| Search Antiqbook |
Ask a question or
Order this book
Browse our books
Search our books
Book dealer info
BULWER-LYTTON, EDWARD Works..., TheEdition de Luxe Of the Complete Works "Of Considerable Sociological Interest" BULWER-LYTTON, Edward. [Works ]. London: George Routledge and Sons, [N.d., 1891-1892]. Édition de Luxe. Limited to 500 numbered copies. Thirty-two octavo volumes (8 11/16 x 5 13/16 inches; 220 x 148 mm.). Illustrated with 226 photogravure plates by Frank T. Merrill, Copeland, H. Sandham, Lalauze, W.L. Taylor and others. Bound for Hatchard’s in contemporary half dark green levant morocco over marbled boards ruled in gilt. Spines with five raised bands, decoratively tooled and lettered in gilt, top edge gilt, others uncut, marbled endpapers. Spines uniformly sunned. Otherwise a fine set. "Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (May 25, 1803ûJanuary 18, 1873) was an English novelist, poet, playwright, and politician. Lord Lytton was a florid, popular writer of his day, who coined such phrases as "the great unwashed", "pursuit of the almighty dollar", "the pen is mightier than the sword", and the infamous incipit "It was a dark and stormy night." Despite his popularity in his heyday, today his name is known as a byword for bad writing. San Jose State University’s annual Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest for bad writing is named after him. "He was the youngest son of General William Earle Bulwer of Heydon Hall and Wood Dalling, Norfolk and Elizabeth Barbara Lytton, daughter of Richard Warburton Lytton of Knebworth, Hertfordshire. He had two brothers, William Earle Lytton Bulwer (1799û1877) and (William) Henry Lytton Earle Bulwer (1801û1872), afterwards Lord Dalling. "Lord Lytton's original surname was Bulwer, the names 'Earle' and 'Lytton' were middle names. On 20th February 1844 he assumed the name and arms of Lytton by royal license and his surname then became 'Bulwer-Lytton'. His widowed mother had done the same in 1811. His brothers were always simply surnamed 'Bulwer'... Lord Lytton's literary career began in 1820, with the publication of his first book of poems, and spanned much of the nineteenth century. He wrote in a variety of genres, including historical fiction, mystery, romance, the occult, and science fiction. In 1828 he attracted general attention with Pelham, a humorous, intimate study of the dandyism of the age which kept gossips busy in identifying characters with public figures of the time. A highly melodramatic sub-plot is interwoven. By 1833, he had reached the height of his popularity with Godolphin, followed by The Pilgrims of the Rhine (1834), The Last Days of Pompeii (1834), Rienzi (1835), and Harold: Last of the Saxon Kings (1848). The Last Days of Pompeii was inspired by the painting on the same subject by Russian painter Karl Briullov (Carlo Brullo) which Bulwer-Lytton saw in Milan. He also wrote The Haunted and the Haunters (1857), also known as The House and the Brain, included by Isaac Asimov in his anthology Tales of the Occult. Pelham had been partly inspired by Benjamin Disraeli’s first novel Vivian Grey. Lord Lytton was an admirer of Benjamin’s father Isaac D’Israeli, himself a noted literary figure, and had corresponded with him. Lord Lytton and D'Israeli began corresponding themselves in the late 1820s, and met for the first time in March of 1830, when D'Israeli dined at Lord Lytton’s house. Also present that evening were Charles Pelham Villiers and Alexander Cockburn. Although young at the time, Villiers went on to an exceptionally long parliamentary career, while Cockburn became Lord Chief Justice of England in 1859. He penned many other works, including The Coming Race (also reprinted as Vril: The Power of the Coming Race), which drew heavily on his interest in the occult and contributed to the birth of the science fiction genre. Some believe the book helped to inspire Nazi mysticism. Unquestionably, its story of a subterranean race of men waiting to reclaim the surface is one of the first science fiction novels. His play, Money, was produced at Prince of Wales's Theatre in 1872" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bulwer-Lytton,_1st_Baron_Lytton. Fully and solidly referenced). "...his works...span many of the changes in 19th century fiction and are thus of considerable sociological interest" (OCEL).
Offered for US$ 3000.00 by: David Brass Rare Books (ABAA/ILAB) - Book number: 01347