The Project Gutenberg EBook of Castle Rackrent, by Maria Edgeworth

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Title: Castle Rackrent

Author: Maria Edgeworth

Commentator: Anne Thackeray Ritchie

Release Date: February 18, 2006 [EBook #1424]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CASTLE RACKRENT ***

Produced by An Anonymous Volunteer and David Widger

CASTLE RACKRENT

by Maria Edgeworth

With an Introduction by Anne Thackeray Ritchie

[Note: The body of this novel contains a lot of footnotes
and many references to the Glossary at the end. The
footnotes (which are sometimes quite long) have been
inserted in square brackets near to the point where they
were referred to by suffix in the original text. The
entries in the Glossary have been numbered, instead of being
listed with a page number as they were in the printed book;
they are also referenced with a note in square brackets near
the point where there was a suffix in the original.

Italics have been replaced by capitals.

The pound sterling symbol has been replaced by 'L'.

This text and the Introduction were taken from an edition
published by Macmillan and Co. in 1895.]

INTRODUCTION

I

The story of the Edgeworth Family, if it were properly told, should be
as long as the ARABIAN NIGHTS themselves; the thousand and one cheerful
intelligent members of the circle, the amusing friends and relations,
the charming surroundings, the cheerful hospitable home, all go to make
up an almost unique history of a county family of great parts and no
little character. The Edgeworths were people of good means and position,
and their rental, we are told, amounted to nearly L3000 a year. At one
time there was some talk of a peerage for Mr. Edgeworth, but he was
considered too independent for a peerage.

The family tradition seems to have been unconventional and spirited
always. There are records still extant in the present Mr. Edgeworth's
possession,--papers of most wonderful vitality for parchment,--where
you may read passionate remonstrances and adjurations from
great-grandfathers to great-great-grand