The Life, Letters and Literary Remains of Edward Bulwer, Lord Lytton
The Life, Letters and Literary Remains of Edward Bulwer, Lord Lytton 2 Volume Set Series

One of the most popular writers of his age, outsold only by Dickens, Edward George Bulwer Lytton (1803?73), first Baron Lytton, is notable for coining the phrases 'the great unwashed' and 'the pen is mightier than the sword', although his work is largely forgotten today. G. K. Chesterton's appraisal was that 'you could not have the Victorian Age without him'. Lytton requested that his son Edward Robert (1831?91), first Earl of Lytton, complete his autobiography. Complemented by letters and previously unpublished material - the better to flesh out the story of a prolific literary life - it appeared in two volumes in 1883. In his preface, Edward Robert writes that his main purpose is 'to illustrate my father's works by his life, and his life by his works'. Volume 1 contains the original autobiography, along with letters and selected writings that provide insights into Lytton's first twenty-two years.

Preface; Part I. Childhood: 1. The Bulwers; 2. Maternal grandfather and grandmother; 3. The child of parted parents; 4. Knebworth; 5. The Lyttons; 6. First suitors; 7. The deserted house; 8. Elizabeth Lytton; 9. Last suitors; 10. Miss Lytton marries Colonel Bulwer; 11. Birth of William, Henry, and Edward Bulwer; 12. Elizabeth's married life; 13. General Bulwer; 14. The old scholar; 15. The first temptation; 16. Practical ethics; 17. Reminiscences of childhood; 18. The scholar's death; 19. The arrival of the books; 20. The child's intercourse with them; 21. The departure of the books; Part II. School: 1. First experiences of school life; 2. Schoolmaster and schoolboy; 3. Last experiences of school life; 4. Life at Ealing; 5. First essays in authorship; 6. Letters to a fellow-pupil; 7. Letters from elder friends; 8. First love; 9. Love story continued; 10. Life at St Lawrence; 11. The manuscript of Lionel Hastings; 12. Lionel Hastings (cont.); 13. Lionel Hastings (cont.); 14. Lionel Hastings (cont.); 15. Lionel Hastings (cont.); 16. Lionel Hastings (cont.); Part III. College: 1. Life at Cambridge; 2. End of college life; 3. Union debates and college contemporaries; 4. Non-academical studies; 5. Literary works at Cambridge; 6. History of the British public; Part IV. Wanderjahr: 1. The grave of a dream; 2. The tale of a dreamer; 3. Windermere; 4. An adventure; 5. Visit to Mr Owen; 6. An adventure in the Highlands; 7. Scarborough; 8. Life with the gipsies; 9. How it ended; 10. Lady Caroline Lamb; 11. Lady Caroline Lamb (cont.); 12. De Lindsay; 13. First connection with a duel; 14. Social relations with the Faubourg St-Germain.