Castle Rackrent s publication in 1800 signaled many firsts: the first historical novel, the first regional novel in English, the first big house novel, the first Anglo-Irish novel, and the first novel with a narrator who is neither reliable nor part of the action. This Norton Critical Edition is based on the Baldwin & Cradock edition that appeared as part of an eighteen-volume collected edition titled Tales and Novels of Maria Edgeworth (1832 33). It is accompanied by detailed explanatory annotations. Ryan Twomey focuses the volume s Backgrounds and Contexts on Edgeworth s importance as a writer, the influence of contemporary historical events on her writing (most importantly, the Act of Union of 1800, which united Ireland and Great Britain), and Castle Rackrent s impact on the development of the novel. These include a selection of Edgeworth s letters; five major contemporary reviews; biographical pieces; Sir Walter Scott on Edgeworth and her response to him; and excerpts from Edgeworth s juvenilia, The Double Disguise. Criticism is thematically organized to give readers a clear sense of Castle Rackrent s major themes: Irish writing and specifically the Irish novel, narrative voices, patriarchy and paternalism, and Edgeworth s Hiberno-English writing. Contributors include Seamus Deane, Marilyn Butler, Katherine O Donnell, Julia Nash, Joyce Flynn, and Brian Hollingsworth, among others. A chronology of Edgeworth s life and work and a selected bibliography are also included."

This book examines The Wire's authenticity and its establishment of the series realism. Along with tracing creator David Simon's onscreen critique of numerous failed American institutions, the book focuses on the connection between authenticity and realism in three distinct areas: language, character, and location. While it is shown that The Wire is indeed authentic, the study examines occasions where the language, characters, and even the location are 'curated'. Yet, while we can witness these moments of curation, it is The Wire's unflinching focus on authentic dialogue, authentic characterisation, and an authentic location that makes the series the most realistic, and arguably the best, television show of all time.

This book examines The Wire's authenticity and its establishment of the series realism. Along with tracing creator David Simon's onscreen critique of numerous failed American institutions, the book focuses on the connection between authenticity and realism in three distinct areas: language, character, and location. While it is shown that The Wire is indeed authentic, the study examines occasions where the language, characters, and even the location are 'curated'. Yet, while we can witness these moments of curation, it is The Wire's unflinching focus on authentic dialogue, authentic characterisation, and an authentic location that makes the series the most realistic, and arguably the best, television show of all time.