tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55733058785885072422024-10-08T22:02:25.123-04:00Tommie McNairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11630542278662268877noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573305878588507242.post-48927937678483985652010-12-13T17:50:00.000-05:002010-12-13T17:50:01.856-05:00Lorna Doone has been my favorite book since I first read it the summer I was thirteen.&nbsp;&nbsp; I checked&nbsp;out an old copy at the public library and since then have read it in&nbsp;other&nbsp;editions, some simplified and condensed versions and even in the old Classical Comics books.&nbsp; <br /> <br /> A few years ago I ordered a new edition from a book club society in London, a reprint of the original edition.&nbsp; The book is absolutely beautiful and encased in a boxed binding.&nbsp; What a surprise when I started reading it.&nbsp; The text is written in the old English of the 17th century,&nbsp;as the author wrote it.&nbsp; It was almost like reading a foreign language.&nbsp; After the shock of this discovery, I saw the humor in my situation - having bought an expensive book which I had great difficulty deciphering.&nbsp; I then recognized it&nbsp;a a great educational opportunity for me.&nbsp; I could compare the chapters of the first edition written by the author to those written in today's "modern" English.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> Since then,&nbsp;I received&nbsp;an actual two-volume edition of the book published&nbsp;sometime between 1879 and 1899 by the Donohue, Henneberry &amp; Co., Chicago.&nbsp; The books are small hardcovers bound by&nbsp;dark green fabric with silver title inside an ornate silver design, approximately 6" x 4-1/8" x 3/4" in size, 370 pages in volume 1, 385 pages&nbsp;in volume 2.&nbsp;&nbsp;I hope to someday learn the actual date of their publication.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> The book has been made into a movie two or three times at least.&nbsp;&nbsp;The movie is long and well worth the time spent watching.&nbsp; My only disappointment was in the&nbsp;image of the characters&nbsp;held in my mind's eye all these years and the totally different ones in the movie.&nbsp; However, the setting is in Exmoor and brings to life that described&nbsp;by the author.<br /> <br /> This is a one of a kind book in that it has never been out of&nbsp;print since first published in 1869.&nbsp; The amazing thing is that Blackmore had difficulty finding a&nbsp;publisher&nbsp;at first.&nbsp;It was published anonymously the first&nbsp;year and only sold 300 of a 500 copy release.&nbsp; With the second year of print came great success.&nbsp; Today, this romance is of as much value as an "historical" novel as it is "romance."&nbsp; This is because it so completely describes the culture, its laws, values and ways of &nbsp;live for the time period, as well as the&nbsp;scenes where it takes place.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; For those not interested in&nbsp;history it is simply a wonderful heartstirring romance.&nbsp;&nbsp;Tommie McNairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11630542278662268877noreply@blogger.com0