''The Maid of Sker'' is a three-volume novel that was written by R. D. Blackmore and published in 1872. The novel is set in the late 18th century and is about an elderly fisherman who unravels the mysterious origins of a foundling child who is washed ashore on the coast of

Glamorganshire , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

, South Wales. It was published subsequent to Blackmore's ''

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 ...

'', although he had begun writing ''The Maid of Sker'' 25 years earlier. Blackmore considered ''The Maid of Sker'' to be his best novel.

Title and writing

The novel's title comes from a Welsh ballad known as ''The Maid of Sker'' ( cy, Y Ferch o'r Sger),"The Maid of Sker"
English version
/ref> although the content of the ballad bears little relation to the plot of the novel.Max Keith Sutton (1979), ''R. D. Blackmore'', page 64. Twayne Publishers Blackmore was also familiar with

Sker House Sker House is a historic building in Wales. Originally built as a monastic grange of the Cistercian order over 900 years ago, it is situated just outside the town of Porthcawl, near Bridgend. Little remains of the original structure and it was co ...

near

Porthcawl Porthcawl (, ) is a town and community on the south coast of Wales in the county borough of Bridgend, west of the capital city, Cardiff and southeast of Swansea. Historically part of Glamorgan and situated on a low limestone headland on the So ...

, Glamorgan.John Davies, (2009), ''Lyrics and Limericks'', page 105. Pneuma Springs Blackmore's mother Anne (née Knight) was from Nottage Court near Porthcawl and Blackmore spent part of his childhood with his aunt in Nottage. The stark form of Sker House is a central image for Blackmore, who began writing the novel while he was a student at

Oxford University 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 ...

. He graduated in 1847 but the book was not completed and published until 1872, three years after the publication of ''

''.

Plot

''The Maid of Sker'' is set at the end of the 18th century; the story is told by Davy Llewellyn, an elderly fisherman, and is about a two-year-old girl who in a calm before a storm, drifts in a boat onto a beach in

.The Maid of Sker
''The Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science and Art'', 24 August 1872, page 256 The little girl calls herself Bardie. Davy is tempted to keep the girl but decides to give her up and keep the boat for himself. He quarters the pretty child in a simple but wealthy household in his neighbourhood. As Bardie grows up, Davy dotes upon her, watching anxiously over her fortunes, partly or principally because he thinks his own fortune may be bound up with hers. It is clear from the refinement of the girl's manners and from the quality of the clothes she was washed ashore in that she is no common child. Davy joins the crew of a

ketch A ketch is a two- masted sailboat whose mainmast is taller than the mizzen mast (or aft-mast), and whose mizzen mast is stepped forward of the rudder post. The mizzen mast stepped forward of the rudder post is what distinguishes the ketch fr ...

that trades between Porthcawl and

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town in North Devon, England, at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool and won great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, bu ...

, Devon. Whilst in Devon, he encounters several characters who hold the key to solving the mystery of Bardie's origins. These include Sir Philip Bampfylde, who spends most of his time looking for his two grandchildren who have mysteriously disappeared; Parson Chowne, a wicked, demonic and crafty parson who defies the law for many years in the north of Devon; and Captain Drake Bamfylde, who is under suspicion of having abducted his elder brother Philip's children and heirs to the family property.The Maid of Sker
''The Spectator'', 28 September 1872, page 21 Davy gradually unravels the mystery and sets matters right, although many distractions, including an extended period at sea in which Blackmore gives a graphic account of the

Battle of the Nile The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay; french: Bataille d'Aboukir) was a major naval battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the Navy of the French Republic at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast off the ...

, delay him.

Publication

''The Maid of Sker'' was serialized in ''

Blackwood's Magazine ''Blackwood's Magazine'' was a British magazine and miscellany printed between 1817 and 1980. It was founded by the publisher William Blackwood and was originally called the ''Edinburgh Monthly Magazine''. The first number appeared in April 1817 ...

'' from August 1871 to July 1872. It was then published as a

three-volume novel The three-volume novel (sometimes three-decker or triple decker) was a standard form of publishing for British fiction during the nineteenth century. It was a significant stage in the development of the modern novel as a form of popular literatur ...

in 1872." Blackmore, Richard Doddridge" entry in ''Dictionary of National Biography, 1901 supplement''

Reception

''The Maid of Sker'' received fairly good reviews. The '' Saturday Review'' stated "the book is exceedingly able, and strikingly original ... there is much powerful writing in it, a great deal of dry humour, with some touches of rare pathos". '' The Spectator '' regarded it as "a genuine success, one of the few good novels that has been written for many years", although it also said it "is here and there just a little difficult to follow ... the story must run over a course of years which it may tax even the author of Waverley to render interesting". Blackmore regarded ''The Maid of Sker'' as his best novel, both as an expression of his own personality and in workmanship.

References

External links

''The Maid of Sker''
at Project Gutenberg Australia * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maid of Sker 1872 British novels Novels by R. D. Blackmore Novels set in Devon Novels set in Wales