It was a dark and stormy night Quiz

Answer: Washington Irving

Although it is accepted that previous authors may coincidentally have also used the phrase, Washington Irving is first recorded as having used it in a mockfactual satirical 1809 work, 'The History of New York'. It is part of the opening sentence to the fourth paragraph of the book's fifth chapter. The whole sentence reads: 'It was a dark and stormy night when the good Antony arrived at the creek (sagely denominated Haerlem river) which separates the island of Manna-hata from the mainland.'

Answer: 'Paul Clifford'

Edward Bulwer-Lytton's fictional work 'Paul Clifford' is about a respected gentleman who has a secret life as a highwayman and was published in 1830. The novel begins: 'It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents, except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the house-tops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.' It is not known whether the author was aware of the phrase having been previously used, possibly more than once.

Answer: An example of bad writing

From the publication in 1830 of Englishman Edward Bulwer-Lytton's book, 'Paul Clifford', the whole sentence the above phrase was part of and the book itself seems to have been regarded as overly melodramatic, too long and too flowery by critics. Although the phrase itself quickly became viewed as, and mocked as, a cliché, the book was popular at the time and was in keeping with the then style of fiction writing in England.

Answer: The pen is mightier than the sword

Sayings expressing very similar sentiments had been written by earlier authors, such as George Whetstone in ' Heptameron of Civil Discourses' (1582) who wrote "The dashe of a Pen, is more greeuous then the counterbuse of a Launce". However Edward Bulwer-Lytton, the author of 'Paul Clifford' (1830), the book in the question, is acknowledged as having invented the phraseology of the now well-known phrase 'The pen is mightier than the sword'.

He did this in his historical play 'Cardinal Richelieu' (1839) in which the titular character is a churchman who cannot physically fight opponents but instead fights with words to influence people.

Answer: Overlong and convoluted

Although it appeared in a book popular at the time ('Paul Clifford' (1830) by Edward Bulwer-Lytton) the book's style and the sentence of which the phrase is a part have come to be cited as an example of 'purple' and overly dramatic nineteenth century English prose.

In 1982 Professor Scott Rice devised the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest and the winner of this is the one deemed to have written the worst opening to a bad work of fiction. The winner in 2020 was Lisa Kluber with: 'Her Dear John missive flapped unambiguously in the windy breeze, hanging like a pizza menu on the doorknob of my mind.'

Answer: No

Despite many decades of criticism of 'Paul Clifford' (1830) written by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, the book in which the phrase appears, another and more favourable opinion has been emerging. The matter was even the subject of a public debate between Henry Lytton Cobbold, the author's great-great-great-grandson and a strong critic, Professor Scott Rice. Among other things, the former pointed out that creating a phrase which entered common use was a great achievement. Professor Rice apparently made a few concessions and other literary critics are now accepting that the book was typical of its time and should be judged by the standards that prevailed then.

Answer: 'Les Trois Mousquetaires ' by Alexandre Dumas

Appearing in 1844, 'Les Trois Mousquetaires' or 'The Three Musketeers' by Alexandre Dumas begins 'C'etait une nuit orageuse et sombre' with the French equivalents of 'dark' and 'stormy' transposed. The book itself is about the adventures of musketeers in seventeenth France, and includes Cardinal Richelieu, the titular character in a slightly earlier play, the 1839 'Cardinal Richelieu' by Edward Bulwer-Lytton.

The latter was also the author of the 1830 book 'Paul Clifford' which was opened by the phrase in the question.

It is not known for certain whether Dumas was aware of the earlier novel but it does not seem impossible.

Answer: 'Let's All Kill Constance' by Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury's detective story, 'Let's All Kill Constance', was published in 2002 and starts with the phrase being spoken by the book's narrator. Edward Bulwer-Lytton's well-known use of the phrase in his 1830 book, 'Paul Clifford' led to it being much criticised and the narrator in Ray Bradbury's book then apologises and rewords his description of the night. Ray Bradbury's book itself is set in 1960 and includes a passing reference to his most famous book, 'Fahrenheit 451', which was published in 1963 and is of a different genre, being set in a dystopian future.

Answer: Janet and Allan Ahlberg

Allan Ahlberg wrote and his wife Janet illustrated many books for children, including 'It was a dark and stormy night', which was published in 1993. In this story a young boy is kidnapped and imprisoned by pirates and must tell his captors stories about themselves and their deeds until he eventually works out a method of escaping. This book is among a number of books, comics, television shows and so on that make different uses of this phase, popularised by Edward Bulwer-Lytton in his 1830 book, 'Paul Clifford'.

Answer: Snoopy

The phrase in the question was originally brought to popular notice by Edward Bulwer-Lytton beginning his book, 'Paul Clifford' (1830), with these words and it became known as a cliche. Snoopy was Charlie Brown's dog in the cartoon strip 'Peanuts' by Charles M. Schulz, which ran in newspapers between 1950 and 2000. Snoopy many times tries to write what was termed the 'Great American Novel' but only manages these first seven words.

In fact Charles M. Schulz published a book entitled 'Snoopy and 'It was a dark and stormy night' in 1971 which showed the canine hero finishing his very short book and it being published.