Maria Edgeworth (1768-1849), novelist. Born Ireland, eldest daughter of her wealthy landlord father's twenty-two children. Spent most of her life in Ireland, a highly-regarded prolific writer largely responsible for developing the regional novel and the historical novel, paving the way for Scott 's novels, although her first publication, Letters to Literary Ladies (1795) was a plea for women's education. Works also include, most notably, Castle Rackrent (1800) and The Absentee (1812).