Maria Edgeworth’s Irish Writing: Language, History, Politics

Edgeworth is regarded as a pioneer in the development of the regional novel and the use of vernacular language. This study investigates her attitudes towards language and regionalism. It shows, by a detailed discussion of her major Irish texts - Castle Rackrent, Essay on Irish Bulls, Ennui, The Absentee and Ormond - how her intellectual 'Lunar' background, and her life in Ireland during the momentous years of the Union is reflected in the form and language of her writing.

BRIAN HOLLINGWORTH recently retired as Head of English at Derby University. He is now teaching part-time and writing. A graduate of Manchester University, he previously taught at Methodist College, Hong Kong, and Leeds University. His publications include Songs of the People, a critical anthology of Lancashire dialect poetry of the nineteenth century and papers on nineteenth-century attributes to language in Language and Language Use and Dialect and Education. He has also written stories for Hong Kong schoolchildren.