Physical description

Hard cover book. Night and Morning
Author: Lord Lytton
Illustrator: Victor Prout
Publisher: Collins Clear-Type Press
Date: 1890s–1910s
Further Information: Red Cloth plain hardcover with lettering and patterning to spine in gilt. The spine has a Library label with an inscription.

Publication type

fiction

Inscriptions & markings

The label on spine with typed text PAT VIC LYT
Paste down front end paper has a sticker from Warrnambool Mechanics Institute and Free Library covered by a sticker from Corangamite Regional Library Service
The first leaf inside front loose end paper has a stamp from Corangamite Regional Library Service

Summary

Night and Morning is a novel by Edward Bulwer-Lytton (later Lord Lytton), originally published in three volumes in 1841, although the preface reproduced in most later editions, including the subject volume, is dated 1845 and refers to a revised edition. The story centres on two orphaned siblings, Philip and Sidney, who are separated by misfortune and a scheming relative after their father's death, and who endure hardship and social injustice as they fight to reclaim their family's name and honour. The novel explores social justice, moral dilemmas and class distinctions, opening in a small Welsh village where Reverend Caleb Price grapples with his own failures, before a mysterious stranger arrives revealing plans for a secret marriage he wants kept quiet because of his wealthy uncle's likely disapproval. The plot turns heavily on inheritance law and the legitimacy of the brothers' birth; Lytton reportedly consulted a real lawyer on the legal plot points to get the details right in his novel.