Lorna doone novel

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And in shaping this old tale, the Writer neither dares, nor desires, to claim for it the dignity or cumber it with the difficulty of an historic novel. And he knows that any son of Exmoor, chancing on this volume, cannot fail to bring to mind the nurse-tales of his childhood—the savage deeds of the outlaw Doones in the depth of Bagworthy Forest, the beauty of the hapless maid brought up in the midst of them, the plain John Ridd's Herculean power, and memory's too congenial food the exploits of Tom Faggus. Few things have surprised me more, and nothing has more pleased me, than the great success of this simple tale. For truly it is a grand success to win the attention and kind regard, not of the general public only, but also of those who are at home with the scenery, people, life, and language, wherein a native cannot always satisfy the natives. Although not half so good as that, it has entered many a tranquil, happy, pure, and hospitable home, and the author, while deeply grateful for this genial reception, ascribes it partly to the fact that his story contains no word or thought disloyal to its birthright in the fairest county of England. In the first place, it seems to us that of the countless thousands of books that have been written in all the various languages, and during the many ages since first man took to scribbling, no one has ever yet appeared which is the equal of this in its delicate and beautiful touches of both nature and human nature.

Lorna doone novel

I doubt it would hold the interest of a younger reader. The Doone family is a notorious family of outlaws. But they are a branch of a noble family, and between initial respect for their pedigree, pity for their misfortunes, and later on, sheer terror of their ruthless thievery, the Doones have become an established fact on Exmoor. John Ridd, called back from school when his father is shot by the Doones, grows up under their shadow. Both of them are in their early teens at this point, and they become friends—and the danger of being friends adds a certain spice to it. At this point, Lorna seems a pretty flat character. Moreover when she tells her story for herself, she spends most of her time crying. Later on, you do get to know her a little better. Eventually—and this is a very condensed version—Lorna nearly starves to death in a tremendously long and deep snowstorm, but John rescues her and brings her to his farm. In fact, she is not a Doone at all; she belongs to a sister branch of the family and part of the reason she was so carefully guarded by the Doones was because they wanted to marry her to one of them and take control again of the immense family fortune. She goes, vowing loyalty to John. Just enough to scare you, and make you ready to throw the book in the fire if she does make such a stupid choice.

Like enough he knew not right from wrong, at that time of night. John Fry was scratching his head, I could see, lorna doone novel getting blue in the face, by the light from Cop's parlour-window, and going to and fro upon Smiler, as if he were hard set with it.

To report an issue with this product or seller, click here. Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness. Purchase options and add-ons. Ridd's rivalry with the villainous Carver Doone reaches a dramatic climax that will determine Lorna's future happiness.

It is a romance based on a group of historical characters and set in the late 17th century in Devon and Somerset , particularly around the East Lyn Valley area of Exmoor. Blackmore experienced difficulty in finding a publisher, and the novel was first published anonymously in , in a limited three-volume edition of just copies, of which only sold. The following year it was republished in an inexpensive one-volume edition and became a huge critical and financial success. It has never been out of print. George Gissing wrote in a letter to his brother Algernon that the novel was "quite admirable, approaching Scott as closely as anything since the latter". By his own account, Blackmore relied on a "phonologic" style for his characters' speech, emphasising their accents and word formation. Blackmore incorporated real events and places into the novel. The Great Winter described in chapters 41—45 was a real event.

Lorna doone novel

And in shaping this old tale, the Writer neither dares, nor desires, to claim for it the dignity or cumber it with the difficulty of an historic novel. And he knows that any son of Exmoor, chancing on this volume, cannot fail to bring to mind the nurse-tales of his childhood—the savage deeds of the outlaw Doones in the depth of Bagworthy Forest, the beauty of the hapless maid brought up in the midst of them, the plain John Ridd's Herculean power, and memory's too congenial food the exploits of Tom Faggus. Few things have surprised me more, and nothing has more pleased me, than the great success of this simple tale. For truly it is a grand success to win the attention and kind regard, not of the general public only, but also of those who are at home with the scenery, people, life, and language, wherein a native cannot always satisfy the natives. Although not half so good as that, it has entered many a tranquil, happy, pure, and hospitable home, and the author, while deeply grateful for this genial reception, ascribes it partly to the fact that his story contains no word or thought disloyal to its birthright in the fairest county of England. In the first place, it seems to us that of the countless thousands of books that have been written in all the various languages, and during the many ages since first man took to scribbling, no one has ever yet appeared which is the equal of this in its delicate and beautiful touches of both nature and human nature. We have had, in various ways, abundant proof that our feeling in this respect is not individual to ourselves, and we desire to thank heartily the many friends who have sent us their words and letters of encouragement, sympathy, and interest during the past year as they have by chance become aware of our plans. While there were creditable editions already published, the fact that none existed just such as we ourselves wished for our own library was our primary incentive in undertaking this task. The labor upon which we entered was in short, one of love, and great as has been the expenditure of time, trouble, and money in the preparation of this book, we have faith to believe that there are a sufficient number of lovers of the peerless maiden, Lorna , to greet her appearance in this new dress with an enthusiasm that will in time repay us.

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I'm telling you, when you actually feel more for the characters who are rapists, murderers and thieves, you're in a lot of trouble. Like enough, we could meet them man for man if we chose all around the crown and the skirts of Exmoor , and show them what a cross-buttock means, because we are so stuggy; but in regard of stature, comeliness, and bearing, no woman would look twice at us. But, above all things, have good care to exercise this art before the master strides up to his desk, in the early gray of the morning. For women, as it seems to me, like strong men more than weak ones, feeling that they need some staunchness, something to hold fast by. Counsellor Doone came in ere yet my mother was herself again; and if any sight could astonish her when all her sense of right and wrong was gone astray with the force of things, it was the sight of the Counsellor. Although he praises honesty and the simple life, a person can carry anything too far. She was in a state of intense delight at our disappointment about the ruins, and discussed the situation in that soft Somersetshire accent that gives such breadth and jollity to the language. In the end, I feel like she did exactly the right thing. For in the front seat of the coach, which was half-way open, being of the city-make, and the day in want of air, sate the foreign lady, who had met me at the pump and offered to salute me. There are plenty of fish all down this way, and the farther you go the larger they get, having deeper grounds to feed in; and sometimes in the summer months, when mother could spare me off the farm, I came down here, with Annie to help because it was so lonely , and caught well-nigh a basketful of little trout and minnows, with a hook and a bit of worm on it, or a fern-web, or a blow-fly, hung from a hazel pulse-stick. The protagonist tells the tale of the Doones, who were a noble family turned into a band of outlaws. Purchase options and add-ons.

First published in , 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.

Meanwhile, dear mother was falling asleep, having been troubled so much about me; and Watch, my father's pet dog, was nodding closer and closer up into her lap. When he thwarts an attack on Lorna's great-uncle and legal guardian Earl Brandir, John is granted a pardon, a title, and a coat of arms by the king and returns a free man to Exmoor The set up being the countryside of South West England, Blackmore brings to light the charming lives of farmers and the undisturbed natural habitat of Exmoor thorough his beautiful and captivating descriptions. To report an issue with this product or seller, click here. Can't say I'll be queueing up any more of Blackmore to read though. It starts off slowly; I think it took me several weeks to make it through the first third of the book. Novels by R. I read it relatively late in life, past my mid seventies and found the novel to fill in gaps in my knowledge and understanding of English history and life that I did not even know were there. Enough that no gun was fired at her, only her eyes were covered over, and somebody led her by the hand, without any wish to hurt her. John discovers that Lorna has survived, and after a period of anxious uncertainty they live happily ever after. Some people may think nought of this, being in practice with longer shots from the tongue than from the shoulder; nevertheless, to do as above is, to my ignorance, very good work, if you can be sure to do it. Worth it, and worth it, and worth it again.