sr. Together the couple has five daughters; Jane, Elizabeth ("Lizzy" / "Eliza"), Mary, Catherine ("Kitty"), and Lydia Bennet . None of the daughters are married at the beginning of the novel, much to Mrs. Bennet's dismay . </P> <P> Mr. Bennet's family estate, Longbourn House, is a residence and land located within the environs of the township of Meryton, in Hertfordshire, just north of London . From his family estate, Mr. Bennet derives an annual income of £ 2,000, which is a respectable income for a gentleman (but certainly not comparable to Mr Darcy's annual income of £ 10,000, being 1 / 5 the size). Longbourn House also has an entailment upon it, meant to keep the estate in the sole possession of the family, down the male line, and from being divided - off amongst younger sons and any daughters; it is to passed - down amongst male heirs only . For years, Mr. Bennet had the hope and intention of fathering a son who was to inherit the entire estate; which would see to the entail for another generation, and provide for his widow and any other children he might have . Additionally, Mr. Bennet did not get along with his then - closest living male relative and male heir, his distant cousin, Mr. Collins (Sr .), who is described as an "illiterate miser" (possibly some disagreement over the entail), and did not want the estate going to him . Sadly, after 23 / 24 - years of marriage, Mr. Bennet remains the last male scion of the Bennet family, thus marking the end of the Bennet name with his death . </P> <P> However, Mr. Collins' chances of inheriting Longbourn House are not concrete . If, before Mr. Bennet's death, one of his daughters should be able to present him with a grandson, said grandson would then become the new heir presumptive of the entailment, by virtue of being Mr. Bennet's closest living male blood relative . This fact is likely why Mr. Collins' late father urged his son to' mend the rift' with the Bennets . If Mr. Collins were to marry one of one of Mr. Bennet's daughters and father a son, it would make Mr. Collins' claim to Longbourn House much stronger . </P>

What town do the bennets live in in pride and prejudice