It is a truth universally acknowledged that a dead author in possession of a good literary reputation must be in want of her face on money. Earlier this month, the Bank Of England announced it would be retiring the face of 18th-century British philanthropist Elizabeth Fry from five-pound notes and replacing her with Winston Churchill—a decision that angered feminists, seeing as Fry was the only woman (aside from the Queen) to appear on British money. But now the bank has made an effort to appease them by booting Charles Darwin off the 10-pound note in favor of novelist Jane Austen, after the outgoing governor of the bank, Sir Mervyn King, had previously insisted amid the Fry uproar that Austen was already "quietly waiting in the wings."
While this means little to U.S. citizens, of course, Think Progress already has a list of potential women who could appear on American currency, including Edith Wharton, the first American female Pulitzer Prize winner, while Time almost misses the point by suggesting a bunch of male authors, then Wharton and Dorothy Parker. Perhaps it's time to start getting nervous, fans of Ulysses S. Grant. Seems like his spot on the $50 bill is probably the most vulnerable.