Castle Rackrent

Anglo-Irish writer Maria Edgeworth’s novel, Castle Rackrent ,first published in 1800, tells of the decline of a family from her own aristocratic class. Seeking to present an authentic picture of these corrupt, inefficient estate owners, Edgeworth invents narrator Thady Quirk, a faithful steward who recounts the fate of four Rackrent estate owners in unsparing details.

He begins with relating how his grandfather was a driver for Patrick O’Shaughlin, who was descended from the Kings of Ireland but forced to change his name to the anglicized Rackrent when a British-imposed Act of Parliament made it a condition for owning property. A great entertainer and drinker, Patrick loses his life after a fit of drinking. After a lavish funeral, where Patrick is mourned by everyone in three counties, he is succeeded by his son, Murtagh, who loses a great deal of the family fortune in litigation suits. Against Thady’s advice, Murtagh digs up a fairy mount and finds himself afflicted with a mortal sickness. Murtagh is succeeded by the dashing officer Kit Stopgap. Kit, who proves himself to be a stopgap by nature, as well as by name, quickly removes to Bath. There, he amasses enormous gambling debts and meanwhile employs a middle man to oversee the estate, demanding that as much revenue should be extracted from it as possible, regardless of the consequences for his tenants.