Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron Lytton

An English politician, poet, playwright, and prolific novelist. He was immensely popular with the reading public and wrote a stream of bestselling novels which earned him a considerable fortune. He coined the phrases "*the great unwashed*", "*pursuit of the almighty dollar*", "*the pen is mightier than the sword*", and that famous opening line, "*it was a dark and stormy night*."