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During the 1790s, with Ireland in political crisis, Maria Edgeworth made a surprisingly rebellious choice: in Castle Rackrent, her first novel, she adopted an Irish Catholic voice to narrate the decline of a family from her own Anglo-Irish class. Castle Rackrent's narrator, Thady... Read Full Overview

With her satire on Anglo-Irish landlords in Castle Rackrent (1800), Maria Edgeworth pioneered the regional novel and inspired Sir Walter Scott's Waverley (1814). Politically risky, stylistically innovative, and wonderfully entertaining, the novel changes the focus of conflict... Read Full Overview

With her satire on Anglo-Irish landlords in Castle Rackrent (1800), Maria Edgeworth pioneered the regional novel and inspired Sir Walter Scott's Waverley (1814). Politically risky, stylistically innovative, and wonderfully entertaining, the novel changes the focus of conflict... Read Full Overview

Castle Rackrent's publication in 1800 signaled many firsts: the first historical novel, the first regional novel in English, the first "big house" novel, the first Anglo-Irish novel, and the first novel with a narrator who is neither reliable nor part of the action. This Norton... Read Full Overview

Castle Rackrent, a short novel by Maria Edgeworth published in 1800, is often regarded as the first historical novel, the first regional novel in English, the first Anglo-Irish novel, the first Big House novel and the first saga novel.

Castle Rackrent--Maria Edgeworth's first novel, and the work for which she was and is best known--occupies a most unusual place in the history both of Irish literature and of English-language fiction. It has sometimes been called the first historical novel in English literature,... Read Full Overview

The novel is set prior to the Constitution of 1782 and tells the story of four generations of Rackrent heirs through their steward, Thady Quirk. The heirs are: the dissipated spendthrift Sir Patrick O'Shaughlin, the litigious Sir Murtagh Rackrent, the cruel husband and gambling... Read Full Overview

During the 1790s, with Ireland in political crisis, Maria Edgeworth made a surprisingly rebellious choice: in Castle Rackrent, her first novel, she adopted an Irish Catholic voice to narrate the decline of a family from her own Anglo-Irish class. Castle Rackrent's narrator, Thady... Read Full Overview

Castle Rackrent is a novel written by Maria Edgeworth, first published in 1800. The novel is set in Ireland and tells the story of the Rackrent family, who are landlords of an estate called Castle Rackrent. The novel is written in the form of a memoir by the family's steward,... Read Full Overview

Thady Quirk, steward, tells the history of four generations of Rackrent heirs -- their machinations, romances, and the management of their estate.

When a long-time servant of the Rackrent family decides to write about family members whom he has served, the result is a stylishly entertaining exploration of master/servant relationships. Edgeworth's brilliant satire of early-19th-century Anglo-Irish landlords pioneered the... Read Full Overview

Castle Rackrent By Maria Edgeworth Thady Quirk is the ever-present steward to four generations of a dying dynasty in Castle Racrent, hilariously flattering and encouraging his hapless masters on their road to ruin. Ingeniously drawing on an actual chronicle of Maria Edgeworth's... Read Full Overview

With her satire on Anglo-Irish landlords in Castle Rackrent (1800), Maria Edgeworth pioneered the regional novel and inspired Sir Walter Scott's Waverley (1814). Politically risky, stylistically innovative, and wonderfully entertaining, the novel changes the focus of conflict... Read Full Overview

Told by an old family servant, this short novel offers a sharp, ironic view of a declining Anglo-Irish estate. Through gossip and recollection, it captures the waste, folly, and ruin of a landowning dynasty. With humor and bite, it explores class, loyalty, and the cost of... Read Full Overview

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this... Read Full Overview

Castle Rackrent is a novel written by Maria Edgeworth in 1801. It is a satirical work that takes a critical look at the Irish aristocracy and their way of life before the year 1782. The story is told from the perspective of an Irish servant named Thady Quirk, who works for the... Read Full Overview

Reproduction of the original: Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth