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R. D. Blackmore

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Author

The Resume

    (June 7, 1825-January 20, 1900)
    Born in Longworth, United Kingdom
    Birth name was Richard Doddridge Blackmore
    Author of the classic romantic novel, 'Lorna Doone' (1869)
    Later individual novels include 'Alice Lorraine: a Tale of the South Downs' (1875), 'The Maid of Skier' (1872), 'Springhaven: A Tale of Great War' (1887), and 'Dariel: a Romance of Surrey' (1897)

Why he might be annoying:

    His last name sounds like 'Blackamoor.'
    He carried on a bitter rivalry with Thomas Hardy.
    He had a reputation for being anti-social, bordering on misanthropic.
    He is a literary one-hit wonder (aside from Lorna Doone, none of his works are in print anymore).
    Although he had male readers, his novels were generally only popular among female audiences.
    He was described as 'proud, shy, reticent, strong-willed, sweet-tempered, and self-centered.'
    He sued the London and South Western Railway Company to prevent the building of a railroad adjacent to his property, but he lost (1868).
    His neighbors claimed to be dissuaded from visiting him due to his keeping of 'vicious dogs to protect his fruit.'
    His 'Lorna Doone' novel was a favorite of Australian outlaw Ned Kelly, who may have derived the idea for his notorious suit of armor from the descriptions of the similarly armed Doone clan.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was called 'the Last Victorian.'
    There are cookies named after his most famous book!
    'Lorna Doone' was listed on the BBC's survey The Big Read, in 2003.
    'Lorna Doone' was chosen by male students at Yale in as their favorite novel, in 1906.
    The comic book character, Polaris, whose real name in the X-Men comics is 'Lorna Dane' was named in honor of Blackwell's literary heroine.
    He influenced Robert Louis Stevenson, J.M. Barrie, and Rudyard Kipling.
    He broke ground in literary technique by placing emphasis on regional dialect and speech patterns.
    He and his wife had no children but they did adopt the two children of his sister-in-law after her untimely death.
    He was known for his love and compassion towards animals, particularly injured or stray dogs.
    His vivid descriptions of the Scottish fields, moors, streams and hedgerows was rooted in his childhood love of nature (he grew up in the countryside).
    He had the balls to depict his heroine as a bride getting shot in the middle of her wedding ceremony during a time when Victorian literary standards could never tolerate something so racy.

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 3 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying