Published in 1800, "Castle Rackrent" is thought to be both the first historical novel and the first novel to feature an unreliable narrator.Set in Ireland prior to its achieving legislative independence from Britain in 1782, "Castle ...

The lively comedy of this novel in which a young woman comes of age amid the distractions and temptations of London high society belies the challenges it poses to the conventions of courtship, the dependence of women, and the limitations of ...

Just before coming of age, Lord Colambre, the sensitive hero of the novel, finds that his mother Lady Clonbrony's attempts to buy her way into the high society of London are only ridiculed, while his father, Lord Clonbrony, is in serious ...

His ensuing adventures take him from rural Ireland to fashionable Parisian society, where his good intentions in the areas of books, love and money are thoroughly tested." --Book jacket of 2000 ed.

Edgeworth has presented a life-like character, Harry Ormond, who is brought-up by lenience and neglect. The motif of the novel is the importance of literacy and upbringing.