Edward Lytton Bulwer, better known as Bulwer-Lytton, was a famous English novelist, playwright, and poet. He was born in London May 25, 1803, and died June 18, 1873. He was privately educated and later entered Cambridge, where he was graduated in 1828. Upon his marriage to Rosina Doyle Wheeler, in 1827, Bulwer's mother stopped his allowance of one thousand pounds a year and he was forced to write for a living. He produced many successful novels of society, crime, and mystery, and for about a year was editor of the New Monthly. From 1831 to 1841 he was a Member of Parliament, and later Secretary for the Colonies. In 1836 he was separated from his wife, but they continued to quarrel in print for years. In 1838 he was made a baronet, and in 1866 a baron. For most modern readers his novels are boring, an exception being "The Last Days of Pompeii," which was written in 1834. By some authorities, "The Last of the Barons" is considered his best work. "Zanoni" and "A Strange Story" are tales of the supernatural.

REFERENCES: W. A. Frost, Lord Lytton, the Man and the Author; V. A. Lytton, The Life of Edward Bulwer; T. H. Escott, Bulwer Lytton; T. Cooper, Lord Lytton; and many more.

Fireside Library. Nos. 126, 145
Waverley Library (quarto) Nos. 125, 230