The Works of Edward Bulwer-Lytton
1898
The Works of Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron Lytton
1898
Edward Bulwer-Lytton ruled Victorian letters like a monarch. This comprehensive collection gathers the novels, plays, and historical fiction that made him the era's most celebrated and most-ridiculed writer. From the volcanic catastrophe of "The Last Days of Pompeii" to the occult mysteries of "Zanoni," from the social-climbing drama of "The Lady of Lyons" to the notorious opener of "Paul Clifford" ("It was a dark and stormy night"), Bulwer-Lytton offered readers melodrama, spectacle, and prose so purple it practically hemorrhaged. He coined "the pen is mightier than the sword," wrote plays that packed London's theaters, and left readers around the world weeping or laughing at his every dramatic turn. This anthology captures the full breadth of a writer who was everywhere, inescapable, and impossible to ignore. For readers curious about Victorian literary culture, the man critics mocked but audiences adored, or anyone who wants to understand how the 19th century learned to love a good dramatic tear.
