The results of the Bulwer-Lytton contest are in, and they’re pretty amusing.
The Bulwer-Lytton contest, for those that don’t know, is an award given for the worst opening sentence of an imaginary novel. It’s run by Dr. Scott Rice, who was chair of the San Jose State English department when I was an undergraduate. It’s named after the author of Paul Clifford (which opens “It was a dark and stormy night…”), now-obscure Victorian Novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton. Prof. Rice is responsible for me reading The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman
Fun fact: Andi Watson alludes to the Bulwer-Lytton Contest in Glister 1: Haunted Teapot
