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Product Description
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 Quirk, gives us four generations of Rackrent heirs - Sir Patrick, the dissipated spendthrift; Sir Murtagh, the litigating fiend; Sir Kit, the brutal husband and gambling absentee; and Sir Condy, the lovable and improvident dupe of Thady's own son, Jason. With this satire on Anglo-Irish landlords Edgeworth pioneered the regional novel and inspired Sir Walter Scott's Waverly (1814). She also changed the focus of conflict in Ireland from religion to class and boldly predicted the rise of the Irish Catholic Bourgeoisie.
About the Author
Kathryn Kirkpatrick is Assistant Professor at the Department of English, Appalachian State University.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A social satire on Anglo-Irish relations during early nineteenth century, the asks the qustion 'What is is to be Irish'? A period of great social turmoil between the two countries heightened by the industrial revolution's impression on the working classes in England, the novel sees the author navigating through a difficult minefield writing an Irish catholic narrator for an English market place! The Anglo-Irish Rackrent landlords claim an Irish Catholic heritage, but forfeit that personal history for the ephemeral run of the estate. The disenfranchised tenant farmers are forced to yield their produce to support the Rackrents' absurd behaviours. In the middle of this dynamic stand the novel's two most developed and challenging characters, Sir Condy Rackrent and Jason McQuirk, Thady's son. Raised in identical circumstances, these two leave open to question the ultimate judgment on the future of Ireland; With Condy as a new line of Irish aristocracy or Jason, representing the model for the 'British' assimilated Irishman.
Edgeworth carefully navigates herself around the novel opening the question of Irishness to the English reader without alienating either audience through the use of a glossary and internal footnotes which are devices used to try and neutralize the foreignness and threat of the Irish for Edgeworth's intended English audience, and allow us also an attempt also to understand this position of 'Irishness'.
This book is truly a classic piece of social satire that should not be overlooked byt anybody wishing to learn more about the history of Anglo-Irish relations.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
First published at the turn of the 19th century, Maria Edgeworth's surprisingly brief 'Castle Rackrent' sees the author rather uncharateristically adopt the first-person voice of an Irish worker, Thady, who looks after the master and the property of the Castle, Rackrent; and his recollections of four of the Castle's masters - Sir Patrick, Sir Murtagh, Sir Kit and Sir Condy; as well as providing a chronicle of the sorts of changes of Ireland throughout the 18th century. There's no doubting that 'Castle Rackrent' was a hugely praise text of its time, but it's sometimes a little confusing upon modern readings, to ascertain why (outside of its use of an original kind of Anglo-Irish voice). There's no doubt that the text is a fairly enjoyable read, that its mild social commentary is agreeable enough, and that it never outstays its welcome, but it's hard to find anything brilliant about Edgworth's text; and though the perceptible bias of Thady towards and against certain of the novel's figures adds another dimension, this sort of social commentary and idea of authorial subjectivity is done better in certain other novels of the time. Equally, the fact of the novel's being one of the first historical novels, and arguably the first Anglo-Irish novel are both interesting facts, but besides a general appeal, aren't really indicative in anything that exceptional within the text (at least from a present-day perspective)
Equally, though the novel's brevity saves it from becoming boring, it also means that we never get a full enough picture of any of the masters of the Castle for neither Edgeworth or the reader to be able to build up the kind of social critique which the novel hints at, but never quite puts into practice; except in its rather routine explanations of Thady's son Jason's selfishness after his return from a more urban lifestyle. For those who want a readable and somewhat useful chronicle of 18th century Irish aristocratic life, or fans of Edgeworth's other works, 'Castle Rackrent' is worth a read, and is by no means a 'bad' novel for anyone else; but there's a sense that more could have been made in the novel, and that the witty erudition of 'Belinda', or the strong social conscience of 'The Absentee', (two superb Edgeworth novels) is missing; and that 'Castle Rackrent' is more of a stable novel, than a classic.
Equally, though the novel's brevity saves it from becoming boring, it also means that we never get a full enough picture of any of the masters of the Castle for neither Edgeworth or the reader to be able to build up the kind of social critique which the novel hints at, but never quite puts into practice; except in its rather routine explanations of Thady's son Jason's selfishness after his return from a more urban lifestyle. For those who want a readable and somewhat useful chronicle of 18th century Irish aristocratic life, or fans of Edgeworth's other works, 'Castle Rackrent' is worth a read, and is by no means a 'bad' novel for anyone else; but there's a sense that more could have been made in the novel, and that the witty erudition of 'Belinda', or the strong social conscience of 'The Absentee', (two superb Edgeworth novels) is missing; and that 'Castle Rackrent' is more of a stable novel, than a classic.
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I am buying this for a friend who was disappointed by MOLL FLANDERS. I read it years ago and was delighted by this little gem - although the satire really bites. But the touch is light, the characterisation extremely deft and the book is short - Perfect.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Anglo-Irish as greedy, self-indulgent Fools
As an Englishman living in Ireland (and as a greedy, self-indulgent fool, to boot) I suppose I should feel a special affinity for this book. Read more
Published 9 months ago by DB
The quintessence of Irishness
Far be it from me to claim that I am an authority on Ireland and all matters Irish, but somehow, as soon as I started reading Thady Quirk's captivating history of 4 generations of... Read more
Published 17 months ago
The Decline of the Protestant Ascendancy
Castle Rackrent tells the story of an aristocratic, Irish Protestant family's descent from an important staple of the community to a relic of a bygone era. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Sleepystudent
Not a good read!
The service I got when buying this was all good. The book itself , however, is just not a good read. Read more
Published on 20 Nov 2009 by Sheila
Dark, funny and revealing
'Castle Rackrent' is much more that a book you may have to read for an English major. It depicts the state of Anglo-Irish relations at the end of the 18th century, a period in time... Read more
Published on 30 April 2009 by Marco Colombo
Castle Rackrent
This is part of my university study in the Big House genre, set in Ireland. It is extremely funny and is well worth a read, if you are interested in History and English Literature... Read more
Published on 2 Feb 2009 by Nell
Diabolical... as dull as Thady's pathetic attempt at malice
I have read Irish literature extensively and it doesn't matter what context or timeframe you put this "novel" into... it stinks! Read more
Published on 10 Nov 2008 by L. Whelan
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