I U 



LYTTON. SIR EDWARD BULWER, BART. 



LYTTON, SIR EDWARD BULWER, BART. 



for literature. Heifradrated B.A. in 1826, which degree was exchanged 

 for the bipher one of M.A. conferred on him in 1885. Prior to 

 the first of these degrees however he was professedly an author. In 

 1825 he published a poem on 'Sculpture,' which hud gained the 

 (_') anrellor'a piize for English versification at the university. In 1826, 

 vbenjuet leaving liin formal studies at the university, he published 

 a collection of Ms juvenile poems under the title of 'Weeds and Wild 

 Flowtrs;' which wa followed in 1827 by a Ule in verse somewhat in 

 tie iii<pa>finiird Byronie t>le, entitled 'O'Neill, or the Rebel.' In 

 the natf year (1827) appeared hi* first novel, ' Falkland.' an itnpav 

 nii'ntd love-story, published without his name. Having thus plumed 

 Us wing, he ventund in 1828 on a somewhat different flight in hit 

 ' Pelbam, or the Adventures of a Gentleman,' in which wit and lively 

 pictures of modern society were combined with romance and enthu- 

 siasm. The novel made a great impression, nnd was abundantly 

 criticised. Next, in the same year, came another novel, with less of 

 worldly interest nnd adventure, entitled ' The Disowned,' and which, 

 though successful, was not so successful as its predecessor; and next, 

 in 1 8S9, ' Devereux,' a powerful work of fiction. In the year 1830, 

 Mr. 1'ulwer, whose literary reputation was by this time fully established, 

 produced another novel, culled ' Paul Clifford,' the peculiarity of which j 

 was that the hero was a highwayman, the better parts of whose nature 

 were developed by the influence of love. In this, as well an in the 

 preceding novels, there was an abundance of satirical allusion to the 

 vices and foibles of society ; and tl e snrne satirical spirit was more 



puMie appreciation of their merits as poems, but which (tha publb 

 easily detecting the authorship) were evo itually acknowledged. As a 

 poet however, except in the drama, Sir Edward has never taken so 

 high a place in critical estimation as he has done an a novelist. l'i 

 tlm walk his powers teem inexhaustible ; his latest novels' The Last 

 of the Barons,' ' Harold, or the Last of the Saxon Kings," ' Lucretia, 

 or the Children of Night,' ' The Caxtons,' and ' My Novel, or Varieties 

 of English Life ' having, each and all, been a* eagerly received a< any 

 of their predecessors. The last two, differing from most of their pre- 

 decessors in being novels of English domestic life, appeared originally 

 in 'Blackwood's Magazine,' where also appeared a series of translations 

 from the 'Poems and Ballads of Schiller,' republished collectively 

 in 1844. 



It was in 1844 that Bulwer, succeeding by his mother's death to the 

 estates of Knebsworth, *o. (worth, it is said. 12.00W. a year), exchanged 

 by royal licence the surname of ' Bulwer,' which he had hitherto borne, 

 for that of ' Bulwer Lytton,' which he now bears. At the date of this 

 accession to his wealth and social influence however he was no longer 

 in parliament, having lost his seat for Lincoln at the election of 1841. 

 As was natural, the rich baror.ct of Knebsworth felt this exclusion 

 more than the comparatively poor author could have done ; and 

 accordingly, while plying his pen busily in the production of the two 

 last-mentioned of the above novels (both of them written after his 

 accession to the Knebsworth property), he was again directing his 

 attention towards active politics. Change in the circumstances of the 



expressly manifested in a poem entitled ' The SUmese Twin*, 1 published i country co-operating with inner and outfr changes more immediately 



in 1831. 



It was in this year that Mr. Bulwer, then about twenty -six years of 

 age, commenced his parliamentary career as member for St. Ives. It 

 was the time of the Reform Bill agitation, and Mr. Bulwer attached 

 hiui'ilf ardently to the reform party. lu 1S32 ho was returned to 

 the reformed parliament as member for Lincoln, which seat he con- 

 tii.ued to hold till 1841, slill as an adherent of the Whig?, or rather 

 of tl at extreme party of the Whigs which bad assumed the name of 

 Radicals. As an adherent of this pany he took a ttrong interest in, 

 and spoke frequently and with effect on, liberal measures more 

 especially on questions, such as that of the newspaper stamp, afi'ecting 

 the free diffusion of knowledge. 



Meanwhile, Mr. Bulwer was none the less assiduous as an author. 

 In 1S81 bis first year iu parliament he published his celebrated 

 novel of ' Eugene Aram ;' and in the game, or in the following year, 

 be succeeded Campbell in the editorship of the ' New Monthly 

 Magazine.' To the rages of this periodical he contributed a series of 

 papers, afterwards collected and republished (1835), in two volumes, 

 under the title of 'The Student' In 1833 he published his ' England 

 ami the Englith,' a series of witty and sarcastic sketches of English 

 society, English literature, 4c. This work provoked some severe 

 criticism. It was followed in 1834 by his ' Pilgrims of the Rhine,' n 

 illustiated book ; and that apnin, almost immediately, by his powerful 

 and glowing romance entitled 'The Last Days of Pompeii,' for the 

 com) ositiun of which he bad been prepared by a recent tour in Italy. 

 Another novel, also full of Italian descriptions and historical portraiture 

 of men and manners, though referring to a more modern epoch, was 

 the splendid story of ' Hitnzi,' the Roman tribune of the middle ages. 



all cting himself, had so moditted his views in politics, that it was as 

 a Conservative, or Protectioni-t, that he now sought to return to 

 parliament. In 1847 he was again an unsuccessful candidate for 

 Lincoln; and it was not till July 1852 that (having in the previous 

 year explained his Protectionist views in ' A Letter to John Bull, Esq., 

 on Affairs connected with his L-tuded Property And the Persons who 

 Live Thereon ') he re-entered the House of Commons as member for 

 the county of Uurig. He still represents this county in parliament, 

 and has of late taken a leading part iu the debates of the house and 

 in the councils of his party, attaining his elevation to a high place in 

 the administration, should events bring that party again into power. 

 His political opinions and position are thus briefly indicated iu the 

 'Parliamentary Companion' for 1855: "Concurs in the general 

 policy espoused by Lord Derby; would 'readjust' the income-tax, 

 and 'mitigate' the duties on malt, tea, and soap; 'gome years ago 

 advocated the ballot, but, seeing its utter iuefficacy in France and 

 America, can no longer defend that theory;' will support education 

 on a religious basis, and vota for a repeal of the Maynooth graut." 



Among Sir Edward Lytton's more recent writings, iu addition to 

 the ' Caxtons ' and ' My Novel,' may be mentioned ' The Confessions 

 of a Water-Patient, in a letter to W. H. Ainsworth, Esq.," published in 

 1845, when the author, having received a wonderful renovation of his 

 own health at a water-cure establishment, desired to recommend the same 

 therapeutic treatment to others, and especially to men of letters, whose 

 constitutions might be shattered by over-work. Another recent work 

 of a different nature is ' Not BO bad as we seem, or many Sides to a 

 Question,' a five-act comedy, originally written for the benefit of the 

 Guild of Literature and Art The play was acted in London and in 



Almost contemporaneous with this work of fiction was a political | various British towns by amateur actors, under the management of 



pamphlet entitled 'The Crisis,' published in Ib35, during the brief 

 iutei rojiticn of the Whig government by the Conservative ministry of 

 Sir Kobeit Peel. The pamphlet ran through many editions; several 

 aLswirs were published to it; and altogether its effect was such that 

 its author (the importance of his political services being added to his 

 literary reputation) was raised to a baronetcy by the Melbourne 

 administration. 



About this time, Sir Lytton, sated with his success as a novelist, 

 broke new ground in a five-act play, 'The Duchess of La Valliere,' which 

 was acted in ItKfi, but was on tl.e whole a dramatic failure. In 1837, 

 returning to the novel, he published 'Ernest Maltravers;' a con- 

 tinuation of which, entitled 'Alice, or the Mysterits,' subsequently 

 appeared. In the same jear he published a book of classical research 

 and disquisition in two volumes, entitled 'Athens : its Rise and Fall; 

 with \ iews of the Literature, &c., of the Athenian People;' a work 

 tome of the materials for which be had collected while at Cambridge. 

 In 1888 appear d 'Leila, or the Siege of Granada,' nnd 'Calderon the 

 Courtier,' works of fiction of a lighter order. Meantime, nothing 

 daunted by his foimerill success in the. drama, Sir Lytton had returned 

 to the tame literary field, and produced in succession two five-act 

 plays, 'The Lady of Ljons, or Love and Pride,' and ' Richelieu, or the 

 Conspiracy,' both of which hud a great success, and both of which 

 retain tLeir hold on the stage as among the most popular of our 

 modern actitig-plays. Patting over a series of works of fiction and 

 description entitle 1 ' Night and Morning,' 'Day and Night,' ' Lights 

 and bhadows,' and ' Glimmer and Gloom,' we come to Sir Edward's 

 next important novel, his ' Zanoni,' a tale of the supernatural and the 

 magical, published in 1842. In the tamo year Sir Edward, still 

 ambitious of the fon:e of a poet as well as of a novelist, gave to the 

 world 'Eva, the 111 Omened Marriage; and other Tales and Poems.' 

 Subsequent poetical compositions were ' 'Ihe New Timon ' (1840) nnd 

 ' King Arthur' (1848), both of which were publUhed anonymously, in 

 order that pro-conceptions of the author might not interfere with the 



Mr. Dickens; and since its publication in 1852, it has been acted on 

 the regular stage. Besides the proceeds of this play, the Guild has 

 received from Sir Edward an additional gift in the shape of a piece of 

 land, as a site for a projected hospital for decayed and aged artists and 

 literary men. In 1852 Sir Edward delivered a lecture to the Royston 

 Mechanics Institution, published with the title of ' Outlines of the Early 

 History of the East;' and in 1854, having been elected first honorary 

 president of the associated societies of the University of Edinburgh, 

 he visited Edinburgh, and delivered an ' Inaugural Address ' to the 

 students, which has also been published. At the very moment of our 

 writing this notice (December 1856) another Scottish University 

 that of Glasgow has conferred on him a similar honour, by electing 

 him its lord rector ; in which office he succeeds a splendid list of 

 predecessors. 



In a retrospect of Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton's career, the first thing 

 that strikes one is his prodigious industry and voluuiinousnees as an 

 author. He is yet only in his fifty-second year, nnd has eeen fourteen 

 years of active parliamentary life, and yet he has given to the world 

 upwards of forty distinct works, most of them originally in three 

 volumes. No poor author labouring incessantly for subsistence could 

 have worked harder than this man of patrician descent, born the heir 

 to a large fortune. Next, what strikes ono is the great versatility of 

 talent displayed amid all this quantity of work. Besides novels of all 

 orders the historical, the sentimental, the fashionable, the domestic, 

 the romantic, aud the mysterious we have dramas, non-dramatic 

 poems, translations, essays, historical disquisitions, political pamphlets, 

 aud lectures and speeches. The author may not have attained equal 

 succei-s in all these kinds of literature, nor in tuosu in which he has 

 succeeded best prose-fiction and the drama may he have satisfied 

 the preconceptions of some critics as to the highest possibilities of 

 matter and art in these departments; but the fact of such varied and 

 brilliant accomplishments, such breadth of achieved success, would 

 alone entitle the author to his distinguished place in English literature. 



