Times Past

Edgeworthstown alias Mostrim is synonymous with the talented Edgeworths. One particular member of that illustrious family was a writer of high quality stories and whose celebrity was respected by none other than the great English novelist, Jane Austen. In fact, Austen once posted an advanced copy of her novel ‘Emma’ to Maria Edgeworth (1768 -1849). Ms Edgeworth, apparently in response to the gesture, said she did not observe any literary merit in Austen’s book.

The novel ‘Northanger’ generously references Edgeworth’s novel ‘Belinda’ in chapter 5 as one of the books read by the young lady in the story and adds the books listed are ‘in short, only some work in which the greatest powers of the mind are displayed’.

It goes without saying that Maria Edgeworth’s contemporaries held her work in high regard. It is time for the world once more to give serious consideration to her wonderful creativity. More films, televised dramas and documentaries are the way to go. Netflix!… if you are listening.

She has had the label of being the Irish Jane Austin attached to her credits, but I feel, Edgeworth is much more than that and is well fit to stand on her own two literary feet. She is an outstanding writer whose novels, like Austen’s, demonstrate an intimate knowledge of the human heart, and human interactions.

This month with the fantastic Maria Edgeworth Festival taking place it seems appropriate to remind ourselves of this marvellous creative force who in the late 18th and early 19th century took the world by storm and left a marvellous legacy in our midst.

A notable family, the Edgeworths came to Ireland in the 16th century. Amongst their famous ancestors was Maria’s father, Richard Lovell Edgeworth, an ‘inventor and educator’, and another relative, Abbe Edgeworth, a priest in the Royal Court of Louis XVI. During the bloodshed of the French Revolution, Abbe escaped by the skin of his teeth and with his head intact on the very day of the execution of the French King.

The Maria Edgeworth Visitor Centre does great work to preserve the story of the Edgeworths, noting how they were ‘an influential and highly respected family, known for their contributions in the fields of literature, education, and science’. Maria’s father Richard Novell Edgeworth constructed a spire that sat atop St John’s Church in Edgeworthstown, which lasted until 1935 when storm damage necessitated its replacement. Maria’s father also out-lived four wives.

Born close to Oxford, England, on January 1, 1767, she was the second eldest of 22 siblings. Maria then came to live in Longford where she spent most of her life. Being of small stature as a child, her family instigated all manner of unusual activities to increase her height such as trying to stretch her neck as though she were elasticated. These peculiar methods did not have the desired effect and hence she remained the height God intended.

This did not impede the extraordinary literary heights she attained. Maria was very much part of a female tradition of Irish writers who went out and engaged with the community. Mary Leadbeater of Ballitore and Charlotte Brooke from Mullagh did the same. Her stories record the true lives of tenants on the estate and what they experienced rather than dishing up the ‘bless your honour’ stereotypes seen in stage Irishman fiction.

Her contemporaries included Sir Walter Scott, Sir William Rowan Hamilton and the poet William Wordsworth whose daffodils poem we all know. Wordsworth while on holiday in Ireland in the early 1830s visited Maria whom he thought was ‘very lively’. In a letter to Mary Ruxton, Maria gave her thoughts on Wordsworth, describing him as possessing a ‘good philosophical bust’.

In 1795, Maria Edgeworth’s first book, titled ‘Literary Letters for Ladies’ was published. Her wide reading influenced her written output, which covered a vast spectrum of subjects. Published as a classic by Oxford University Press, her book, ‘Castle Rackrent’ tells the story of four generations of ‘rackrent heirs’ in the late 18th Century. This book first appeared in 1800 and was considered to be the first ‘big house’ novel and the first of its kind to have a ‘regional’ setting.

According to the Maria Edgeworth Visitor Centre: The Scottish novelist ‘Sir Walter Scott, who met and corresponded with Maria, credited the novel for inspiring him to write his Waverley series of novels.’

Walter Scott’s books include classics like ‘Ivanhoe’, ‘Rob Roy’, ‘The Pirate’ and the ‘Waverly’ series. The ‘Walter Scott Club’ notes that ‘Edgeworth’s work, especially ‘Castle Rackrent’, provided Scott with a model for the nationalistic historical novel.’

An article by Claire Connolly in the Irish Times in January 2019 on the Royal Irish Academy’s celebration of Maria’s 250th birthday, believed that the writer’s four main Irish novels are Castle Rackrent (1800), Ennui (1809), The Absentee (1812), and Ormond (1817).

In 1842, Maria Edgeworth became the first honorary female member of the Royal Irish Academy. The Academy’s founder members included her esteemed father Richard Lovell Edgeworth. Thankfully, the society’s more intellectually inspired members gradually moved to cherish the democratic opinion of both sexes.

Another famous link

Another famous link to Edgeworthstown’s history is through the family of Oscar Wilde. His young sister Isola Wilde was a couple months shy of her 10th birthday when she came caught fever and, while recovering, went to stay with her father’s sister Mrs Margaret Noble, wife to the Rev. William Noble, resident clergyman, the Glebe, Edgeworthstown. Sadly, little Isola died on February 23, 1867. She was laid to rest in St John’s Graveyard. Oscar Wilde became a frequent visitor to his sister’s graveside.

Female role model

Maria Edgeworth was an outstanding and truly remarkable female writer and role model. Her work deserves to be re-evaluated. A guided tour of the Edgeworthstown Heritage and Literary Trail comes highly recommended and I must mention a man by the name of Matt Farrell who deserves a special recognition for his work in preserving the town’s heritage.

In 2016 Mr Farrell was chosen as ‘Ireland’s Heritage Hero’. Congratulations must also go to the Maria Edgeworth Visitor Centre for the phenomenal work they are doing. The Maria Edgeworth Festival takes place this year from May 15-17.

Exhibition

By the way, an interesting exhibition is currently on display in Longford until May 16 and, recently, the Longford Leader reported on it, stating that: ‘Young artists from across Ireland and the UK’ had ‘created over 800 postcards inspired by Jane Austen and Maria Edgeworth for the Friendship Postcards Exhibition, on display at Edgeworthstown Library.’ Well done to those involved.