‘We cannot judge either of the feelings or of the characters of men with perfect accuracy from their actions or their appearance in public; it is from their careless conversations, their half finished sentences, that we may hope with the greatest probability of success to discover their real characters.’

Published in 1800, the same year as the Acts of Union bill which would see Ireland join the United Kingdom, Castle Rackrent is one of the first Anglo-Irish novels in the history of literature.

A sly, subversive family saga, Castle Rackrent is narrated by Thady Quirk, the loyal steward to four generations of the reckless, hedonistic Rackrent family. With a mix of affection and dry wit, Thady chronicles the extraordinary decline of his employers – failed duels, disastrous marriages, squandered fortunes – all set against the crumbling backdrop of Anglo-Irish rule in the mid-eighteenth century. Not just a historical novel, Castle Rackrent is an incisive commentary on the social and political landscape of Ireland, exploring issues of religion, nationalism, class and more with an acute wit and sympathetic eye. At turns amusing and quietly devastating, Edgeworth’s work remains a landmark of Irish literature.

Maria Edgeworth (1768 – 1849) was an English–Irish novelist. During her career, she penned literature for both children and adults, known for her pioneering use of realism. A progressive thinker, Edgeworth championed educational reform, women’s rights and Irish welfare. She was one of the most widely read writers in the nineteenth century.