The Caxtons is a warm, unconventional family novel that turns from grand adventure to the comic, tender drama of home life. Edward Bulwer Lytton follows Pisistratus, a restless, gifted boy whose early brilliance, imagination, and sensitivity are gradually shaped by love, experience, and the quiet wisdom of his parents. In the opening household scenes, the book finds humor in domestic misunderstanding: Mr. Caxton, a bookish philosopher, greets his son's birth with astonished speculation, then reveals the odd, sincere story of how he married Kitty, the orphaned daughter of his tutor, out of duty, protection, and affection. The novel's heart lies in the Caxton home, where learning, eccentricity, and tenderness coexist. Mr. Caxton resists ceremony, debates his son's name, and teaches morality through reason, trust, and memorable practical lessons, including the famous broken flower-pot episode that turns honesty into a living truth. Pisistratus grows up on fairy tales, nursery lore, and imaginative storytelling, but his father eventually sends him to school, believing talent must be tempered by companionship and discipline. When the boy returns changed, less precocious and more ordinary, the family recognizes that lasting growth comes not from brilliance alone, but from being lovingly shaped within the circle of home. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.
