Kenelm Chillingly

by Edward Bulwer-Lytton

My Very Dear Father, -- Obedient to your desire, I depart in search of real life and real persons, or of the best imitations of them. Forgive me, I beseech you, if I commence that search in my own way. I have seen enough of ladies and gentlemen for the they must be all very much alike in every part of the world. You desired me to be amused. I go to try if that be possible. Ladies and gentlemen are not amusing; the more ladylike or gentlemanlike they are, the more insipid I find them. My dear father, I go in quest of adventure like Amadis of Gaul, like Don Quixote, like Gil Blas, like Roderick Random; like, in short, the only people seeking real life, the people who never existed except in books. I go on foot; I go alone. I have provided myself with a larger amount of money than I ought to spend, because every man must buy experience, and the first fees are heavy. In fact, I have put fifty pounds into my pocketbook and into my purse five sovereigns and seventeen shillings. This sum ought to last me a year; but I dare say inexperience will do me out of it in a month, so we will count it as nothing. Since you have asked me to fix my own allowance, I will beg you kindly to commence it this day in advance. . . . Yours ever affectionately, Kenelm

Genres: Classics

500 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1873

About the author

Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton PC, was an English novelist, poet, playwright, and politician. Lord Lytton was a florid, popular writer of his day, who coined such phrases as "the great unwashed", "pursuit of the almighty dollar", "the pen is mightier than the sword", and the infamous incipit "It was a dark and stormy night."

He was the youngest son of General William Earle Bulwer of Heydon Hall and Wood Dalling, Norfolk and Elizabeth Barbara Lytton, daughter of Richard Warburton Lytton of Knebworth, Hertfordshire. He had two brothers, William Earle Lytton Bulwer (1799–1877) and Henry, afterwards Lord Dalling and Bulwer.

Lord Lytton's original surname was Bulwer, the names 'Earle' and 'Lytton' were middle names. On 20 February 1844 he assumed the name and arms of Lytton by royal licence and his surname then became 'Bulwer-Lytton'. His widowed mother had done the same in 1811. His brothers were always simply surnamed 'Bulwer'.

Reviews

[Nicole C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kenelm Chillingly is the son of noble parents, but he doesn't seem to quite fit in. Too philosophical for his own good, really. His father feels he should embark on a Grand Tour, but while his father is making formal preparations to do so, Kenelm sets out on his own, and the bulk of the books talk of his adventures and the people he meets along the way. He who scoffs at love eventually falls in it, and it really changes him. I'd never read any Bulwer-Lytton before, but he is very fond of the purple prose!

[Aruzhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is the best book I have ever read. The main character Kenelm Chillingly is very polite, mindful and wisdom person. I learnt so many things from him. I suggest it to young readers, although adults can like it. However, the weirdest thing is how this book ends. I read like all chapters in few days and stopped, when it came to the last chapter( I thought that he will marry to Lili( if I don’t forget her name)). After few days, I started to read last chapter, and I was just shocked. Actually after book, I read author’s life, so I guess this story from his life.

[Erin Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beyond Words

...200 years ago...and humankind is yet the same. We flow onwards... terribly beautiful, beautifully tragic. Bulwers novels are almost always too much to really take in without overflowing. This, lighthearted though at first it seemed to be, is no different. Recommended at all costs, as with all his other works.

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

The wit & wisdom of Kenelm Chilingly