Ulysses vs The Absentee

I've left Ulysses behind for a couple of months now. I'll be giving a paper about the popularity of Maria Edgeworth, an early 19th century Anglo-Irish writer, so I've been focusing on her writing and her popularity compared to near contemporary, Jane Austen. Maria Edgeworth (1767-1849) is referred to as the Irish Jane Austen and the female Sir Walter Scott. Unfortunately for Maria, the reverse is true--Jane was the English Maria Edgeworth and Sir Walter Scott was the male Maria Edgeworth--both of the writers were great fans of Maria. In fact, Scott noted that he could never have written his Waverly novels except for the writing influence of Maria Edgeworth's The Absentee, and her treatment of the Irish customs and language in Castle Rackrent. Maria Edgeworth is considered the first English novelist to write Big House novels, to use the vernacular, to create an unreliable narrator, to have a mixed marriage in the story (though later removed), and to write historical fiction in the English language.

My paper, Why Jane and Not Maria: the Reverse Popularity of Jane Austen and Maria Edgeworth, will be presented at the American Conference on Irish Studies--Western Region October 1-3, 2010. Sooooo, Ulysses is sitting in the background until I have Maria settled.