Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton, PC (25 May 1803 – 18 January 1873) was an English writer and politician. He served as a Whig member of Parliament from 1831 to 1841 and a Conservative from 1851 to 1866. He was Secretary of State for the Colonies from June 1858 to June 1859, choosing Richard Clement Moody as founder of British Columbia. A noted philhellene, Bulwer-Lytton was offered the Crown of Greece in 1862 after King Otto abdicated, but he declined. He was created Baron Lytton of Knebworth in 1866.
The Right Honourable The Lord Lytton PC | |
|---|---|
| Secretary of State for the Colonies | |
| In office 5 June 1858 – 11 June 1859 | |
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Prime Minister | The Earl of Derby |
| Preceded by | Lord Stanley |
| Succeeded by | The Duke of Newcastle |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer 25 May 1803 London, England |
| Died | 18 January 1873 (aged 69) Torquay, England |
| Political party | Whig (1831–1841) Conservative (1851–1866) |
| Spouse |
Rosina Doyle Wheeler
(m. 1827) |
| Children | 2, including Robert |
| Parent(s) | William Earle Bulwer Elizabeth Barbara Warburton-Lytton |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity Hall, Cambridge |
Bulwer-Lytton's works were well known in his time. He coined famous phrases like "pursuit of the almighty dollar", "the pen is mightier than the sword", "dweller on the threshold", "the great unwashed", and the opening phrase "It was a dark and stormy night." The sardonic Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest, held annually since 1982, claims to seek the "opening sentence of the worst of all possible novels".