(1800) is one of the most important Irish novels in the English language and, from the very first, generated considerable debate among readers and critics. In part, this was due to the fact that the novel was published at a particularly significant moment in Irish and British history, the year 1800, which saw the dissolution of the Irish parliament in Dublin and the enactment of the Union between Britain and Ireland. The publication of a fiction that implicitly took the relationship between Ireland and Britain as its subject was certain to attract considerable critical attention, and George III himself was reported to have read it and declared “what what – I know something now of my Irish subjects” (Butler, 359).
Although the publication date of Castle Rackrent seems
2024 words
Citation: Murphy, Sharon Jude. "Castle Rackrent". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 31 May 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=6131, accessed 23 November 2024.]
