| Administrative History | Maria Edgeworth, 1767-1849, novelist, was the third daughter of Richard Lovell Edgeworth (1744-1817), inventor, educator and writer. The family lived in Edgeworthstown in County Longford, Ireland where Richard Edgeworth owned an extensive estate and Maria, who was one of 22 children by her father's four wives, was heavily involved in the education of her brothers and sisters. She is an important figure in the history of women's writing and also in the history of education, particularly in the promotion of education of women. Her first works were Letters for Literary Ladies (1795) in which she defended female education and two volumes on Practical Education (1798), written in conjunction with her father. Her first novel, Castle Rackrent, appeared in 1800 and she continued to produce works of fiction, including children's stories, up to 1834 when her last novel, Helen, was published. She is considered to have been a literary influence on a number of other writers including Sir Walter Scott, and Thackeray and Jane Austen is known to have been an admirer of her works.
References: Finding aid to The Maria Edgeworth Letters. The Concise Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford. Oxford University Press, 1992 Robert Hogan (ed), Dictionary of Irish Literature, 2nd ed (London. Greenwood Press. 1996 Women, Education and Literature: the papers of Maria Edgeworth, 1768-1849. A Listing and Guide to parts 1-3 of the Microfilm Collection (Adam Matthew Publications Ltd, 2001) |
| Copies | Items that the University of Birmingham had already been acquired by 2001 are available on microfilm and online. Also copies on the Cadbury Research Library staff R drive.
The Maria Edgeworth Letters Additional collection was micropublished by Adam Matthew Publications in 2001 under the title 'Women, Education and Literature: the papers of Maria Edgeworth, 1767-1849'. As well as this and another collection held in the Cadbury Research Library, the micropublication includes Edgeworth Papers held at the Bodleian Library, Oxford, the National Library of Ireland and elsewhere. The microfilm of the University of Birmingham's collections can be consulted in the Cadbury Research Library.
The microfilm has since been digitally published by Adam Matthew Digital Ltd so the microfilmed parts of the collection can also be seen online by members of, and visitors to, the Cadbury Research Library and other institutions that subscribe to 'Research Source - Women's Studies'.
All visitors who have registered for a Cadbury Research Library Reader ticket can access the online copies on the public access computers in the Cadbury Research Library Reading Room.
Staff and students of the University of Birmingham may also access the products when off campus through the University’s eResources. Log in through FindIt@Bham, select Database Search and enter ‘Women’s Studies’.
For institutions that do not currently subscribe to this Adam Matthew Digital product, free four-week trials of Adam Matthew Digital products are open to teachers, faculty and librarians of universities, colleges, and academic institutions. Further information about trial access is available at https://www.amdigital.co.uk/products/free-trials. |