R.D. Blackmore

Lorna Doone

Richard Doddridge Blackmore

In late seventeenth-century England, young John Ridd returns home to Exmoor and forms a forbidden but enduring friendship with Lorna Doone, the granddaughter of the head of the outlaw Doone clan responsible for the death of John's father. Reprint.

A Romance of Exmoor

Sarah Sammis

Back in March I tried to read Lorna Doone but realized too late that my copy was a horribly abridged edition. The book was barely recognizable as the original R. D. Blackmore romance. By July I had found a second, older and complete version and added it to my list for the Classics Challenge. In the meantime, other obligations got in the way and I was forced to leave Lorna Doone to the wire.

Lorna Doone is framed around the Monmouth rebellion but the book isn't a historical fiction. The Doone clan's ties to Monmouth serves as a way to explain their antagonism to John Ridd and his family. It's also a narrative excuse to throw in adventure, danger and derring-do.

In all of this political unrest, Lorna escapes the Doone clan and seeks refuge with Ridd's kith and kin. They had been friends (on and off and in secret) since they were children after a chance meeting at a waterfall. Though no one is pleased with John's plan to help Lorna for fear of retaliation from the Doones, he is supported and Lorna is welcomed into their household.

As so many romances do, Lorna Doone has a nail biting climax. If Blackmore had been writing a tragedy, the ending would have been very different. To the observant reader, the outcome won't be to much of a surprise (but still a relief) for the opening chapters where John, now an old man, is looking back on his life as his grandchildren tease him for his sentimentality.

Had I more time, I would have preferred to go through Lorna Doone in greater detail as I am doing with Don Quixote (next post coming in two weeks). Maybe sometime I will go back and reread Blackmore's novel a third time. Right now, though, I'm planning to walk through Ulysses after I finish with Don Quixote.

Sheila Goicea

I had a difficult time getting through this book. I read the adaption by Henry I. Christ, which was much shorter than the original. Even so, I did not particularly care for the style of writing. 

Blackmore wrote specifically in a phonologic style to play upon the accents of the characters, which, in my opinion, made the reading seem a bit childish. (To strive for this style I definitely give the author credit since that would take much time and effort diversifying the style of speech between each character). 

Overall, the story line was a bit slow to get into, but it made the ending all the sweeter.

This review can also been viewed on my blog: She's Going Book Crazy

Haleemah Sadiah

Kathy Rodger 

Bee 

Azra Čimpo

Pam Knights

The savage and powerful Doone family are feared and hated throughout the land for their marauding ways - and more than most by John Ridd, whose father they killed. But then he meets Lorna, and determines to rescue her from her evil family.

Rose Stanley

Deborah Meades

Reproduction of the original: Lorna Doone by R.D. Blackmore

Moray Lyle McIntosh

Ratri Adityarani

R. D. Blackmore

First published in 1869, Lorna Doone is the story of John Ridd, a farmer who finds love amid the religious and social turmoil of seventeenth-century England. He is just a boy when his father is slain by the Doones, a lawless clan inhabiting wild Exmoor on the border of Somerset and Devon. Seized by curiosity and a sense of adventure, he makes his way to the valley of the Doones, where he is discovered by the beautiful Lorna. In time their childish fantasies blossom into mature love—a bond that will inspire John to rescue his beloved from the ravages of a stormy winter, rekindling a conflict with his archrival, Carver Doone, that climaxes in heartrending violence. Beloved for its portrait of star-crossed lovers and its surpassing descriptions of the English countryside, Lorna Doone is R. D. Blackmore’s enduring masterpiece. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Lorna Doone

Reviews