"Castle Rackrent" is Maria Edgeworth's first and most famous novel. During the 1790s, Ireland was in political crisis. In this text, Edgeworth cleverly adopts an Irish Catholic voice to narrate the decline of a family from her own Anglo-Irish class. She changes the focus of conflict in Ireland from religion to class, and boldly predicts the rise of the Irish Catholic middle class. It has a highly innovative style and purpose.