Thady Quirk
The narrator of the story who right off the bat assigns himself a nickname—Honest Thady—relates an account of generational change in the ownership and management of Ireland’s Castle Rackrent. Thady’s saga covers the passage of titleship and administration of the estate as it passes through the hands of four Rackrent heirs, one widow, a middleman agent, an influential Jewish bride who becomes a prisoner of her husband, a failed attempt to marry into money to save the crumbling structure and even a devious land grab by Thady’s own son.
Sir Patrick Rackrent
Thady’s account commences with the death of what appears to be a uniquely fine strain in the Rackrent genetic code. Sir Patrick is big-hearted, takes fine care of his tenants and staff and sadly while Thady is just a boy.
Sir Murtagh Rackrent
The long downward slide of the estate begins at the point that titleship passes to Sir Murtagh upon the death of Sir Patrick. Murtagh is everything that Patrick was not and, even worse, has married into a family literally named Skinflint. His soon-widowed wife is even more of a penny-pinching, tight-fisted cheapskate than he is and quickly moves to strip the castle of all its valuables and escape to London almost as soon as her husband is buried.
Sir Kit
Sir Murtagh’s younger brother Sir Kit takes over possess of the property upon the flight of Murtagh’s widow. He is much closer in spirit to Sir Patrick, but has no head for or interest in daily management. These duties he turns over to a power-made middleman who is every bit as domineering over everyone else as he is obsequious to Sir Kit. While in his possession, Sir Kit wiles his way into marrying a wealthy—but quite demanding—Jewish heiress. Among her demands are that the castle be renovated and her strict religious diet be respected and observed. This latter demand ultimately leads to Sir Kit locking her inside the castle as prisoner for seven years during which time he is not, shall we say, lonely. His amorous adventures take a dark turn however and winds up being killed in a duel.
Sir Condy
The direct lineage comes to an end with Sir Kit so that the next in line is a distant cousin named Sir Conally who goes by Sir Condy. He did, however, spend much time at the castle as a child and came to know much of the family’s background through the stories told by Thady. He was also a school chum of Thady’s son, Jason. Unfortunately, he is no better at maintaining the estate and keeping it in shape than Kit or Murtagh. In an effort to deal with an oncoming economic disaster, he flips a coin to determine whether he will marry Thady’s niece Judy for love or the daughter of a nearby wealthy family for money. Unfortunately, the coin flip turns out to be moot as his new bride Isabelle is instantly disinherited by her father.
Isabella Moneygawl Rackrent
Almost on the very minute that Isabella realizes the credit wolves are at the door of Castle Rackrent, she gives into her father’s demands, leaves her husband to go back home and finds her way into not one, but two wills. As testament to Thady’s high regard for Sir Condy, even after being abandoned her husband provides in his will the passage of the title of the estate and a yearly stipend of 500 pounds after his death. Karma almost arrives in the form of a carriage accident which leaves the unfaithful wife disfigured and near death. Jason pounces on this possibility to put the final nail in the coffin of Condy’s ownership to Rackrent. Unfortunately for Jason, it is Sir Condy who dies while Isabella recovers, setting up what remains by the story’s end an unresolved court battle between Isabella and Jason as to who can rightly claim ownership. Judy and Jason, however, never do marry.
