'Every woman clutched her child, and every man turned pale at the very name of "Doone"' John Ridd, an unsophisticated farmer, falls in love with the beautiful and aristocratic Lorna Doone, kidnapped as a child by the outlaw Doones on Exmoor. Ridd's rivalry with the villainous Carver Doone reaches a dramatic climax that will determine Lorna's future happiness. First published in 1869, Lorna Doone was praised by R. L. Stevenson and Thomas Hardy and has remained constantly in print. The novel has many aspects: it is a romance; a historical novel set at the time of the Monmouth Rebellion in the seventeenth century; and a new development in the pastoral tradition. Underneath an ostensibly idyllic evocation of rural bliss and tale of love and high adventure lies a solid defence of Victorian social values, and a hero whose self-doubt prompts him constantly to prove himself. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

This is the only critical edition of this perennially popular story. Sally Shuttleworth's introduction finds, beneath the idyllic evocation of rural bliss and a tale of love and high adventure, a startling sub-text which rigidly defends Victorian values, and portrays a manly' hero constantly having to prove his masculinity to himself.