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Somerset - Lorna Doone by R. D. Blackmore


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SOMERSET
 
Lorna Doone by R. D. Blackmore
 
Synopsis:
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.
 
 
Other Somerset books:
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding
Far Distant Oxus by Arthur Ransome

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  • 3 years later...

Thread resurrection! 

 

I saw this one mentioned by a booktuber and she said it was one of her favourite books read in 2016. I have not heard of it  before but it sounds like something I would read. However... It is 750 pages long, meaning quite a time investment. Is it any good? Anything similar and more popular that it could be compared with, so I might get an idea if I'd like it?  

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I read this quite a while ago but once I got past the rather sluggish beginning I loved it - I did find the writing a bit flowery but enjoyed the story, plus I'd not long visited many of the places mentioned in the book, which helped with getting a strong sense of location whilst reading.  I started with a children's version which was heavily abridged, and then read the adult version a few years later, mind you I don't think my copy is over 700 pages long!

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I have to say, I'm halfway through and I'm finding it a bit laborious in places.  I desperately don't want to skim read it because it's an English Counties book, so I've put it aside for now, and will try and come back to it after a break to see if I can persevere with it at a later time.  The story itself is enjoyable, but it does seem overly long in places.

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I finished this one a while back, but only just getting around to writing a review.  My view hasn't changed much from the comments above, it was an enjoyable story, recounting the relationship between John Ridd and Lorna Doone, and starts in the time before their first meeting. It's written in the first person from John's point of view, and as I mostly listened to this on audiobook, the Somerset accent used by the narrator helped make this the perfect fit for the county. However, the story does drag at times, and I felt at times that I wanted the story to move on rather than dwelling on the same aspect of the time.

 

I don't really have much more to say, it was entertaining for the most part, but I would personally have preferred a more modern cut down style of writing, without the overlong spells that made me put it aside and take a break regularly, but definitely a book worthy of the challenge and gives a good flavour of the  coast and land that Somerset is (as I know, since it's my home county! :D).

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I agree about Lorna Doone, I did find some of the language a bit flowery and it took ages for the story to get going, although once it did I really enjoyed it.  It also helped that I'd recently visited a lot of the places mentioned in the book, which gives it a great sense of "place".

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