WOMEN, EDUCATION AND LITERATURE
The Papers of Maria Edgeworth, 1768-1849

Part 2: The Edgeworth Papers from the National Library of Ireland

The development of Maria Edgeworth’s own writing can be traced through letters discussing the origins, preliminary versions, publication and critical reception of Castle Rackrent, Letters for Literary Ladies and many other works. Contemporary criticism of her work includes Joseph Priestley’s comments on Practical Education and Mrs Inchbald’s views of Ormond (1817).

Maria’s schooldays and family life are well documented, including her own reflections on the education and upbringing of women and consideration of works such as Rousseau’s Emile and Locke’s On Education, making this an interesting source for both women's studies and gender studies.

Views of contemporary literature include discussions of Austen’s Mansfield Park and Emma, Franklin’s Autobiography, Mme de Stal’s Delphine, Erasmus Darwin’s The Temple of Nature, Scott’s Waverly and Lady of the Lake, Barbauld’s Evenings at Home, Lewis’s The Monk, Hume’s Essays, Mrs Inchbald’s A Simple Story, and many other novels. Also discussed are subjects such as publishing practice; fees and advances; women’s magazines and literary society.

The literary manuscripts covered in this second part include four albums of family verse; Maria’s Memoirs of Richard Lovell Edgeworth Esq., with numerous corrections in her own hand; a commonplace book; two more notebooks; and Maria’s diary for 1803 and her account books for 1826-9 and 1837-8.