Castle Rackrent is a novel by Maria Edgeworth, published in 1800. This short novel is often regarded as the first true historical novel and the first true regional novel in English.
The story of the Rackrent family is narrated by their steward, Thady Quirk. The characters, the country-life and the language used in the novel are unmistakably Irish.
The novel is one of the few of Miss Edgeworth's novels which her father did not 'edit'.