Richard Doddridge Blackmore (7 June 1825 – 20 January 1900), known as R. D. Blackmore, was one of the most famous English novelists of the second half of the nineteenth century. He won acclaim for 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.
![Perly-Cross, a novel by R](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Perly-Cross%2C_a_novel_by_R._D._Blackmore._-_10559685566.jpg)
Blackmore, often referred to as the "Last Victorian", was a pioneer of the movement in fiction that continued with
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...
and others. He has been described as "proud, shy, reticent, strong-willed, sweet-tempered, and self-centred." Apart from his novel ''
Lorna Doone
''Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor'' is a novel by English author Richard Doddridge Blackmore, published in 1869. It is a romance based on a group of historical characters and set in the late 17th century in Devon and Somerset, particularly ar ...
'', which has enjoyed continuing popularity, his work has gone out of print.
Biography
![Dariel, a romance of Surrey, by R](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Dariel%2C_a_romance_of_Surrey%2C_by_R._D._Blackmore_-_10559945243.jpg)
Richard Doddridge Blackmore was born on 7 June 1825 at
Longworth
Longworth is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse, England. The 1974 boundary changes transferred it from Berkshire to Oxfordshire. The village lies between Faringdon, to its west, and Oxford, to the north-east. The 2011 Cen ...
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.
[
The Five Lives of R.D. Blackmore.] His mother died a few months after his birth – the victim of an
outbreak
In epidemiology, an outbreak is a sudden increase in occurrences of a disease when cases are in excess of normal expectancy for the location or season. It may affect a small and localized group or impact upon thousands of people across an entire ...
of
typhus
Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...
which had occurred in the village. After this loss John Blackmore moved to Bushey, Herts, then to his native Devon, first to Kings Nympton, then
Culmstock
Culmstock is a village and civil parish in Mid Devon, England, centred 10 miles from Tiverton and 6 NE of Cullompton. It is laid out on both sides of the River Culm; the village is joined by a single old narrow stone bridge across the river. The ...
,
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
Elsfield is an English village and civil parish about northeast of the centre of Oxford. The village is above sea level on the western brow of a hill with relatively steep sides above the River Cherwell. For relative reference purposes, the O ...
rectory, near
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
. 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 School
Blundell's School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school in the English public school tradition, located in Tiverton, Devon. It was founded in 1604 under the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the t ...
in
Tiverton. He excelled in classical studies, and later won a scholarship to
Exeter College,
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, 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 - which he himself would come to consider his finest novel.
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 is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...
. 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 is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In 2021, Teddington was named as the best place to live in London by ''The Sunday Times''. Historically in Middlesex, Teddington is situated on a long me ...
.
Marriage
Blackmore was married on 8 November 1853 at Trinity Church,
Holborn
Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London.
The area has its root ...
to Lucy Maguire. She was 26, a Roman Catholic and somewhat delicate, which is assumed to be the reason 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
Neath, Glamorgan, 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 plot at
Teddington
Teddington is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In 2021, Teddington was named as the best place to live in London by ''The Sunday Times''. Historically in Middlesex, Teddington is situated on a long me ...
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 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 through competition and other factors, the business was not a very lucrative enterprise except in his supply of pears to Covent Garden. However, he is believed to have held the view that he preferred to be remembered as the winner of first prize for swedes than as the author of ''Lorna Doone''.
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 Railway
The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exeter ...
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 began a career as writer by publishing collections of poetry, before turning to novel-writing. His third novel, which became his best known and most successful, ''Lorna Doone'' (1869),
[D. Daiches ed., ''The Penguin Companion to Literature'' (1971) p. 51] 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 only secured when it appeared as a one-volume edition, as distinct from the unsuccessful three-volume form in which it was originally published. However, Blackmore was of the view that it had become popular quite by accident when a book reviewer had incorrectly stated that the book was about the forefathers of Lord Lorne who had recently married Princess Louise. Hardy would write to Blackmore expressing his appreciation of the book; but the two men were divided by a certain rivalry as well as differences in temperament and opinions. Various attempts were made to dramatise ''Lorna Doone,'' but Blackmore only authorised one and that was from the pen of
Horace Newte
Horace Wykeham Can Newte, English playwright, novelist and columnist, was born at Melksham, Wiltshire in 1870. The Newte family, with somewhat of a roaming history, returned to London living at Hammersmith just as London's suburbs were swelling ...
.
Blackmore followed
Sir Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...
in often setting his characters against a significant historical background, as with ''Springhaven'' (1887) and the Napoleonic Wars; his descriptive powers perhaps exceeded his narrative structures.
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
f visiting him"
This statement gives a rather distorted picture of Blackmore's character. Although he was of a retiring disposition, preoccupied 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
Teddington Cemetery is a Grade II listed municipal cemetery in the north of Teddington in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Opened in 1879 it has many tall, eclectic trees and its nucleus was the outcome of a competition for designs b ...
. 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, as 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:
"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
Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work.
...
, and
James Barrie
Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succe ...
, it bore an address written by another writer from Devon,
Eden Phillpotts
Eden Phillpotts (4 November 1862 – 29 December 1960) was an English author, poet and dramatist. He was born in Mount Abu, India, was educated in Plymouth, Devon, and worked as an insurance officer for ten years before studying for the stage a ...
, and the portrait was carved by
Harry Hems
Harry Hems (12 June 1842 – 5 January 1916) was an English architectural and ecclesiastical sculptor who was particularly inspired by Gothic architecture and a practitioner of Gothic Revival. He founded and ran a large workshop in Exeter, Devon ...
of Exeter.
A reduced copy of the memorial was also mounted in
Oare Church in
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
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, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
, where Lorna Doone was married; 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
** Slain by the Doones or Tales from the Telling House (1895). Collection of four short stories that includes 1. Slain by the Doones; 2. Frida, or, The Lover's Leap; 3. George Bowring, a Tale of Cader Idris; 4. Crocker's Hole.
* Uncollected Story: Leila, the Golden Fleece. (1896, 29 Nov & 6 Dec), in The Daily News, Denver, Colorado, and other US newspapers on these and later dates.
See also
Notes
References
*
Further reading
* Budd, Kenneth ''The Last Victorian: R.D. Blackmore and His Novels.'' 125 pages. Centaur Press: 1960. ASIN B-000-6D9OE-4. (1960)
* Burris. Quincy Guy ''Richard Doddridge Blackmore: His Life and Novels.'' 219 pages. Reprint Services Corp: 1 January 1930. .
*
* Dunn, Waldo Hilary ''R. D. Blackmore, the Author of Lorna Doone.'' 316 pages. Greenwood Press: 1974.
*
External links
*
*
*
Royal Berkshire History: Richard Doddridge Blackmore (1825–1900)R.D. Blackmore literary papers at the University of Exeter*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackmore, Richard Doddridge
1825 births
1900 deaths
19th-century English novelists
Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford
Burials at Teddington Cemetery
English historical novelists
English male novelists
People educated at Blundell's School
People from North Devon (district)
People from Teddington
People from Vale of White Horse (district)
Translators of Virgil
Victorian novelists