Lytton Edward Lytton Bulwer Lytton

Lytton, Edward Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, Lord (1803-73), man of letters and politician, was the youngest son of General Earle Bulwer of Heydon Hall, Norfolk, and Elizabeth Barbara, daughter of Richard Lytton, of Knebworth, Hertfordshire. He was born in London and educated at Cambridge, where be won the Chancellor's Medal. His public career began with his entry into Parliament as member for St. Ives (1831), a seat which he soon exchanged for Lincoln (1832-41). He supported the Whigs on most questions, and in 1838 earned a baronetcy by his brilliant pamphlet called A Letter on the Crisis. He was Conservative member for Hertfordshire from 1852 to 1866, when he was raised to the peerage. Whilst Secretary for the Colonies under Lord Derby (1858-59) he formed the colony of British Columbia and separated Queensland from New South Wales. Lytton's chief characteristic, as an author, was his extraordinary versatility. He acquired more or less distinction as a novelist, poet, essayist, playwright and satirist, without attaining a position of the highest eminence in any branch of literature. It is on his novels that his reputation chiefly rests. They cover a wide field, from studies of the ancient world like The Last Days of Pompeii and romances on mediaeval subjects such as The Last of the Barons, to tales of mystery of the type of Zanoni, and the numerous novels which deal with modern especially fashionable, life. He is seen at his best in his historical novels. His satire The New Timon (1845) contains some graphic portraits of contemporary statesmen and a fierce attack, which did not remain unpunished, on Tennyson. His most successful plays were the Lady of Lyons and Richelieu (1838). He died at Torquay.