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Maria Edgeworth (1767-1849) was a prolific novelist whom Sir Walter Scott called "one of the wonders of our age." First she published essays and illustrative stories for children; then, in 1800, came the novel for which she is best remembered, Castle Rackrent. By 1814, when she had published half her total literary output-Popular Tales, Belinda, The Modern Griselda, Tales of Fashionable Life in six volumes (including The Absentee), and Patronage- she was the Great Maria both in the British Isles and on the Continent. Her influence can be traced in English fiction from that time forward.
Devoted to the varied writings of the influential novelist, children's author, and educator, this collection situates Edgeworth's writing in the context of her life and times. Combining postcolonial, historical, and gender criticism, the contributors offer fresh readings of Edgeworth's novels, stories, letters, and educational texts, including Belinda, Moral Tales, Practical Education, Helen, and The Absentee. Throughout her work, Edgeworth confronts a world whose values, while grounded in tradition and supported by slavery and colonial domination, are being challenged and ultimately changed in surprising ways by women, peasants, servants, and other voices from the margins. In discussing Edgeworth and her writing, the contributors also offer innovative perspectives on the novel and other central issues of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century literature. The collection will be invaluable to established scholars working in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century literature, women's studies, and children's literature, as well as to students encountering Edgeworth for the first time.