Maria Edgeworth (1767-1849) was born in Oxfordshire and after being educated in England, she went to Edgeworthstown in Ireland to act as her father's assistant and governess to his many other children. With her father she wrote several educational books, and as a novelist she earned the praise of Sir Walter Scott.
Heidi Thomson is Senior Lecturer at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. In addition to her work on Edgeworth, she has written on Gray, Wordsworth and Keats.
Edited by Heidi Thomson and Kim Walker
With an introduction by Heidi Thomson