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Original Title: | Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor |
ISBN: | 0143039326 (ISBN13: 9780143039327) |
Edition Language: | English |
Characters: | John Ridd, Lorna Doone, Carver Doone |
Setting: | Exmoor,1685(United Kingdom) |

R.D. Blackmore
Paperback | Pages: 750 pages Rating: 3.73 | 14509 Users | 631 Reviews
Present Out Of Books Lorna Doone
Title | : | Lorna Doone |
Author | : | R.D. Blackmore |
Book Format | : | Paperback |
Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
Pages | : | Pages: 750 pages |
Published | : | September 28th 2006 by Penguin Classics (first published 1869) |
Categories | : | Classics. Fiction. Historical. Historical Fiction. Romance |
Explanation Concering Books Lorna Doone
This enduring 19th century classic (never out of print since it was first published) has been on my radar ever since I saw an old black-and-white film version of it as a kid; but my interest was really piqued by the 2000 BBC/A&E miniseries adaptation. (As it turns out, I would rate the fidelity of the latter to the book at only about 65%; but that's another discussion!) Recently, I nominated it as a common read in the classics group I belong to here on Goodreads, and it won the poll.Author Blackmore was a native of the Exmoor region where this novel is set, and well versed in its history and lore. Interestingly, his plot here isn't wholly invented; the exiled nobles-turned-outlaws, the Doones, were remembered in the area as having really lived, back in the days of Monmouth's rebellion (1685), as were Lorna Doone and John Ridd. With some liberties, the locations and buildings described in the book are real as well. The edition I read, the 1944 one from Dodd Mead's Great Illustrated Classics series, actually has black-and-white photographs of several of these, as well as of a contemporary portrait of Lorna herself (which shows her to be a genuinely beautiful young woman). Of course, by 1869, oral tradition recorded only the barest outlines of the events of those days; it provided the germ of the idea here, but all of the substance of the story is Blackmore's own.
In style and substance, this tale is very much in the Romantic manner, with an appeal to the emotions, a setting that includes a lot of pure wild nature (with both its beauty and its danger --the bogs can be lethal), adventure, and passionate but pure love at its heart. Modern readers might question whether John and Lorna fall for each other too readily and quickly, since they haven't actually had much interaction by the time they fall in love (that's not a spoiler, since we know from the Goodreads description that they do!). In the historical context, however, I would say that this isn't unrealistic. Young people in that era didn't date (and didn't expect to); they took for granted that they had to size each other up seriously in what limited interaction they had, and didn't require as much time to make up their minds. (They also were socialized to be psychologically open to the idea of marriage and commitment as a natural and positive thing, not a horrible fate to be evaded and staved off as long as possible.) John's first-person narration has, at times, a strain of dry, often unconscious humor; and John is himself an interesting character: honest to the core, a cross between naivete and peasant shrewdness, slow to anger but really formidable when he's roused (he's well over six feet tall, and strong in proportion), magnanimous to a fault, much smarter than he lets people think, with plenty of virtues to admire and a few foibles that make you occasionally want to swat him. The other characters are wonderfully drawn and brought to vivid life, too, and the family relationships and other personal interactions are as real as life (and, like life, sometimes entail some painful lessons). Blackmore's well aware that even good people aren't perfect. He manages to give the reader a feel for the rhythms and routines of 17th-century farm and community life, for the role of simple Christian faith in the character's lives, and the folkways of a vanished rural culture. And he's to be commended, IMO, for daring to depict a love that crosses two of the most yawning chasms that divided 17th --and 19th-- century English society (poor commoner vs. wealthy nobility, and Protestant vs. Catholic --though he doesn't develop the latter theme as much as the former).
As a rule, 19th-century diction in a novel doesn't bother me. Here, though, the author's style is SO digressive and orotund that it can at times be irritating. He's also consciously writing (because of the first-person narration) in a style that's meant to seem Jacobean, and so archaic even in Victorian times; and he reproduces West Country dialect, especially in the speech of the less-educated characters, very meticulously, and that style of speech can be quite difficult to understand in places. His narrative pace is also somewhat slow, in a plot that spans the years from November 1673 to 1685 and after (the opening chapters are, or seem, particularly slow-paced, since the reader isn't, at that point, already drawn in and used to the style); given that this is a 646-page novel, that makes it a slow read. There are places where the plotting, IMO, could benefit from being tauter. Given these considerations, a judicious editor could probably have cut the length by 100 pages, and improved the book. Concealed identity is a common plot trope in Romantic fiction from this era, but Blackmore doesn't handle it very well here. (view spoiler)[Lorna supposedly has no memory of being kidnapped at seven or eight years old, which is implausible, especially when she can still recognize her former nurse! (hide spoiler)]. John's narration is interlarded with irksome sexist comments; and while Lorna's no milksop, RDB does portray her very much in passive, damsel-in-distress mode, and he has a penchant for making her and other females faint or be prostrated by emotional stress, since their "weak" feminine nervous system can't handle such things and needs to be more sheltered. Aaaargh! (The miniseries was much more enlightened in its handling of female characters than the actual book is.) Altogether, these flaws cost the book a fifth star; but I still really enjoyed it overall, and felt that it earned its four!
Rating Out Of Books Lorna Doone
Ratings: 3.73 From 14509 Users | 631 ReviewsWrite-Up Out Of Books Lorna Doone
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 DooneJust as good the third time round as the first! I can't say anything that hasn't already been said so I'll just say what I liked and why. R. D. Blackmore's descriptions of the countryside and the Doone's valley are some of my favorite parts. One of my favorite chapters is chapter 8, where we first see inside Doone Valley. Next we have Tom the highwayman with his strawberry horse Jenny. What a pair. Tom manages to be endearing even when he's a thief with an eye for finery.Lorna Doone has a
The plethora of interesting aspects to this book makes it difficult to decide about which ones to write. John Ridd is a young boy living in the wilds of western England in the 17th century, when his father is murdered by a band of outlaws who torment, bully and rob the farmers and good people of Exmoor. The Doones occupy their own outlaw village and not only survive by robbing those around them but also prey on the their neighbors for sport. When John Ridds father stands up to these bullies, he

3rd ReviewFebruary 2018Read again to beguile the winter days. So beguiled. Enchanted. If you are the type of reader who might find great joy in listening to an old man telling his long and rambling love story of a life (imagine a comfortable fireside setting, cushy chairs, popcorn and cocoa) then you will adore this book. If you're the type of reader who would be impatient, bored or even annoyed in such a setting, you will not enjoy this book so leave it alone rather than revile it.Reader, you
What an awesome tale. Written in the 19th century, but telling a tale about the late 1600s during the times of Charles II and James II. Our hero, John Ridd is a simple, albeit wise and honorable farmer who as a young lad meets Lorna Doone of the dreaded, evil outlaw family of higher born Doones, and it's love at first sight. There are lots of ups and downs and surprises, along with the author's gorgeous prose describing the english countryside and farmlife. You have to pay attention though, as
Well---I think Blackmore outdoes the Brontes in romance and stirring action with Lorna Doone. The best romance action packed novel. I was so proud of myself as an eleven-year old when I read the "dumbed down" version of the book. They need to do a Young Adult version of Blackmore's heavy-weight novel so that readers allergic to anything over 250 pages will pick this one up for a good reading experience. OK---forget it you purists out there---I've already argued in favor of Classic Comics,
Being terrible for buying tons of books at a time, which then sit untouched on my physical and virtual shelves for years whilst I get distracted by newer, shinier books, I thought Id start this year by trying to get through some of my backlog. I picked Lorna Doone - this was a HUGE mistake, nearly robbing me of my reading mojo just two books into the new year.John Ridd is a farmer in the village of Oare and leads a simple enough life. Bringing in the harvest, going fishing, and hoping to avoid
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