[1] It is best known for its opening phrase "It was a dark and stormy night...", which helped inspire the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest.

Paul Clifford tells the story of a chivalrous highwayman in the time of the French Revolution.

While disguised as a gentleman for the purposes of a confidence trick, he meets and falls in love with Lucy Brandon.

[2] Although Paul Clifford is rarely read today, it contains one of the most widely known incipits in English literary history: "It was a dark and stormy night…".

It is frequently invoked for its atmospheric and neo-Gothic description, often in the mystery, detective, horror and thriller genres.