- Paul Clifford
infobox Book |
name = Paul Clifford
title_orig =
translator =
image_caption = Lord Lytton Omnibus edition - incl. "Paul Clifford"
author =Edward Bulwer-Lytton
cover_artist =
country =United Kingdom
language = English
series =
genre =Novel
publisher = George Routledge & Sons
release_date = 1830
media_type = Print (Hardback &Paperback )
pages = 436
isbn = NA
preceded_by =
followed_by ="Paul Clifford" is a novel published in 1830 by English author
Edward Bulwer-Lytton . It tells the life of Paul Clifford, a man who leads a dual life as both a criminal and an upscale gentleman. The book was successful upon its release. [ [http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/bulwer/baldellou2.html Bulwer-Lytton's Paul Clifford and Poe's tales ] ]Plot introduction
It contains the famous opening sentence:
"
It was a dark and stormy night ; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness."Allusions/references from other works
The opening of the book was the inspiration for San Jose State University's annual
Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest , which celebrates the worst in English writing. The contest includes a "Dark and Stormy night" section, which is intended to find the worst introduction that can be made from the beginning of that sentence. The competition highlights literary achievements of the most dubious sort; "We want writers with a little talent but no taste," says San Jose State English Professor Scott Rice.The line was also frequently parodied in
Charles Schulz ' "Peanuts "comic strip by showingSnoopy repeatedly starting a novel that starts with the first part of the opening sentence.In the book "
Two Years Before the Mast ",Richard Henry Dana, Jr. recounts with enthusiasm his reading of "Paul Clifford" while at sea off the California coast.References
External links
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