Paul Clifford — Volume 04
1830
The famous opening line alone has echoed through literature for nearly two centuries: 'It was a dark and stormy night.' But the novel behind that iconic phrase is darker still. Paul Clifford lives a double existence - by day a gentleman of refinement, by night a roguish highwayman with a conscience. Bulwer-Lytton invented the criminal-with-a-heart-of-gold, a figure who moves between society's polished salons and its shadowy underworld, belonging fully to neither. This installment finds Paul in a rough alehouse with his fellow outlaws, their camaraderie sharp with rivalry and tested by envy. Long Ned probes at Paul's distraction - his thoughts fixed on the unattainable Miss Brandon. The firelight reveals men who steal, brawl, and scheme, yet beneath the rough talk lies genuine longing: for respect, for love, for something no heist can deliver. Bulwer-Lytton wrote Paul Clifford to shock respectable readers and succeeded wildly, giving voice to the criminal classes before Dickens did the same. He humanized the outlaw when society dismissed him as mere refuse. This is a novel about the spaces between law and lawlessness, between the gentleman and the rogue, where true identity might never be found at all.
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“It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents, except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.””
— Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron Lytton
“It was a dark and stormy night...””
— Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron Lytton
“Can any man doubt whether it is better to be a great statesman or a common thief?””
— Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron Lytton
“The ancients," quoth Paul, "were very great men, Mr MacGrawler.""They were so, sir," returned the critic; "we make it a rule of our profession to assert the fact.""But, sir," said Paul, "they were wrong now and then.""Never, Ignoramus; never!""They praised poverty, Mr MacGrawler!" said Paul, with a sigh."Hem!" quoth the critic, a little staggered; but presently recovering his characteristic acumen, he observed, "It is true, Paul; but that was of the poverty of other people.””
— Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron Lytton
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Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron Lytton. Paul Clifford — Volume 04. Lex, lex-books.com/book/paul-clifford-volume-04-4f607db3-4f95-4901-b03d-294af934fd7e.Edward Bulwer Lytton, B. L. (1830). Paul Clifford — Volume 04. Lex. https://lex-books.com/book/paul-clifford-volume-04-4f607db3-4f95-4901-b03d-294af934fd7eEdward Bulwer Lytton, Baron Lytton. Paul Clifford — Volume 04. Lex. https://lex-books.com/book/paul-clifford-volume-04-4f607db3-4f95-4901-b03d-294af934fd7e.
