Lorna Doone, historical romance by R.D. Blackmore, published in 1869. Set in the wilds of Exmoor (northern Devonshire, Eng.) during the late 17th century, the novel concerns the adventurous life of the yeoman John Ridd and the circuitous course of his love for Lorna Doone, a beautiful maiden.
Blackmore considered the novel a romance and studded it with the high adventure, dramatic set pieces, bloody villainy, and obstacles to love that characterize the genre. The first-person narration by John Ridd is perhaps most effective in its evocation of the brooding Exmoor landscape.