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What if the man society calls a criminal exposes the failings of those who enforce its laws?
Paul Clifford grows up in the London tavern of his guardian, Mrs. Margery Lobkins, with few clear paths toward respectability. An unjust imprisonment draws him closer to criminals rather than away from them. He becomes a gifted highwayman whose polished manners let him enter fashionable society without revealing his life on the road.
Then Paul falls in love with Lucy Brandon and seeks a different life. She sees qualities in him that his public identity cannot explain, but affection cannot erase their social distance. With robberies and the threat of capture pressing on the romance, Edward Bulwer-Lytton asks why poverty draws punishment while powerful wrongdoers escape scrutiny.
What you’ll discover
- An outlaw between worlds Follow Paul from criminal companionship into fashionable rooms where his manners conceal his occupation.
- Love across social boundaries Discover a romance in which Lucy's affection meets the hard limits of respectability.
- Justice under question See how an unjust imprisonment deepens the criminal ties it is meant to break.
- Clever arguments against respectability Meet Augustus Tomlinson, whose arguments challenge respectable society's claims to moral authority.
- The authority of law Encounter William Brandon, Lucy's ambitious lawyer uncle, closely tied to the law Paul defies.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you like comic crime stories, highwaymen, sharp satire of lords and lawyers, and a narrator who loves to talk to the reader. It suits anyone curious about Georgian London and the ideas behind reform.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Paul inherits a home and secrets
- Admiration teaches more than advice
- Pride drives Paul from home
- Honest work gives way to arrest
- Prison becomes a school for crime
- Respectable words make robbery seem acceptable
- Love exposes the cost of crime
- The judges also face judgment
- Notice who names the deed
Who’s who
- Paul CliffordA boy raised in the Mug who turns from mischief to highway robbery under the name Captain Lovett, and who longs to win Lucy.
- Lucy BrandonThe kind, merry daughter of a country squire, who loves animals, sings sweetly and holds to her trust in the man she loves.
- Dummie DunnakerA small, nervous rag merchant and pickpocket who keeps a secret about Paul's birth and watches over him in his own way.
- Mrs Margery LobkinsThe hard-drinking, quick-tempered keeper of the Mug, who raises Paul and dreams of a respectable future for him.
- Long Ned PepperA tall, vain highwayman with magnificent hair who leads Paul toward crime and cares chiefly about his own comfort.
- Augustus TomlinsonA bookish rogue and moderate Whig who excuses theft with philosophy and helps turn Paul toward a criminal life.
- William BrandonLucy's cold, brilliant uncle, a barrister who seeks a judgeship and a great marriage for his niece.
- Lord MaulevererA fashionable earl with a delicate stomach who wants to marry Lucy and keeps a careful eye on his dinner.
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Paul Clifford
by Edward Bulwer-Lytton · 1830
A boy raised in a London tavern called the Mug slides from pranks into the House of Correction and the highway.
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“It was a dark, stormy night.”
In short
What happens to a child who is raised in a tavern, jailed for a crime he did not commit, and then taught the trade by the men around him? Edward Bulwer-Lytton asks that question in Paul Clifford, and he answers it with a grin.
Paul Clifford at a glance
- Reading time
- About 11 h 40 min9 h 15 min fast, 13 h 55 min slow
- Length
- 166,700 words
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
- First published
- 1830by Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A dying mother leaves a boy at the Mug
The novel opens on a stormy night in one of the poorest corners of London. A small man named Dummie Dunnaker goes from shop to shop looking for a Bible for a dying woman called Judith. In the end a butcher hands him a book of plays bound to look like scripture.
Above the alehouse called the Mug, Judith raves on her bed. She makes Dummie swear to keep a secret, and she begs the landlady, Mrs Margery Lobkins, to raise the child. Judith dies within hours, and Dummie takes a bundle of letters from her trunk and hides them.
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Details
- First published
- 1830
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 13 h 15 min
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Bulwer-Lytton, Edward. Paul Clifford. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/paul-clifford.
Bulwer-Lytton, E. (2026). Paul Clifford. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/paul-clifford (Original work published 1830)
Bulwer-Lytton, Edward. Paul Clifford. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/paul-clifford.
@book{bulwerlytton2026paul,
author = {Bulwer-Lytton, Edward},
title = {Paul Clifford},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/paul-clifford},
note = {First published 1830}
}
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What is Paul Clifford about?
It tells of a boy raised in a London alehouse who is jailed unjustly, becomes a gentleman highwayman, and falls in love with a country squire's daughter named Lucy Brandon. It also satirizes law, prisons and fashionable society.
Who is Captain Lovett in Paul Clifford?
Captain Lovett is the name Paul uses as leader of his band of highwaymen. In Bath and with Lucy he goes by Clifford. Both names belong to the same man, which is a key point of the plot.
Why did Bulwer-Lytton write Paul Clifford?
His prefaces say he wanted to attack a prison system that corrupts young offenders and a criminal code that hangs them. He also wanted to show that vulgar vice and fashionable vice are alike.
The author
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
1803–1873 · English novelist and politician
Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803–1873) was a British novelist, playwright and politician. He was born in London and lived at Knebworth House in Hertfordshire. His novels include Paul Clifford (1830), The Last Days of Pompeii (1834), Zanoni (1842) and The Coming Race (1871). He served in Parliament and died in Torquay.
“It was a dark, stormy night.”
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