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Edward George Earle Lytton,1st Baron Lytton (1803-1873), English novelist, dramatist, and politician, born in London, and educated at the University of Cambridge. After graduation in 1826, he figured prominently in British and Continental social circles, which were intimately described in Pelham (1828), his first popular novel. From 1831 to 1841 he was a Liberal member of Parliament, where he supported the Reform Bill of 1832. He broke with the Liberal party and in 1852 returned to Parliament as a Conservative. Lytton was appointed colonial secretary in 1858 and was created a baron in 1866. He wrote some two dozen novels over a period of 45 years as a writer, which spanned a range of genres: historical romances such as The Last Days of Pompeii (1834) and Rienzi (1835); science fiction, as in Zanoni (1842) and The Coming Race (1871); and philosophical novels, such as Ernest Maltravers (1837) and Alice (1838). All met with considerable success. Lytton was also the author of several successful plays, including The Lady of Lyons (1838) and Richelieu (1839) which were regularly performed throughout the 19th century. Among his other works are the novels Falkland (1827), Eugene Aram (1832), and The Caxtons (1849). |