Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton

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Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton

Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton PC (born May 25, 1803 in London , † January 18, 1873 in Torquay ) was an English novelist and politician of the 19th century.

Life

Edward Bulwer-Lytton

Bulwer-Lytton is best known for his novel The Last Days of Pompeii . In addition, his late work The Coming Race is also known . In this he describes an underground society that rules a secret force. This myth lived on later in the (fictional) Vril society and was nationalistically or racially alienated. The novel is now considered to be one of the first science fiction stories.

There are other works with occult content, such as his novel Zanoni , which is about the story of a sublime Rosicrucian . However, the repeated claims that he was a member of an esoteric association are false. In fact, there is no historical evidence of such membership. For example, he was appointed Grand Patron of the British Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia without his knowledge and even against his will . A correspondence with their member Hargrave Jennings shows that he was extremely angry about it. The claim that he was a member of the German Masonic Lodge at the Rising Dawn can also be refuted. His encounter with esoteric actors, such as Eliphas Lévi , was later glorified and does not correspond to his critical attitude.

Bulwer-Lytton also had a remarkable political career. For many years he was a member of the British House of Commons , first for the Liberals (1831–1841) and later for the Conservatives (1852–1866); In addition, he was under Lord Derby in 1858 - albeit only for a short time - Secretary of State for the Colonies .

After his 1838 already the dignity of a baronet had been granted (of Knebworth), he was in 1866 as Baron Lytton to peer appointed. In 1843, when he inherited Knebworth House , he added the name “Lytton” to his surname “Bulwer” according to his mother's last will.

His wife Rosina Bulwer-Lytton , from whom he lived separately since 1836, was also a novelist. His son Robert Bulwer-Lytton was Governor General and Viceroy of India from 1876 to 1880 , for which he was made Earl in 1880 . His daughter, Emily Elizabeth Bulwer-Lytton (June 17, 1828 - April 29, 1848) was always sickly and died of typhoid at the age of twenty.

Afterlife

In the 20th century, Bulwer-Lytton achieved a completely new and unexpected popularity through the " Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest " held by San José State University, which is named after him . This competition is about writing the worst possible opening sentence of a (fictional) novel in various categories. The reason why Bulwer-Lytton, of all people, had to serve as the namesake for this less than honorable competition is his famous opening sentence to his novel Paul Clifford : "It was a dark and stormy night ...". The phrase is also used by the Peanuts dog Snoopy as the beginning of his literary texts.

In radio essays, with the translation of two works into German and through the absorbing processing in his own prose works, Arno Schmidt underlined the importance of Bulwer-Lytton in the last years of his work.

Richard Wagner wrote his opera Rienzi based on the novel of the same name by Edward Bulwer-Lyttons.

According to Bulwer-Lytton, the plant genus Bulweria F. Muell. from the trumpet tree family (Bignoniaceae).

bibliography

Novels

  • Pelham: or The Adventures of a Gentleman (1828)
    • German:
      • Pelham, or adventures of a man of the world. Translated by Georg Nikolaus Bärmann. Schumann, Zwickau 1833.
      • Pelham or a gentleman's adventure. Translated by Gustav Pfizer . Metzler, Stuttgart 1833.
      • Pelham or a gentleman's adventure. Translated by Franz Kottenkamp. Scheible, Rieger & Sattler, Stuttgart 1845.
      • Pelham or encounters of a man of the world. Translated by C. Richard. Reclam's Universal Library, Vol. 1041/45, Leipzig 1880.
  • Devereux (1829)
    • German:
      • Devereux. Translated by Georg Nikolaus Bärmann. Schumann, Zwickau 1834.
      • Devereux. Translated by Theodor Roth. Scheible, Rieger & Sattler, Stuttgart 1845.
      • Devereux. Translated by Carl-Ernst Matthias. The coming day, Stuttgart 1924.
  • The Disowned (1829)
    • German:
      • The outcast. Translated by C. Richard. Meyer, Aachen and Leipzig 1829.
      • The outcast. Translated by Ernst Susemihl . Scheible, Rieger & Sattler, Stuttgart 1845.
  • Paul Clifford (1830)
    • German:
      • Paul Clifford. Translated by Georg Nikolaus Bärmann. Schumann, Zwickau 1834.
      • Paul Clifford. Translated by Ernst Susemihl. Scheible, Rieger & Sattler, Stuttgart 1845.
  • Eugene Aram. A Tale (1832)
    • German:
      • Eugen Aram: A novel. Translated by Friedrich Notter . Metzler, Stuttgart 1833.
      • Eugene Aram. Translated by Georg Nikolaus Bärmann. Schumann, Zwickau 1833.
      • Eugene Aram. Translated by Theodor Roth. Scheible, Rieger & Sattler, Stuttgart 1845.
      • Eugene Aram. Freely edited and shortened according to old translations and provided with an afterword by Hans Joachim Kruse. Verlag Das Neue Berlin, Berlin 1985, DNB 861103742 .
      • Eugen Aram: detective novel. The text of the present edition of Eugen Aram has been carefully revised following the translations by Friedrich Notter from 1832 and by Theodor Roth from 1840. Benu Verlag (Benu-Krimi # 18), Hildesheim 2016, ISBN 978-3-934826- 71-7 .
  • Asmodeus at Large (1833)
    • German: Asmodeus of all places. Translated by Georg Nikolaus Bärmann. Metzler, 1840.
  • Godolphin (1833)
    • German:
      • Godolphin or the oath. Translated by Louis Lax. Mayer, Aachen and Leipzig 1834.
      • Godolphin. Translated by Ernst Susemihl. Scheible, Rieger & Sattler, Stuttgart 1845.
  • The Last Days of Pompeii (1834)
    • German:
      • The last days of Pompeii. Translated by Friedrich Notter. Metzler, Stuttgart 1834. New edition as: The last days of Pompeii. Insel, Frankfurt am Main 2003, ISBN 3-458-32501-8 .
      • Pompeii's last days. Translated by Georg Nikolaus Bärmann. Schumann, Zwickau 1835.
      • EL Bulwer's the last days of Pompeii. Revised and with a historical-topographical introduction by Friedrich Förster. Ferdinand Riegel, Potsdam 1837.
      • The last days of Pompeii. Translated by Wilhelm Schöttlen. Scheible, Rieger & Sattler, Stuttgart 1845.
      • The last days of Pompeii. Translated and abridged by Karl Wilding. Weichert, Berlin 1906, DNB 572560869 .
      • The last days of Pompeii. Translated by Richard Zoozmann . Revised by K. Walther. Franckh, Stuttgart 1913, DNB 579278255 .
      • The last days of Pompeii. Translated by Otto von Czarnowski. Reclams Universal Library # 741, Leipzig 1917, DNB 579000222 .
      • The last days of Pompeii. Modifications made by JR Woworsky. Pallas-Verlag Knaeps, Baden-Baden 1947, DNB 450695964 .
      • The last days of Pompeii. Translated by Richard Maurice Baring. Droemer / Knaur, Munich and Zurich 1958, DNB 450696073 .
      • The last days of Pompeii. Translated by Günter Jürgensmeier on the basis of several older translations. With afterword and timetable by Jürgen Kamm. Artemis & Winkler, Düsseldorf & Zurich 2000, ISBN 3-538-06849-6 . Also: Deutscher Taschenbuch-Verlag, Munich 2000, ISBN 3-423-12778-3 .
  • The Pilgrims of the Rhine (1834)
    • German:
      • The pilgrims on the Rhine. Translated by Georg Nikolaus Bärmann. Schumann, Zwickau 1834.
      • The pilgrims on the Rhine. Translated by Wilhelm Schöttlen. Scheible, Rieger & Sattler, Stuttgart 1845.
  • Rienzi, The Last of the Roman Tribunes (1835)
    • German:
      • Rienzi, the last of the tribunes. Translated by Georg Nikolaus Bärmann. Schumann, Zwickau 1836.
      • Rienzi, the last of the Roman tribunes. Translated by Theodor Roth. Scheible, Rieger & Sattler, Stuttgart 1845.
      • Rienzi, the last tribune. Translated by Otto von Czarnowski. Reclams Universal Library # 881, Leipzig 1920.
      • Rienzi, the last tribune. Revised by Karl Quenzel. Translated by Gustav Pfizer. Hesse & Becker Verlag, Leipzig 1921, DNB 572809204 .
      • Rienzi: The last tribune of Rome. RM book and media sales, Rheda-Wiedenbrück and Gütersloh 2007, DNB 984798072 .
  • Ernest Maltravers (1837)
    • German:
      • Ernest Maltravers. Translated by Gustav Pfizer. Metzler, Stuttgart 1838.
      • Ernst Maltravers. Translated by Franz Kottenkamp. Scheible, Rieger & Sattler, Stuttgart 1845.
  • Alice, or The Mysteries (1838, continued by Ernest Maltravers )
    • German:
      • Alice, or the secrets: continuation of Ernst Maltravers. Translated by Gustav Pfizer. Metzler, Stuttgart 1841.
      • Alice, or The Secrets. Translated by Franz Kottenkamp. Scheible, Rieger & Sattler, Stuttgart 1845.
  • Calderon, the Courtier (1838)
    • German:
      • Calderon, the courtier. Translated by Gustav Pfizer. Metzler, Stuttgart 1838.
      • Calderon, the Courtier and Arasmanes. Translated by Theodor Roth. Scheible, Rieger & Sattler, Stuttgart 1845.
  • Leila, or, The siege of Granada (1838)
    • German:
      • Leila, or the siege of Granada. Translated by Friedrich Notter. Metzler, Stuttgart 1838.
      • Leila or The Siege of Granada. Translated by Theodor Roth. Scheible, Rieger & Sattler, Stuttgart 1845.
      • Leila or The Siege of Granada. K. Rohm, Lorch 1934, DNB 572561105 .
  • Zicci: A Tale (1838)
  • Night and Morning (1841)
    • German:
      • Night and morning. Translated by Gustav Pfizer. Metzler, Stuttgart 1841.
      • Night and morning. Translated by Otto von Czarnowski. Mayer, Aachen 1841.
      • Night and morning. Translated by Ernst Susemihl. Scheible, Rieger & Sattler, Stuttgart 1845.
      • Night and morning. Translated by A. Tuhten. Reclams Universal Library # 3306, Leipzig 1920, DNB 579000397 .
      • Night and morning. Translated by Emi Ehm. 2 vols. Deutscher Taschenbuch-Verlag (dtv # 1032/1033), Munich 1974, ISBN 3-423-01032-0 / ISBN 3-423-01033-9 .
  • Zanoni (1842)
    • German:
      • Zanoni: A novel. Translated by Gustav Pfizer. Metzler, Stuttgart 1842.
      • Zanoni. Translated by Theodor Roth. Scheible, Rieger & Sattler, Stuttgart 1845.
      • Zanoni: The Story of a Rosicrucian. Translated by Gustav Pfizer. K. Rohm, Lorch 1907.
      • Zanoni: the incomparable novel. Translated by Mary Roettger. Bauer, Freiburg im Breisgau 1961.
  • The Last of the Barons (1843)
    • German:
      • Of the?? last of the barons. Translated by Gustav Pfizer. Metzler, Stuttgart 1843.
      • The last of the barons. Translated by Ernst Susemihl. Scheible, Rieger & Sattler, Stuttgart 1846.
  • Lucretia (1846)
    • German:
      • Lucretia, or the children of the night. Translated by Theodor Oelckers . Metzler, Stuttgart 1847.
      • Lucretia. Translated by A. Kretzschmar. Kollmann, Leipzig 1847.
  • Harold. The Last of the Saxon Kings (1848)
    • German:
      • Harold, the last Saxon king. Translated by Eduard Mauch. Metzler, Stuttgart 1848.
      • Harold, the last of the Saxon kings. Translated by A. Kretzschmar. Verlags-Comptoir, Grimma and Leipzig 1848.
      • Harold, the last Saxon king. Translated by F. Meyer. Enck-Verlag, Berlin [1925].
  • The Caxtons: A Family Picture (1849, as Pisistratus Caxton)
    • German:
      • The Caxtons. A family painting. Translated by Wilhelm Eduard Drugulin. Verlags-Comptoir, Grimma and Leipzig 1850. Also as: Colorful pictures from English life. Translated by Wilhelm Eduard Drugulin. Verlags-Comptoir, Grimma and Leipzig 1851.
  • A Strange Story (1850)
    • German:
      • It's a strange story. Translated by Karl Kolb. Rieger, 1861.
      • It's a strange story. Scherl's pocket books # 64– # 70, Berlin 1912.
      • Margrave: The Strange Story of a Black Magician. Translated by Karl Kolb. K. Rohm, Lorch 1913, DNB 572561113 .
      • Haunted Oxford Street: Scary Stories. Translated by Frieda Wilsmann. Edited by Aloys Christof Wilsmann . Sebaldus-Verlag (small book series of the Hausschatz library # 1), Nuremberg 1949, DNB 450696197 .
      • The Elixir of Life: Metaphysical Novel. Reichel # 50, Weilersbach 2000, ISBN 3-926388-50-1 .
  • My Novel, or Varieties in English Life (1853, as Pisistratus Caxton)
    • German:
      • My short story, or vicissitudes of English life. Translated by Otto von Czarnowski. Hartleben, Pest, Vienna and Leipzig 1852–1853.
      • My short story, or, alternating forms in English life. Translated by Karl Kolb. Metzler, Stuttgart 1853.
      • Your novel: 60 varieties of English existence. Translated by Arno Schmidt . Goverts-Krüger-Stahlberg, Frankfurt am Main 1973, ISBN 3-7740-0436-6 .
  • What will he do with it? (1857/1859, as Pisistratus Caxton)
    • German:
      • What will he do with it? Translated by Gottlob Fink. Metzler, Stuttgart 1863.
      • What will he do with it? News from the life of a lord. Translated by Arno Schmidt. Goverts, Stuttgart 1971, ISBN 3-7740-0404-8 .
  • The Haunted and the Haunters or The House and the Brain (1859)
  • The Coming Race (1871, also as: Vril: The Power of the Coming Race )
    • German:
      • The gender of the future. Translated by Jenny Piorkowska. Theosophical publishing house, Leipzig 1873.
      • Vril or A Humanity of the Future. Translated by Guenther Wachsmuth , Stuttgart 1922.
      • The coming gender. Translated by Michael Walter . Suhrkamp (Fantastic Library # 42), 1980, ISBN 3-518-37109-6 . New edition: The Coming Gender. With an afterword and comments by Günter Jürgensmeier. dtv # 12720, 1999, ISBN 3-423-12720-1 .
      • Vril or the coming gender. Omnium-Verlag (Omnium # 81), Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-942378-81-9 .
  • Kenelm Chillingly. His Adventures and Opinions (1873)
    • English: Kenelm Chillingly - his adventures and views. Translated by Emil Lehmann . Günther, Leipzig 1873.
  • The Parisians (1873)
    • English: The Parisians: Posthumous novel by Edward Bulwer. Translated by Emil Lehmann. A. Hartleben, Vienna 1874.
  • Pausanias, the Spartan (1873, fragment)
    • English: Pausanias, the Spartans: Posthumous historical novel. A. Hartleben, Vienna 1876.

Poems

  • Ismael, with other Poems (1820)
  • O'Neill, or, The Rebel (1827)
  • Milton, a Poem (1831)
  • The Siamese twins: An Satirical Tale of the Times; With Other Poems (1831)
  • The New Timon; a Romance of London (1846, also as: The New Timon; a Poetical Romance , 1849)
  • King Arthur (1848–1849, revised 1870)
  • The Lost Tales of Miletus (1866)
  • Pausanias, the Spartan: An Unfinished Historical Romance (1876)
  • Narrative Lyrics, or, The Parcae

Plays

  • The Duchess de la Vallière (1837)
  • The Lady of Lyons (1838)
  • Richelieu or, The conspiracy: A play in five acts to which are added historical odes on The last days of Elizabeth, Cromwell's dream, the death of Nelson (1839)
  • Money: A Comedy (1840)
  • Not So Bad as We Seem, or, Many Sides to a Character: A Comedy in Five Acts (1851)
  • The Rightful Heir (1868)
  • Walpole, or Every Man Has His Price: A Comedy In Rhyme In Three Acts (1869)
  • Darnley (fragment)

Translations

  • The poems and ballads of Schiller: With a brief sketch of Schiller's life (1844)
  • The Odes and Epodes of Horace (1869)

Non-fiction

  • England and the English (1833)
    • German: England and the English. Translated by Georg Nikolaus Bärmann, Zwickau 1833.
  • Caxtoniana: A Series of Essays on Life, Literature, and Manners (1864)

Collections

  • The Student: A Series of Papers (1835)
  • Eva, a True Story of Light and Darkness, the Ill-Omened Marriage, Other Tales & Poems (1842)

literature

Biographies and Monographs
Essays
  • Bernd-Peter Lange: Edward Bulwer-Lytton: The Coming Race. In: Hartmut Heuermann (Ed.): The science fiction novel in Anglo-American literature. Interpretations. Bagel, Düsseldorf 1986, pp. 31-46. ISBN 3-590-07454-X
Lexicons

Web links

Commons : Edward Bulwer-Lytton  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikisource: Edward Bulwer-Lytton  - Sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Julian Strube: Vril. An occult elemental force in theosophy and esoteric neo-Nazism . Wilhelm Fink, Munich / Paderborn 2013, ISBN 978-3-7705-5515-4 , especially pp. 55–64.
  2. ↑ Lotte Burkhardt: Directory of eponymous plant names - Extended Edition. Part I and II. Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin , Freie Universität Berlin , Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-946292-26-5 doi: 10.3372 / epolist2018 .
predecessor Office successor
New title created Baron Lytton
1866-1873 		Robert Bulwer-Lytton
personal data
SURNAME Bulwer-Lytton, Edward, 1st Baron Lytton
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bulwer-Lytton, Edward George (full name);

Bulwer-Lytton (alternative spelling); Bulwer-Lytton, Edward George Earl (alternative spelling); Bulwer-Lytton, Sir Edward (alternative spelling); Bulwer-Lytton, E. (alternative spelling); Bulwer-Lytton, Lord Edward (alternative spelling); Bulwer-Lytton, Baron Edward (alternative spelling); Bulwer, EL (alternative spelling); Bulwer, Edward (alternative spelling); Bulwer, Edward George Earle Lytton (alternative spelling); Lytton, Baron Edward Bulwer (alternative spelling); Lytton, Bulwer (alternative spelling); Lytton, E. Bulwer (alternative spelling); Lytton, Edward B. (alternative spelling); Lytton, Edward Bulwer (alternative spelling); Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lord (alternative spelling); Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton (alternative spelling); Lytton, Edward George Bulwer (alternative spelling); Lytton, Edward George Earl Bulwer (alternative spelling); Lytton, Lord (alternative spelling); Lytton, Lord Edward Bulwer (alternative spelling); Lytton, Sir Bulwer (alternative spelling); Lytton, Sir E. Bulwer (alternative spelling); Lytton, Sir Edward Bulwer (alternative spelling); B., EGL (pseudonym); Caxton, Pisistratus (pseudonym); Meredith, Owen (pseudonym)

BRIEF DESCRIPTION English novelist
DATE OF BIRTH May 25, 1803
PLACE OF BIRTH London
DATE OF DEATH January 18, 1873
Place of death Torquay