was published as part of the 1809 series of Maria Edgeworth's

, and a leading reviewer of the day, Francis Jeffrey, declared it to be probably “the best and the most entertaining” of the collection: “The Irish characters are inimitable; – not the caricatures of modern playwrights – but drawn with a spirit, and delicacy, and a precision, to which we do not know if there be any parallel among national delineations” (

, vol. xiv [1809], 379). Jeffrey's review of

was largely echoed by other readers and critics; the work went in a fourth edition by 1813 and, with

(1812), helped to establish Edgeworth's reputation as the pre-eminent writer of the early nineteenth century.

As one of the tales written “to point out

1400 words

Citation: Murphy, Sharon Jude. "Ennui". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 31 May 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=21656, accessed 25 November 2024.]