Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth

This book is a history of the Anglo-Irish owners of Castle Rackrent (the Rackrents) as told by their faithful retainer, Thady. While Thady's son, who is an ambitious young lawyer, manages to buy the Rackrent property from its dissipated heirs, Thady sides with the Anglo-Irish overlords. Thady's position is intriguing to me. The book is slender and goes by relatively fast--and is enjoyable as much for its linguistic feel (the non-standard English) as much as anything.