Page:Castle Rackrent and The Absentee - Edgeworth (1895).djvu/38



1799, when Maria was in London, she and her father went to call upon Mr. Johnson, the bookseller, who was then imprisoned in the King's Bench for a publication which was considered to be treasonable, and they probably then and there arranged with him for the publication of Castle Rackrent, for in January 1800, writing to her cousin. Miss Ruxton, Maria says, "Will you tell me what means you have of getting parcels from London to Arundel, because I wish to send my aunt a few popular tales We have begged Johnson to send Castle Rackrent, and hope it has reached you. Do not mention that it is ours."

The second edition of Castle Rackrent came out with Miss Edgeworth's name to it in 1811. "Its success was so triumphant," Mrs. Edgeworth writes, "that some one—I heard his name at the time, but do not now remember it—not only asserted that he was the author, but actually took the trouble to copy out several chapters with corrections and erasions as if it was his original manuscript."

It was when Miss Edgeworth first came to Ireland,—so she tells one of her correspondents,—that she met the original Thady of Castle Rackrent. His character struck her very much, and the story came into her mind. She purposely added to the agent's age so as to give time for the events to happen.