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Maria Edgeworth
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W. J. McCormack
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The Absentee: Regency Romance Classic Kindle Edition

by Maria Edgeworth (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 123 ratings
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Just before coming of age, Lord Colambre, the young hero of the novel, finds that his mother Lady Clonbrony's attempts to buy her way into the high society of London are only ridiculed, while his father, Lord Clonbrony, is in serious debt as a result of his wife's lifestyle. His mother wishes him to marry an heiress, Miss Broadhurst, who is a friend of Grace Nugent. However, Colambre has already fallen in love with his cousin, Grace Nugent, who lives with the family as a companion to Lady Clonbrony. Worried that his mother will pressure him into a marriage with someone he does not love, Colambre decides to leave the London social scene and visit his ancestral home in County Wicklow in Ireland.
The author expresses the systemic evils of the absentee landlord class of Anglo-Irish and the desperate condition of the Irish peasantry. There are many turns of plot and much information about Ireland and details of shallow London fashionable life, and the egregious results of the propertied classes treating their Irish lands as a resource to be exploited rather than as a relationship among classes and with the land.
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  1. Print length
    167 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    e-artnow
  5. Publication date
    March 22, 2022
  6. File size
    2422 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

`a welcome addition to the World's Classics series ... The editors give us a good text ... a useful essay on Edgeworth's revisions ... and a scholarly introduction.'
Michael Baron, English --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From the Back Cover

Maria Edgeworth's sparkling satire about the Anglo-Irish family of an absentee landlord is also a landmark novel of morality and social realism.

The Absentee centres around Lord and Lady Clonbrony, a couple more concerned with London society than their duties and responsibilities to those who live and work on their Irish estates. Recognizing this negligence, their son Lord Colambre goes incognito to Ireland to observe the situation and trace the origins of his beloved cousin Grace. To put matters straight he finds a solution that will bring prosperity and contentment to every level of society, including his own family.

In her Introduction, Heidi Thomson explores the political and social themes of the book and place it in its historical context. With Castle Rackrent and The Absentee Maria Edgeworth helped create the 'regional' novel, rich in atmosphere and local character, and influenced writers as disparate as Scott, Thackeray and Turgenev.

--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09W66V9QR
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ e-artnow (March 22, 2022)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 22, 2022
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2422 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 167 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ B09RG47PV2
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 123 ratings

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  1. Maria Edgeworth

    Maria Edgeworth

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  2. W. J. McCormack

    W. J. McCormack

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Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
123 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

songbird
5.0 out of 5 stars Not my favorite
Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2017
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It took me awhile to get really interested in this story but I found it was worth persevering in the end. I prefer Jane Austen and Georgette Heuer but this was fine.
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Marlene H.
4.0 out of 5 stars I'll be reading more of Maria Edgeworth's works!
Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2015
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I'm a Jane Austen fan and was eager to give Maria Edgeworth a try. I really enjoyed this story! I do have to admit that if it weren't for the oodles of Regency romances I've read (and romances that take place in a similar time in England), there would have been a lot of things I wouldn't have been able to understand. It was still somewhat difficult at times due to vocabulary and dialects of Ireland I wasn't familiar with. I want to add that the happily ever after for the romance portion was described much less than I prefer. But I was expecting it going into the book since that seems to be a trend in books written in that time period. One more observation - I was simultaneously impressed at the quality of the story (with it being a moral tale) and disappointed in the emphasis on the evils of being an absentee landlord. That said, I found it very interesting and entertaining!
2 people found this helpful
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Judith
3.0 out of 5 stars Second tier classic
Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2012
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I'm one of those readers who always has several books going at any time. One of those books is always a classic novel. This is especially true now that I have a Kindle and can get the classics free. I've read most of the better known titles, and I'm moving on to lesser known works, like The Absentee. This is the story of the Clonbrony family set in the early 19th century. Lord and Lady Clonbrony have estates in Ireland, but choose to live in London, where the socially ambitious Lady Clonbrony tries to work her way into the top tier of society. Meanwhile back in Ireland the estates are in disarray due to Clonbrony's absentee status. Between Lady Clonbrony's extravagant expenses to keep up with the elite and the dwindling income from the estates, the Clonbrony's are about to go under financially. When the Clonbrony's son Viscount Colambre graduates from Cambridge he learns of the family's embarrassed state and looks for a way to help his rather silly parents out of the jam. He embarks on a trip to Ireland to inspect the state of his father's estates, but he goes in disguise. He soon discovers what evils arise when a landowner leaves his business in the hands of incompetent or dishonest overseers. Back in London, Lady Cronbrony looks for an advantageous marriage partner for Colambre, even though he has his heart set on cousin Grace. Soon, a terrible secret emerges about Grace which ruins all chances for any suitable marriage. Rest assured our hero Colambre will fix that problem as well. Although the story is interesting, there are flaws in the writing. First, it's just a little too wordy, especially in the dialogue. I sometimes skimmed a bit to get to the point. Secondly, the characters are one dimensional. Colamabre is all noble and virtue. Others are all bad. No shades of gray. Third, the plot relies way too much on giant coincidences. Colambre just happens to be in the right place all the time; he happens to meet all the right people with information and connections he needs to solve his problems. At no time did I consider not finishing the book, but I won't choose to read another book by this author. Just okay.
11 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Re-discover a great English writer - Maria Edgeworth
Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2017
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If you think Jane Austen is great, you would love Maria Edgeworth. And I think Edgeworth is even greater!
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Jeff Adrian and Mike Ciannilli
5.0 out of 5 stars 18th Century happy ending
Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2023
Don’t read this if you complain about not being realistic or not having the elements of surprise. It’s poetically written which is a pleasure in itself. Read a bit about the author and the hard times and choices women who could neither vote or own property had back then. It’s a story with a hero with morals and a happy ending. A proper escape from your today. It’s about a son who is is gifted a top notch Oxford education returning to find his father is in huge debt driven there by luxurious excess from parties his wife held for high London society in search of acceptance and friendship but also as a result of the corruption occurring back home at their Irish estate which falls into ruin because they are away in London for many years (therefore considered an absentee).
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Kay Adams
4.0 out of 5 stars Although she is no Jane Austen, Mrs. Edgeworth managed a pretty good tale.
Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2013
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The story was appealing, but the style in which it was written was sometimes difficult to read. However, if you can immerse yourself into the times in which it was written, it is very entertaining. Mrs. Edgeworth is no Jane Austen, but the story was very good.
One person found this helpful
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Garde Joyeuse
5.0 out of 5 stars Worthy Read
Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2019
If you can get past the language of the early 19th century and the third person literary style (Lord Colambre referred to often as “our hero”), then you will be vastly entertained. Once the plot begins to unfold, it will keep you reading until the end. I loved the way that many of the society elite of the time were revealed in all of their petty spitefulness, yet there were several characters of integrity and learning that played major roles and ultimately won the day. This novel reassures that not all peerage were vapid and amoral (during that era at least!), and that some took their responsibilities seriously enough to care about the well-being of their tenants and land management. Don’t give up! Maria Edgeworth is an author well worth reading.
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Melinda D. Wiselka
4.0 out of 5 stars Great book--if somewhat dated!
Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2016
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Maria Edgeworth was a great writer. Much of this book is vastly entertaining. The only part that mars it is the hero's unwillingness to marry the love of his life because she is illegitimate. Like many books from earlier times, the then-current mores of the time don't fly with present-day audiences. For example, making a Jew the grasping villain. There's one in this story. But there is so much to like here, I am more than willing to overlook a few unfortunate plot points, including an inordinate number of coincidences that would kill a present-day story.
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Top reviews from other countries

TallyCat
5.0 out of 5 stars Young Lord Colambre sees that Lady Clonbrony, his mother's ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 2, 2015
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Young Lord Colambre sees that Lady Clonbrony, his mother's attempts to get into London society are being ridiculed behind her back, and putting his father ever deeper into debt. He travels to Dublin then incognito onto his father's Irish estates which are being run by agents on behalf of the absentee landlord. The first estate he visits is well run by a kindly agent, but the second and largest is in ruin, in the hands of an unscrupulous villain who thinks nothing of putting the tenants' rent up so high they can't pay and are made homeless. Colambre returns home to persuade his parents to return to Ireland which he eventually manages to do, but not without the side plot of finding out that his supposed illegitimate cousin Grace Nugent, whom he loves, but convention won't allow him to marry, is in fact an heiress, legitimate and therefore perfectly acceptable. Written in 1812, Maria Edgeworth tells of the hardships endured by the Irish due to the absentee landlords who seem to care nothing for their estates apart from the money made from them. Very much of its time, it is a heartwarming story. Compared to her other novel on this subject. Castle Rackrent, it is a much more readable and enjoyable tale.
3 people found this helpful
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Timothy Stedham
3.0 out of 5 stars A good read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 17, 2021
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An above average novel from a time when most books were about social awareness or lost and regained Love. This work is just a bit above that.
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L de V
4.0 out of 5 stars Delightful Georgian eloquence and wit!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 7, 2020
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Maria's eloquent descriptions open a window through which Georgian social and political norms can be viewed. Thoroughly enjoyable!
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Desmond J. Keenan
5.0 out of 5 stars Irish life around 1800
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 18, 2013
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This is Maria Edgeworth's other volume beside Castle Rackrent dealing with tenant and landlord relations in Ireland around 1800. Her father owned an estate and his daughter helped him to manage it. Both were concerned with what they regarded as the problems caused by absentee landlords. She was making a point that all landlords should reside on their estates and get to know their tenants personally. Many absentee landlords, then as now, were institutions like endowed colleges, charitable institutions and churches, where this would not be possible. Other landlord argued that a good estate manager who knew his business was better than a resident landlord who did not. Anyway, Miss Edgeworth was arguing her case.
As a novelist she was a contemporary of Jane Austen and like her commented on people's foibles. Definitely a book to buy
One person found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars great book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 16, 2022
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great book by a great author and it was free on kindle. A win-win
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