The Caxtons: A Family Picture
by: Edward Bulwer (Lord) Lytton

Hardcover. NY, Harper and Brothers, reprint, 1860, Hardcover in embossed maroon cloth with gilt lettering on the spine, 505 pages plus publisher's ads. First published in 1849, a Victorian novel that follows the Caxton family: scholarly Austin working on his grand history, his wife Kitty, his brother Roland the Captain, and Austin's son Pisistratus who narrates. Their quiet country life shifts when young Pisistratus becomes secretary to a parliamentary leader, falls for his employer's daughter, and faces heartbreak alongside his father's financial troubles. This gentle, humorous family portrait marked a turning point in Victorian fiction. A light tan stain at the very corner tip of the pages, small price on front fly leaf, otherwise a tight, clean copy.