Maria Edgeworth was a prolific Anglo-Irish writer of adults' and children's literature. She was one of the first realist writers in children's literature and was a significant figure in the evolution of the novel in Europe.The critic August Nemo selected seven short stories that show the best of this author's work: - The Grateful Negro - The Prussian Vase - The Good Aunt - The Good French Governess - The Orphans - The False Key - Tarlton