Bulwer-Lytton, Edward George (1803-1873)

Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, the immensely popular novelist of Pelham, The Last Days of Pompeii and Rienzi, reached Eliot as a critic whose judgment she took seriously. He sent her publisher John Blackwood a critical letter on The Mill on the Floss, and in July 1860 Eliot answered Blackwood conceding two of his points, that Maggie was too passive in the quarrel in the Red Deeps and that the tragedy was not adequately prepared, while defending Maggie's position towards Stephen as vital to her whole conception. He had likewise found fault with Adam Bede, and biographers record that Eliot looked to the preface of his historical novel Rienzi for guidance when she set out to write Romola. His dealings with Lewes were friendly but slight: he sent Lewes letters of introduction for a son going to Natal in 1863, and Lewes praised his play The Rightful Heir in 1868. His one surviving letter to Lewes is from Knebworth, October 1, 1863. There is no record of Eliot ever meeting him in person; his closest tie to the household was through his son Robert, Lewes's intimate friend.

George Eliot Archive, edited by Beverley Park Rilett, https://GeorgeEliotArchive.org

Edward George Bulwer-Lytton (1803-1873), Bulwer-Lytton, Edward George (1803-1873), Social Network Gallery, George Eliot Archive, edited by Beverley Park Rilett, https://GeorgeEliotArchive.org, Accessed November 11, 2026. https://www.georgeeliotarchive.org/items/show/97177