Editing Edward Bulwer-Lytton (section)

==Literary works==
Bulwer-Lytton's literary career began in 1820 with the publication of a book of poems and spanned much of the 19th century. He wrote in a variety of genres, including historical fiction, mystery, romance, the occult and science fiction. He financed his extravagant way of life with a varied and prolific literary output, sometimes publishing anonymously.<ref name="Drabble2000pp147"/> [[File:Pelham.jpg|thumb|360px|right|1849 printing of ''[[Pelham (novel)|Pelham]]'' with Hablot K. Browne ([[Phiz]]) frontispiece: Pelham's electioneering visit to the Rev. Combermere St Quintin, who is surprised at dinner with his family.]]

Bulwer-Lytton published ''[[Falkland (novel)|Falkland]]'' in 1827, a novel which was only a moderate success.{{sfn |Waugh |1911 |p=185}} But ''[[Pelham (novel)|Pelham]]'' brought him public acclaim in 1828 and established his reputation as a wit and dandy.<ref name="Drabble2000pp147"/> Its intricate plot and humorous, intimate portrayal of pre-Victorian dandyism kept gossips busy trying to associate public figures with characters in the book.{{sfn |Waugh |1911 |p=185}} ''Pelham'' resembled Benjamin Disraeli's first novel ''[[Vivian Grey]]'' (1827).<ref name="Drabble2000pp147"/> The character of the villainous Richard Crawford in ''[[The Disowned]]'', also published in 1828, borrowed much from that of banker and forger [[Henry Fauntleroy]], who was hanged in London in 1824 before a crowd of some 100,000.<ref>Richard Davenport-Hines, "Fauntleroy, Henry (1784–1824)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford, UK: OUP, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/9212 Retrieved 12 October 2017.]</ref>

Bulwer-Lytton admired Disraeli's father [[Isaac D'Israeli]], himself a noted author. They began corresponding in the late 1820s and met for the first time in March 1830, when Isaac D'Israeli dined at Bulwer-Lytton's house. Also present that evening were [[Charles Pelham Villiers]] and [[Sir Alexander Cockburn, 12th Baronet|Alexander Cockburn]]. The young Villiers had a long parliamentary career, while Cockburn became [[Lord Chief Justice of England]] in 1859.

Bulwer-Lytton reached his height of popularity with the publication of ''England and the English'',<ref>{{cite web |title=Lord Beaconsfield's correspondence with his sister, 1832-1852 |website=[[Library of Congress]] |series=Harper's handy series |date=1886 |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/05000627/ |url-status=live |at=letter dated June 29, 1833 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819030315/https://www.loc.gov/item/05000627/ |archive-date=19 August 2020 }}</ref> and ''[[Godolphin (novel)|Godolphin]]'' (1833).{{sfn |Waugh |1911 |p=186}} This was followed by ''The Pilgrims of the Rhine'' (1834), ''[[The Last Days of Pompeii]]'' (1834), ''Rienzi, Last of the Roman Tribunes'' about [[Cola di Rienzo]] (1835),<ref name="Drabble2000pp147"/> ''[[Ernest Maltravers (novel)|Ernest Maltravers; or, The Eleusinia]]'' (1837), ''Alice; or, The Mysteries'' (1838), ''[[Leila; or, The Siege of Granada]]'' (1838), and ''Harold, the Last of the Saxons'' (1848).<ref name="Drabble2000pp147"/> ''The Last Days of Pompeii'' was inspired by [[Karl Briullov]]'s painting ''[[The Last Day of Pompeii]]'', which Bulwer-Lytton saw in [[Milan]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Harris |first=Judith |title=Pompeii Awakened: A Story of Rediscovery |url=https://archive.org/details/pompeiiawakeneds0000harr |url-access=registration |year=2007 |publisher=I.B. Tauris |isbn=978-1845112417 |page=[https://archive.org/details/pompeiiawakeneds0000harr/page/166 166]}}</ref>

His ''New Timon'' lampooned [[Alfred, Lord Tennyson|Tennyson]], who responded in kind.{{sfn |Waugh |1911 |p=186}} Bulwer-Lytton also wrote the horror story ''The Haunted and the Haunters; or, The House and the Brain'' (1859). Another novel with a supernatural theme was ''A Strange Story'' (1862), which was an influence on [[Bram Stoker]]'s ''[[Dracula]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w3-xlc8edbEC&q=%22A+Strange+Story+(1861),+which+was+to+influence+Bram+Stoker's+Dracula%22&pg=PR36 |title=The Coming Race |first=Edward |last=Bulwer-Lytton |year=2007 |publisher=Wesleyan University Press |via=Google Books |isbn=978-0819567352}}</ref>

Bulwer-Lytton wrote many other works, including ''[[Vril|Vril: The Power of the Coming Race]]'' (1871) which drew heavily on his interest in the occult and contributed to the early growth of the science fiction genre.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://io9.gizmodo.com/may-day-1871-the-day-science-fiction-was-invented-5796919 |title=May Day, 1871: The Day "Science Fiction" Was Invented |first=Jess |last=Nevins |website=io9 |date=29 April 2011 |access-date=13 March 2019 |archive-date=13 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190313062930/https://io9.gizmodo.com/may-day-1871-the-day-science-fiction-was-invented-5796919 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Its story of a subterranean race waiting to reclaim the surface of the Earth is an early science fiction theme. The book popularised the [[Hollow Earth]] theory and may have inspired "Nazi mysticism".<ref>{{Cite book |author=Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke |title=The Occult Roots Of Nazism |year=2004|orig-year=1985 |publisher=I.B. Tauris |isbn=1860649734}}</ref> His term "vril" lent its name to [[Bovril]] meat extract.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bovril |url=http://www.unilever.co.uk/brands/foodbrands/bovril.aspx |work=Unilever.co.uk |access-date=10 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120411060207/http://www.unilever.co.uk/brands/foodbrands/bovril.aspx |archive-date=11 April 2012 }}</ref> The book was also the theme of a fundraising event held at the [[Royal Albert Hall]] in 1891, the [[Vril-Ya Bazaar and Fete]].<ref>{{cite news |title='The Coming Race' and 'Vril-Ya' Bazaar and Fete, in joint aid of The West End Hospital, and the School of Massage and Electricity |url=https://memories.royalalberthall.com/content/coming-race-and-vril-ya-bazaar-and-fete-joint-aid-west-end-hospital-and-school-massage-and-1 |newspaper=Royal Albert Hall Memories |date=27 August 2019 |access-date=29 March 2021 |archive-date=12 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412195504/https://memories.royalalberthall.com/content/coming-race-and-vril-ya-bazaar-and-fete-joint-aid-west-end-hospital-and-school-massage-and-1 |url-status=dead }}</ref> "Vril" has been adopted by theosophists and occultists since the 1870s and became closely associated with the ideas of an [[Esoteric Nazism|esoteric neo-Nazism]] after 1945.<ref>Julian Strube. ''Vril. Eine okkulte Urkraft in Theosophie und esoterischem Neonazismus''. München/Paderborn: Wilhelm Fink 2013.</ref>

His play ''[[Money (play)|Money]]'' (1840) was first produced at the [[Theatre Royal, Haymarket]], London, on 8 December 1840. The first American production was at the Old Park Theater in New York on 1 February 1841. Subsequent productions include the [[Scala Theatre|Prince of Wales's Theatre]]'s in 1872 and as the inaugural play at the new [[California Theatre (San Francisco)|California Theatre]] in San Francisco in 1869.<ref>Don B. Wilmeth 2007) ''The Cambridge Guide to American Theatre''.</ref>

Among Bulwer-Lytton's lesser-known contributions to literature was that he convinced [[Charles Dickens]] to revise the ending of ''[[Great Expectations]]'' to make it more palatable to the reading public, as in the original version of the novel, Pip and Estella remain apart.<ref>John Forster's biography of Dickens</ref>