Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore
I had heard glowing reports of this
story from a good friend who had watched the movie and informed me that I
really needed to watch it. :) While I haven’t yet seen the movie, my mother picked
this book up at the library book sale recently, thinking that it looked
interesting, and I was excited to finally read it.
The story was interesting and
extremely sad, and the words drew me in, once I had gotten past the first
chapter. I don’t know why exactly, but the first chapter bored me a bit, but
into the second chapter I grew extremely interested. There were several places
that I felt like I was reading poetry. Not that the words rhymed, but the
rhythm of the words was perfect, the pattern they made on my tongue and brain
was lovely, and they made reading an excellent story even better.
Lorna
Doone is the story of a young man who was robbed of his father at a young
age by the notorious outlaw Doones’, and grows up on a small farm, while the
entire neighborhood lives in terror of the Doones’, hardly daring to stir about
after dark, for fear that they will end up a stiff corpse.
Like most boys, John Ridd was
curious, and occasionally discarded his brain in pursuit of entertainment and
adventure. On one of those “brainless” occasions, he found himself in Glen
Doone, and face to face with an angel; Lorna Doone, affectionately dubbed
“queen,” by the ruthless outlaws.
Although he was fourteen, and she but
eight, the incident remained in the back of his mind; and seven years later he
returned to Glen Doone, (although it was a foolhardy thing to do, considering
that there were over forty male Doones’ ready to murder anyone who entered.)
and met the beautiful Lorna again. She tells him her sad story, such as she
knows it. As the book unfolds its secrets, we discover that Lorna knew only a
tiny fraction of her own story,), and John realizes that he is falling in love
with the lovely, trapped girl. He returns to meet with her many times, despite
the great danger, and Lorna finds that she has fallen completely in love with
John in return.
John must figure out how to save his
“princess,” from the “tower,” and he is obligated to also solve the forty year
problem of the Doones’, even traveling
to London
But then Lorna’s identity is
discovered.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, despite the difficult
beginning, (and who knows, I could be the only one who struggled with the
beginning.), and a few plot “holes.” Blackmore did an excellent job with the
story for the most part, but there were several places that I was confused and
unsure of important details. They were eventually explained slightly, but I
felt that it would have made much more sense to put those details in different
places than they were (and also in greater detail,), making it more
understandable for the reader. But other than those, and occasional missing
punctuation marks (which always bothers me in books. J,
Lorna Doone was
excellent, and I highly suggest adding it to your reading lists!
********
(eight out of ten
stars.)
Glad you liked it! I hope I do when I read it.
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