Maria Edgeworth, Anglo-Irish author (died 1849)

Maria Edgeworth was an Anglo-Irish novelist of adults' and children's literature. She was one of the first realist writers in children's literature and a significant figure in the evolution of the novel in Europe. She held critical views on estate management, politics, and education, and corresponded with some of the leading literary and economic writers, including Sir Walter Scott and David Ricardo. During the first decade of the 19th century she was one of the most widely read novelists in Britain and Ireland. Her name today is most commonly associated with Castle Rackrent, her first novel, in which she adopted an Irish Catholic voice to narrate the dissipation and decline of a family from her own landed Anglo-Irish class.

January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in the Gregorian Calendar; 364 days remain until the end of the year. This day is also known as New Year's Day since the day marks the beginning of the year.