The Caxtons - A Family Picture by Edward Bulwer-Lytton - is an 1849 Victorian novel by Edward Bulwer-Lytton that was popular in its time.The book was first serialized anonymously in Blackwood's Magazine from April 1848 to October 1849, and first published in novel form (in three volumes) in Britain in 1849. In the United States, it was serialized in Harper's Magazine (1850-53) and Littell's Living Age (1850-52).The novel was "instantly popular" in Britain and also sold 35, 000 copies within three years of its release in the United States.The Caxtons are Austin Caxton, a scholar engaged on a great work, "The History of Human Error;" his wife Kitty, much his junior; his brother Roland, the Captain, who has served in the Napoleonic campaigns; the two children of the latter, Herbert and Blanche; and Austin's son, Pisistratus, who tells the story. The quiet country life of the family of Austin Caxton is interrupted by a visit to London. There Pisistratus, who has had a good school education, though he has not yet entered the university, is offered the position of secretary to Mr. Trevanion, a leader in Parliament.