True love knows no boundaries, and certainly none as crass as money. If the hero of our favorite historical romance is poor, who cares? It's his integrity that counts. If he is rich, so what? It's generosity we are looking for. Uh-huh.

If its all the same to you, I like to create very handsome, very wealthy to-die-for dudes as my heroes. But I find myself wondering just how rich they are. I mean, is 5,000 pounds per annum worth my heroine's time-er, notice?

Well?there have been different calculations used to guestimate the value of an 1830 British pound sterling in 1990-ish American dollars. It?s a difficult task and hardly an accurate one given the differences in two nation's economies and two vastly different time periods. Nonetheless, a few intrepid souls have given it a shot. I've found figures ranging 1 pound equaling $20 to $200, and more than one estimate hovering around the $50 mark. So my hero's 5,000 pounds per annum would be worth a respectable $250,000 today. Not a huge fortune, but one large enough to fall in love?ah, that is, one large enough for a woman to feel secure. Uh-huh.

I think my hero just invested in a very lucrative shipping deal.