Castle Rackrent - Maria Edgeworth - Set in Ireland, Maria Edgeworth's Castle Rackrent follows four generations of the castle's heirs. Their story is told by Thady Quirk, their elderly steward. The novel, published in 1800, is thought to be both the first historical novel and the first novel to feature an unreliable narrator.The first man to preside over Rackrent is Sir Patrick, who claims to have invented raspberry whiskey. He's affable, generous, and a big drinker. When he dies, Castle Rackrent is inherited by his polar opposite of him: Sir Murtagh the tightwad, who dies in a fit of rage. His equally cheap wife di lui, Lady Murtagh, pillages Castle Rackrent for anything of value and moves to London.Castle Rackrent is next passed to Lady Murtagh's younger brother, Sir Kit. He goes to England to find a rich wife who will pay off the estate's mounting debts. He succeeds, but there's no love there, and they fight frequently. Sir Kit locks his wife di lei in her room di lei for seven years, and he's later killed in a duel. Once freed, Lady Kit ditches Castle Rackrent for London, too.The next heir is a distant cousin of Sir Kit: a profligate politician named Sir Condy. He befriends the neighbor's daughter, Isabella, who falls in love with him. He's in love with Thady's beautiful niece, Judy.Sir Condy flips a coin to decide whom he should marry, and it's Isabella. Together, they run the estate out of money.Meanwhile, Thady's son, Jason, has been plotting to take over Castle Rackrent while heir after heir bumbles through their tenure at the castle. Sir Condy is forced to sell the castle, and when he dies, Isabella and Jason go to court over its ownership of him. Popular opinion is split over who will win, but Jason the steward's son has succeeded in transforming himself into a "high gentleman."