A clan of murderous outlaws, a dashing highwayman, stolen jewels, family feuds, political intrigue, lots of beautiful scenery and a tender love story: R.D. Blackmore’s 1869 classic, Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor, has all of these things and more. Set in the south west of England in the seventeenth century, it tells the story of John Ridd, a yeoman farmer, and his love for the beautiful Lorna Doone.
John is twelve years old when his father is attacked and killed by a gang of Doones, a once noble family who fell out of favour at court and fled to an isolated Exmoor valley where they have since been leading wild and lawless lives. Being a child, there is no immediate action John can take, so he puts his desire for revenge aside and settles back into life at Plover’s Barrows farm with his mother and two younger sisters, Annie and Lizzie.
At fourteen, John has his first encounter with the eight-year-old Lorna after climbing a hill behind a steep waterfall and unexpectedly finding himself in the Doone Valley. Several years later they meet again as adults and fall in love, but there are many obstacles which must be overcome before they can have any chance of happiness. First there are John’s own feelings towards the Doones, and the fact that as granddaughter of Sir Ensor Doone, head of the family, Lorna’s social status is much higher than that of a humble farmer like John. To complicate things further, the brutal and violent Carver Doone intends to marry Lorna himself and will let nothing stand in his way.
I could tell from the beginning that I was going to enjoy Lorna Doone. It’s just the sort of classic I love! I suppose this could technically be classed as a re-read as I did own an abridged version of the book as a child, but I can barely remember reading it and huge chunks of the original must have been missing anyway (the full, unabridged version has more than 700 pages). I can only regret that it has taken me so long to decide to try it again as an adult.
Lorna Doone takes place during the final years of the reign of Charles II, the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685 and the Bloody Assizes which followed. If you don’t know much about this period of history it might be worth briefly reading up on it first, to gain an understanding of the novel’s historical context, but don’t worry – it’s easy enough to follow the story of John and Lorna even without this knowledge. As our narrator, John is the character we get to know best, following him as he grows from a child into a man. His narrative voice is honest, down-to-earth and often humorous. Lorna, though, is a typical Victorian heroine – beautiful, delicate, gentle, passive, and with a tendency to faint and swoon. I didn’t dislike her, but I preferred John’s two sisters: Annie, who has a romance of her own with the highwayman Tom Faggus (who is based on a real person, and whose horse, Winnie, is a great character in her own right), and the intelligent, sharp-tongued Lizzie.
There are lots of other characters, of course, all of whom play an important role in the story. These include Reuben Huckaback and his granddaughter, Ruth, who wants John to marry her; Lorna’s maid Gwenny Carfax, daughter of a Cornish miner; Counsellor Doone, the clever, scheming father of Carver; and Jeremy Stickles, the King’s messenger, who provides a link with London and the court. I should warn you that some of the characters speak in a strong dialect (for example, “there be a dale of faighting avore thee. Best wai to begin gude taime laike. Wull the geatman latt me in, to zee as thee hast vair plai, lad?”) but this is restricted mainly to one or two of the Ridds’ servants – as in many Victorian novels, dialect is used as an indication of class.
Blackmore devotes a lot of time to telling us about daily life at Plover’s Barrows and the things that are important to John and to his family, such as bringing in the harvest, fishing for loaches in the river and surviving a bad winter. I couldn’t help being reminded of Thomas Hardy – another author with a lot of affection for the countryside and country life. Doing a bit of research online, I was interested to discover that Hardy had read Lorna Doone in 1875 and wrote a letter to Blackmore, mentioning “the kindred sentiment between us in so many things”. Lorna Doone is set in Somerset and Devon and there are lots of vivid descriptions of the beautiful landscapes. I particularly loved reading about John Ridd’s adventures in the secluded, hidden valley of the Doones; every time he enters it in search of Lorna, whether through the waterfall or the forbidding Doone Gate, it’s almost as if the reader is being pulled into another world.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Lorna Doone and now I’m curious as to why it seems to be the only one of Blackmore’s many novels that has stood the test of time and is still in print. His others are available as ebooks and on Project Gutenberg, but before I investigate further I would love to know if any of you have read them and if so, did you find them worth reading?
She Reads Novels 
For a long time I thought Lorna Doone was R.D.Blackmore’s only novel. I haven’t read any of his other books yet, but I am going to read Mary Anerley: A Tale of Yorkshire for the Reading Yorkshire Challenge
Mary Anerley sounds like a good one. I’ll be interested to know what you think of it if you do read it for the challenge.
Wow, reading your review really takes me back! I read Lorna Doone as a young teenager and remember being swept away with the romance, the danger and the intrigue. I’d not realised before, but it sounds like the version I read must have been abridged, as I think I’d have baulked at 700 pages back then. If I come across a copy, I might well give it a reread in the original for a walk down memory lane, and to see what I missed out on the first time!
I think I was probably nine or ten when I first read this book and it was a heavily abridged children’s edition. Most of the story was completely new to me this time round, so I would definitely recommend giving it a reread in its original form.
I remember enjoying Lorna Doone – it was one of our required texts for ‘O’ Level English, but, like you, I wanted to shake Lorna sometimes. However I’ve never read any other Blackmore – must search them out now that I’ve been reminded of him.
His books all sound interesting, but I’m wondering whether there’s a reason why Lorna Doone is the only one still in print. I would like to try at least one of his others to find out.
i love this book without having ever read it. I only read glimpses of it throughout my childhood and adulthood. I keep meaning to sit down and read it properly but this never happens. This review was enjoyable to read! You description of it makes it sound like a detailed book which can be relished.
I hope you have the opportunity to read the whole book one day. It’s a great story and I’m sure you would enjoy it. 🙂
I sure do hope so! 😛
I love Lorna Doone! It’s been years since I read it, but I can still remember the delightful writing style and the exciting story. I wasn’t aware the Blackmore wrote more novels, either.
I didn’t know he had written more books either until I read this one and looked up some information on the author. I loved his writing style, so if his other novels are similar I would definitely be interested in trying them.
Me too!
It’s been on the TBR for AGES! It always sounded as the sort of story I’d love (actually I know for sure because I saw the TV adaptation). By the way, did you know there’s Lorna Doone cookies? I wonder if they’re any good http://c1.q-assets.com/images/products/p/kft/kft-537_1z.jpg
Yes, I think this could be your sort of book – especially if you enjoyed the TV adaptation. 🙂 I have heard of the cookies, but haven’t tasted them.
I’ve wanted to read it since I saw the edition with that beautiful cover while shelving books in the library a few years ago — the painting is just stunning. I did see the TV miniseries a few years ago and loved it (who knew Richard Coyle was such a hottie after playing the geek in Coupling?).
And I have tasted Lorna Doone cookies, they are just boring American “shortbread,” not nearly as good as the real thing. Not a patch on Walker’s.
I love the painting on the cover too. I haven’t seen the miniseries with Richard Coyle, but I would like to now that I’ve read the book and enjoyed it so much.
‘A clan of murderous outlaws, a dashing highwayman, stolen jewels, family feuds, political intrigue, lots of beautiful scenery and a tender love story’ – this sounds wonderful 🙂
It is wonderful! I know it’s only January but I’ll be surprised if this isn’t on my list of favourites at the end of the year. 🙂
My mom loves this book and has been telling me to read it for years. I don’t know why I keep putting it off. Maybe it’s because of the length. But it does sound good, especially with characters like Tom’s two sisters. I’ll have to scrounge up my mom’s copy. 🙂 Great review!
The length does seem daunting at first, but it was actually a quicker read than I’d expected.
I was reading your review and trying to think why the name sounded so familiar. It was the cookies! Yes they are American shortbread cookies, nothing too exciting, especially for me because there is no chocolate involved! But I remember them being around in my childhood. The book sounds better!
I’ve never tried the cookies, but yes, I’m sure the book is better!
I don’t know how this was off my radar for so long. Excellent review, definitely adding this to TBR.
This doesn’t seem to be a classic that gets a lot of attention, does it? It’s definitely worth adding to your TBR!