Castle Rackrent

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, Thady Quirk.Through Thady's narration, the reader learns about the Rackrent family's history and the various eccentricities of its members. The novel is a satire of the Anglo-Irish gentry and their treatment of their tenants. It also explores themes of power, class, and identity.Castle Rackrent is considered one of the first novels of the 19th century and is a significant work in the development of the novel form. It is also an important work in the history of Irish literature, as it was one of the first novels to depict Irish life and society. The novel is praised for its wit and humor, as well as its social commentary.My lady had a sort of fit, and it was given out she was dead, by mistake; this brought things to a sad crisis for my poor master--one of the three ladies shewed his letters to her brother, and claimed his promises, whilst another did the same. I don't mention names--Sir Kit, in his defence, said he would meet any man who dared question his conduct, and as to the ladies, they must settle it amongst them who was to be his second, and his third, and his fourth, whilst his first was still alive, to his mortification and theirs.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.