Paul Clifford

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Paul Clifford
Lord Lytton Omnibus edition - incl. "Paul Clifford"
Author	Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Genre(s)	Novel
Publisher	George Routledge & Sons
Publication date	1830
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	436
ISBN	NA

This article is about the 1830 novel. For the British band member, see The Wonder Stuff.

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.^[1]

1 Plot introduction
2 Allusions/references from other works
3 References
4 External links

[edit] 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."

[edit] 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 showing Snoopy 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.