Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton 1st Baron Lytton

Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton 1803-73, English novelist. The son of Gen. William Bulwer and Elizabeth Lytton, he assumed the name Bulwer-Lytton in 1843 when he inherited the Lytton estate "Knebworth." He was created Baron Lytton of Knebworth in 1866. His varied and highly derivative novels won wide popularity. Many of his early novels of manners— Falkland (1827), Paul Clifford (1830), and Eugene Aram (1832)—reflect the influence of his friend William Godwin . Bulwer-Lytton, however, is best remembered for his extremely well-researched historical novels, particularly The Last Days of Pompeii (1834) and Rienzi (1835). In 1849, with The Caxtons, he began a series of humorous domestic novels, which had recently become the vogue. His utopian novel, The Coming Race, prefigured the works of Wells and Huxley. A member of Parliament from 1831 to 1841, Bulwer-Lytton was a reformer, but in 1852 he returned to Parliament as a Conservative. In 1858 he was appointed colonial secretary. He was also a successful dramatist. His plays include The Lady of Lyons (1838), Richelieu (1839), and Money (1840).

Bibliography: See biography by L. Mitchell (2003); study by S. B. Liljegren (1957); C. Shattuck, ed., Bulwer and Macready (1958).

Bulwer-Lytton, Edward George Earle Lytton, Baron Lytton (1803–73), English novelist and dramatist, whose most successful play The Lady of Lyons; or, Love and Pride (1838) was first produced at Covent Garden by Macready, who played the hero Claude Melnotte with Helen Faucit as Pauline. Its continued popularity led to a number of revivals, notably by Henry Irving at the Lyceum in 1879 with himself and Ellen Terry. Though the plot is romantic and sentimental, it has a touching sincerity and wore well for many years. Bulwer-Lytton's next play Richelieu; or, The Conspiracy (1839) was also first produced by Macready, and frequently revived, Irving presenting it at the Lyceum no less than four times. Money (1840) struck a more serious and contemporary note. His half-dozen other plays are now forgotten.