R. D. Blackmore
Encyclopedia
Richard Doddridge Blackmore (7 June 1825 – 20 January 1900), referred to most commonly as R. D. Blackmore, was one of the most famous English novelists of the second half of the nineteenth century. Over the course of his career, Blackmore achieved a close following around the world. He won literary merit and acclaim for his vivid descriptions and personification of the countryside, sharing with Thomas Hardy
a Western England background and a strong sense of regional setting in his works. Noted for his eye for and sympathy with nature, critics of the time described this as one of the most striking features of his writings.
Blackmore, often referred to as the "Last Victorian", acted as a pioneer of the new romantic movement in fiction that continued with Robert Louis Stevenson
and others. He may be said to have done for Devon
what Sir Walter Scott did for the Highlands and Hardy for Wessex
. Blackmore has been described as "proud, shy, reticent, strong-willed, sweet-tempered, and self-centred."
Though very popular in his time, Blackmore's work has since been largely ignored. Save for his novel Lorna Doone
, which has enjoyed considerable ongoing popularity, his entire body of work has gone out of publication. Consequently, his reputation rests chiefly upon this romantic work, in spite of the fact that it was not his personal favourite.
in Berkshire (now Oxfordshire
), one year after his elder brother Henry (1824–1875), where his father, John Blackmore, was Curate-in-charge
of the parish. His mother died a few months after his birth – the victim of an outbreak
of typhus
which had occurred in the village. After this loss Richard Blackmore moved to Bushey, Herts, then to his native Devon, first to Kings Nympton, then Culmstock
, Tor Mohun and later to Ashford
, in the same county. Richard, however, was taken by his aunt, Mary Frances Knight, and after her marriage to the Rev. Richard Gordon, moved with her to Elsfield
rectory
, near Oxford
. His father married again in 1831, whereupon Richard returned to live with him. Having spent much of his childhood in the lush and pastoral "Doone Country" of Exmoor, and along the Badgworthy Water (where there is now a memorial stone in Blackmore's honour), Blackmore came to love the very countryside he immortalised in Lorna Doone.
in Tiverton. He excelled in classical studies, and later won a scholarship to Oxford University, where he took his degree in 1847. During a university vacation he made his first attempt at writing a novel. This was the beginning of The Maid of Sker – not, in fact, completed until many years later, and eventually published in 1872.
After leaving Oxford and spending some time as a private tutor, Blackmore decided on a career in law. He entered the Middle Temple in 1849 and was called to the Bar in 1852. Ill-health, however, prevented him from continuing legal work as a full-time occupation and in 1854, he took the post of classics master at Wellesley House Grammar School, Hampton Road, Twickenham
. In later years this became the Metropolitan and City of London Police Orphanage and then Fortescue House School. Soon after accepting this position, he moved from London to No. 25 Lower Teddington Road, Hampton Wick – where he lived until he moved to his new home in Teddington
.
to Lucy Maguire. She was 26, a Roman Catholic and somewhat delicate; for which reason it is assumed that they never had any children. They were both fond of her sister Agnes’ four children and often had them to stay. As well as helping with their education, the Blackmores seem to have adopted Eva when she was 7. Theirs was described by Blackmore's sister as a "happy marriage."
, died and left his nephew a sum of money which enabled him to realise a long-held ambition of possessing a house in the country encompassed by a large garden. Blackmore’s father encouraged him in the scheme and helped him to carry it into effect.
Company, but he was unable to prevent the building of the railway station almost directly opposite his house.
"He is not a social man, and seems wedded to his garden in summer and his book writing in winter. That is all I know about him; except that he keeps the most vicious dogs to protect his fruit, and I would advise you to avoid the risk [of visiting him]."
This statement gives a rather distorted picture of Blackmore’s character. Although Blackmore was a man of a retiring disposition, pre-occupied with the demands of writing and fruit growing, he did, in fact, have a number of very intimate friends whom he met regularly. His works had a wide following in the United States and during his life he formed many friendships with Americans.
His wife’s health began to deteriorate and became critical by the beginning of January 1888, and she died at the end of that month. The funeral was held on 3 February 1888 in Teddington Parish Church, and she was buried in Teddington cemetery. After her death, Blackmore was looked after by her nieces, Eva and Adalgisa Pinto-Leite. Blackmore died at Teddington on 20 January 1900 after a long and painful illness, and was buried next to his wife, per his request. His final letter was to his sister Ellen, who likewise was suffering a terminal illness. Blackmore movingly ended his short Christmas letter of 1899 as follows:
Upon his death at the age of 74, a well-attended funeral in Teddington Cemetery, conducted by his old friend, the Reverend Robert Borland, was held in his honour. Four years after his death, in April 1904, a memorial to him was established in Exeter Cathedral. The result of work by a committee including his good friend, Thomas Hardy, Rudyard Kipling
, and James Barrie, it bore an address written by another writer from Devon, Eden Phillpotts
. A reduced copy of the memorial was also mounted in Oare Church; above it in the cathedral was a stained glass window depicting David, Jonathan, and Samson—the archetypes of courage, love, and strength, respectively. John Ridd and Lorna Doone are cast at the top of the window, not far from Carver Doone.
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...
a Western England background and a strong sense of regional setting in his works. Noted for his eye for and sympathy with nature, critics of the time described this as one of the most striking features of his writings.
Blackmore, often referred to as the "Last Victorian", acted as a pioneer of the new romantic movement in fiction that continued with Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
and others. He may be said to have done for Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
what Sir Walter Scott did for the Highlands and Hardy for Wessex
Wessex
The Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...
. Blackmore has been described as "proud, shy, reticent, strong-willed, sweet-tempered, and self-centred."
Though very popular in his time, Blackmore's work has since been largely ignored. Save for his novel Lorna Doone
Lorna Doone
Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor is a novel by Richard Doddridge Blackmore. 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....
, which has enjoyed considerable ongoing popularity, his entire body of work has gone out of publication. Consequently, his reputation rests chiefly upon this romantic work, in spite of the fact that it was not his personal favourite.
Biography
Richard Doddridge Blackmore was born on 7 June 1825 at LongworthLongworth
Longworth is a village and civil parish about west of Abingdon and a similar distance east of Faringdon and south of Witney. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire...
in Berkshire (now Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
), one year after his elder brother Henry (1824–1875), where his father, John Blackmore, was Curate-in-charge
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
of the parish. His mother died a few months after his birth – the victim of an outbreak
Outbreak
Outbreak is a term used in epidemiology to describe an occurrence of disease greater than would otherwise be expected at a particular time and place. It may affect a small and localized group or impact upon thousands of people across an entire continent. Two linked cases of a rare infectious...
of typhus
Typhus
Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
which had occurred in the village. After this loss Richard Blackmore moved to Bushey, Herts, then to his native Devon, first to Kings Nympton, then Culmstock
Culmstock
thumb|Old stone bridge with pedestrian refuges over River Culm at CulmstockCulmstock is a picturesque parish village in east Devon, about 5 miles from Tiverton and 7 or so miles NE of Cullompton. It is laid out on both sides of the River Culm; the village is joined by a single old narrow stone...
, Tor Mohun and later to Ashford
Ashford, North Devon
Ashford is a village and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 273.-Place-name meaning:...
, in the same county. Richard, however, was taken by his aunt, Mary Frances Knight, and after her marriage to the Rev. Richard Gordon, moved with her to Elsfield
Elsfield
Elsfield is a village and civil parish about northeast of the centre of Oxford.-Parish church:The chancel arch of the Church of England parish church dates from at least the latter part of the 12th century. The church formerly had a north aisle that may also have dated from this period. In about...
rectory
Rectory
A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...
, near Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
. His father married again in 1831, whereupon Richard returned to live with him. Having spent much of his childhood in the lush and pastoral "Doone Country" of Exmoor, and along the Badgworthy Water (where there is now a memorial stone in Blackmore's honour), Blackmore came to love the very countryside he immortalised in Lorna Doone.
Scholarly career
In 1837, Blackmore entered Blundell's SchoolBlundell's School
Blundell's School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school located in the town of Tiverton in the county of Devon, England. The school was founded in 1604 by the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the time, and relocated to its present location on the...
in Tiverton. He excelled in classical studies, and later won a scholarship to Oxford University, where he took his degree in 1847. During a university vacation he made his first attempt at writing a novel. This was the beginning of The Maid of Sker – not, in fact, completed until many years later, and eventually published in 1872.
After leaving Oxford and spending some time as a private tutor, Blackmore decided on a career in law. He entered the Middle Temple in 1849 and was called to the Bar in 1852. Ill-health, however, prevented him from continuing legal work as a full-time occupation and in 1854, he took the post of classics master at Wellesley House Grammar School, Hampton Road, Twickenham
Twickenham
Twickenham is a large suburban town southwest of central London. It is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan...
. In later years this became the Metropolitan and City of London Police Orphanage and then Fortescue House School. Soon after accepting this position, he moved from London to No. 25 Lower Teddington Road, Hampton Wick – where he lived until he moved to his new home in Teddington
Teddington
Teddington is a suburban area in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in south west London, on the north bank of the River Thames, between Hampton Wick and Twickenham. It stretches inland from the River Thames to Bushy Park...
.
Marriage
Blackmore was married on 8 November 1853 at Trinity Church, HolbornHolborn
Holborn is an area of Central London. Holborn is also the name of the area's principal east-west street, running as High Holborn from St Giles's High Street to Gray's Inn Road and then on to Holborn Viaduct...
to Lucy Maguire. She was 26, a Roman Catholic and somewhat delicate; for which reason it is assumed that they never had any children. They were both fond of her sister Agnes’ four children and often had them to stay. As well as helping with their education, the Blackmores seem to have adopted Eva when she was 7. Theirs was described by Blackmore's sister as a "happy marriage."
Move to the country
In September 1857, Blackmore’s uncle, the Rev. H.H. Knight, Rector of NeathNeath
Neath is a town and community situated in the principal area of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, UK with a population of approximately 45,898 in 2001...
, died and left his nephew a sum of money which enabled him to realise a long-held ambition of possessing a house in the country encompassed by a large garden. Blackmore’s father encouraged him in the scheme and helped him to carry it into effect.
Fruit-growing business
The land selected was a 16 acres (64,749.8 m²) plot at Teddington which Blackmore had seen and admired for some time. Here he built his new house – completed in 1860 – in which he lived for the rest of his life. He called it ‘Gomer House’ after one of his favourite dogs, a Gordon Spaniel. In the extensive grounds he created an 11 acres (44,515.5 m²) market garden specialising in the cultivation of fruit. The grounds were surrounded by high walls which served to keep out thieves and to aid the ripening of tender fruit. His knowledge of horticulture was extensive, but because he lacked the necessary business sense, the garden was not a very lucrative enterprise.Fight for environment
At the time Blackmore came to Teddington, the railway had not yet disturbed its quiet rural atmosphere. Before long, however, plans were in hand for the purchase of land and the construction of lines. In 1868, Blackmore won a fight against the claims made on his property by the London and South Western RailwayLondon and South Western Railway
The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth. It also had many routes connecting towns in...
Company, but he was unable to prevent the building of the railway station almost directly opposite his house.
His works, his reputation, and death
Blackmore’s best known and most successful novel, Lorna Doone (1869), established him in the front rank of British novelists of that time. With it, he pioneered a new romantic movement in English fiction. The novel’s overwhelming popularity was secured when it appeared as a one-volume edition, as distinct from the three-volume form in which it was originally published. Some local residents in Teddington regarded Blackmore as somewhat unsociable, if not misanthropic. Charles Deayton, a Teddington merchant, is recorded as stating to a visitor –"He is not a social man, and seems wedded to his garden in summer and his book writing in winter. That is all I know about him; except that he keeps the most vicious dogs to protect his fruit, and I would advise you to avoid the risk [of visiting him]."
This statement gives a rather distorted picture of Blackmore’s character. Although Blackmore was a man of a retiring disposition, pre-occupied with the demands of writing and fruit growing, he did, in fact, have a number of very intimate friends whom he met regularly. His works had a wide following in the United States and during his life he formed many friendships with Americans.
I have fallen away during the last month, having taken obstinate chills, & caring neither to eat nor drink, nor speak. All my energy & spirit are abated, & often I know not where I am. – E. & D. join me in kindest love, & I am always
PS Frost coming, I fear – don't like the look of it[.]
Upon his death at the age of 74, a well-attended funeral in Teddington Cemetery, conducted by his old friend, the Reverend Robert Borland, was held in his honour. Four years after his death, in April 1904, a memorial to him was established in Exeter Cathedral. The result of work by a committee including his good friend, Thomas Hardy, Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
, and James Barrie, it bore an address written by another writer from Devon, Eden Phillpotts
Eden Phillpotts
Eden Phillpotts was an English author, poet and dramatist. He was born in India, educated in Plymouth, Devon, and worked as an insurance officer for 10 years before studying for the stage and eventually becoming a writer....
. A reduced copy of the memorial was also mounted in Oare Church; above it in the cathedral was a stained glass window depicting David, Jonathan, and Samson—the archetypes of courage, love, and strength, respectively. John Ridd and Lorna Doone are cast at the top of the window, not far from Carver Doone.
After Death
Blackmore's two nieces continued to live in Gomer House; Amelia died in 1911 and was also buried in the Blackmore grave. Then in October 1938 there was an auction of all its contents, which included Blackmore’s own library containing first editions of his works. The house itself was later demolished and Doone Close, Blackmore’s Grove and Gomer Gardens were built, referencing the novelist’s associations with Teddington. The end of Doone Close marks the approximate site of Gomer House. Blackmore’s market garden covered the area between the present Station Road and Field Lane.Works
- Poems by MelanterPoems by MelanterPoems by Melanter is a 1853 collection of poems by English novelist R.D. Blackmore....
(1854) - Epullia (1854)
- The Bugle of the Black Sea (1855)
- The Fate of Franklin (1860)
- Farm and Fruit of Old (1862)
- Clara VaughanClara VaughanClara Vaughan is a sensation novel by R. D. Blackmore, who was later to achieve lasting fame for another Romantic novel, Lorna Doone. It was written in 1853 and published anonymously in 1864...
(1864) - Craddock Nowell (1866)
- Lorna DooneLorna DooneLorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor is a novel by Richard Doddridge Blackmore. 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....
(1869) - The Maid of Sker (1872)
- Alice LorraineAlice LorraineAlice Lorraine is a sensational novel by R. D. Blackmore, published in 1875.-Plot introduction:Set in Sussex and Spain during the Napoleonic Wars, the novel recounts the divergent tales of the eponymous heroine and her brother in their efforts to save the noble Lorraine family from ruin....
(1875) - Cripps the CarrierCripps the CarrierCripps the Carrier, A Woodland Tale, is a novel by Richard Doddridge Blackmore, author of Lorna Doone. It was first published in 1876 and is set in the then rural area of Headington just outside Oxford to the east and the road to London....
(1876) - Erema (1877)
- Mary Anerley (1880)
- Christowell (1882)
- Sir Thomas Upmore (1884)
- Springhaven (1887)
- Kit and Kitty (1890)
- Perlycross (1894)
- Fringilla (1895)
- Tales from a Telling House (1896)
- Dariel (1897)
See also
- Victorian EraVictorian eraThe Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
- Romantic movementRomanticismRomanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
- Charles DickensCharles DickensCharles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
- Robert Louis StevensonRobert Louis StevensonRobert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
- Thomas HardyThomas HardyThomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...