Reading the Classics: CASTLE RACKRENT, by Maria Edgeworth

Most people assume that the first historical novel was written by Sir Walter Scott, but this one was penned by Maria Edgeworth while he was still a poet. I don’t think this is yet another case of women’s work being ignored, as I suspect that most modern readers who make these lists aren’t aware that this novel, published in 1800, is actually set roughly fifty years before, before the Irish constitution was established.

So it stands out for being the first historical novel, and one of the first with an unreliable narrator (Laurence Sterne having begun publishing Tristram Shandy around the time this novel was set).

It’s Edgeworth’s shortest novel, and a lot of people over the years have agreed that it’s her best. I think that is entirely due to the narrative voice, a first person elderly Irishman of humble birth named Thady Quirk. He sets out to relate the history of the various owners of Castle Rackrent, the longest history belonging to the one he knew best. He admires them all, though the reader can easily see that they were rather a feckless lot, either profligate or miserly, few of them caring much for the people under them.

Some of the incidents are apparently based on real life occurrences (like a wife locked up for decades in a room because she refused to surrender her jewels to her husband), and the book is replete with Irish expressions, customs, and details. It’s a short, charming read, ending with delicate poignancy.