Recommendations based on Lorna Dooneby R.D. Blackmore

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. Far From the Madding Crowd

    by Thomas Hardy
    A pastoral romance of love and redemption, set against the backdrop of 19th century rural England.

    An ACE can be found here . Independent and spirited Bathsheba Everdene has come to Weatherbury to take up her position as a farmer on the largest estate in the area. Her bold presence draws three ... (Goodreads)

  2. Till We Have Faces

    by C.S. Lewis
    An ancient myth re-told, exploring the complexity of divine love and its effects on human life.

    The story tells the ancient Greek myth of Cupid and Psyche , from the perspective of Orual, Psyche's older sister. It begins as the complaint of Orual as an old woman, who is bitter at the injustice ... (Wikipedia)

  3. The Mayor of Casterbridge

    by Thomas Hardy
    A man sells his wife and daughter while drunk, then becomes a successful businessman and mayor, but his past haunts him.

    At a country fair near Casterbridge in Wessex Michael Henchard, a 21-year-old hay-trusser, argues with his wife Susan. Drunk on rum-laced furmity he auctions her off, along with their baby daughter ... (Wikipedia)

  4. Hard Times

    by Charles Dickens
    A grim tale of a Victorian industrial city, highlighting its struggles of poverty, injustice and strife.

    "My satire is against those who see figures and averages, and nothing else," proclaimed Charles Dickens in explaining the theme of this classic novel. Published in 1854, the story concerns one Thomas ... (Goodreads)

  5. Mansfield Park

    by Jane Austen
    Social satire exploring morality and class in 19th century England.

    Fanny Price, at age ten, is sent from her impoverished home in Portsmouth to live as one of the family at Mansfield Park, the Northamptonshire country estate of her uncle, Sir Thomas Bertram. There ... (Wikipedia)

  6. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

    by Anne Brontë
    An exploration of 19th-century gender roles, revealing a woman's struggle for independence.

    The novel is divided into three volumes. Part One (Chapters 1 to 15): Gilbert Markham narrates how a mysterious widow, Mrs Helen Graham, arrives at Wildfell Hall, a nearby mansion. A source of ... (Wikipedia)

  7. Shirley

    by Charlotte Brontë
    A young woman's turbulent journey to find her place in a restrictive society.

    Robert Moore is a mill owner noted for apparent ruthlessness towards his employees. He has laid off many of them, and is apparently indifferent to their consequent impoverishment. In fact he had no ... (Wikipedia)

  8. The Woman in White

    by Wilkie Collins
    A thrilling mystery of secrets and hidden identities, with a hero on a quest for the truth.

    Walter Hartright, a young art teacher, encounters and gives directions to a mysterious and distressed woman dressed entirely in white, lost in London; he is later informed by policemen that she has ... (Wikipedia)

  9. Vanity Fair

    by William Makepeace Thackeray
    A story of social climbing and ambition, set against the backdrop of 19th century England.

    A novel that chronicles the lives of two women who could not be more different: Becky Sharp, an orphan whose only resources are her vast ambitions, her native wit, and her loose morals; and her ... (Goodreads)

  10. Understood Betsy

    by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
    A young girl's journey of self-acceptance and growth, challenging her own limitations.

    The story tells of Elizabeth Ann, a 9-year-old orphan girl who goes from a sheltered existence with her father's aunt Harriet and cousin Frances in the city, to living on a Vermont farm with her ... (Wikipedia)

  11. Don Quixote

    by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
    An aging knight's adventures and misadventures, filled with chivalry, honor, and satire.

    Don Quixote has become so entranced by reading chivalric romances that he determines to become a knight-errant himself. In the company of his faithful squire, Sancho Panza, his exploits blossom in ... (Goodreads)

  12. Eight Cousins

    by Louisa May Alcott
    A young girl's journey of self-discovery and transformation through the guidance of her seven uncles and one aunt.

    When Rose Campbell, a shy orphan, arrives at "The Aunt Hill" to live with her six aunts and seven boisterous male cousins, she is quite overwhelmed. How could such a delicate young lady, used to the ... (Goodreads)

  13. The Bronze Bow

    by Elizabeth George Speare
    A young man's journey of redemption, as he struggles with anger, violence and oppression.

    This book is set in first-century Galilee . The main character, a young Jew named Daniel bar Jamin, who lives at the same time as Jesus of Nazareth . Daniel's father was killed in front of him, as an ... (Wikipedia)

  14. The Winter's Tale

    by William Shakespeare
    A family drama of reconciliation and redemption, unfolding across time and continents.

    You can find an alternative cover for this ISBN, here,. The New Cambridge Shakespeare appeals to students worldwide for its up-to-date scholarship and emphasis on performance. The series features ... (Goodreads)

  15. Nicholas Nickleby

    by Charles Dickens
    Exploring themes of morality and justice through the story of a young man and his family.

    Nicholas Nickleby's father dies unexpectedly after losing all of his money in a poor investment. Nicholas, his mother and his younger sister, Kate, are forced to give up their comfortable lifestyle ... (Wikipedia)

  16. Adam Bede

    by George Eliot
    A carpenter, Adam Bede, falls in love with a beautiful woman, Hetty Sorrel, who is in love with another man. Tragedy ensues.

    According to, The Oxford Companion to English Literature, (1967), The novel follows four characters' rural lives in the fictional community of Hayslope—a rural, pastoral, and close-knit community in ... (Wikipedia)

  17. Five Little Pigs

    by Agatha Christie
    A detective investigates a 15-year-old unsolved murder case, uncovering secrets and lies.

    Sixteen years after Caroline Crale is convicted for the murder of her husband Amyas, her daughter Carla Lemarchant approaches Hercule Poirot. In the meeting, Carla claims her mother was innocent, and ... (Wikipedia)

  18. Kidnapped

    by Robert Louis Stevenson
    A young man's thrilling escape from kidnappers and the pursuit of justice.

    The main character and narrator is 17-year-old David Balfour. (Balfour is Stevenson's mother's maiden name.) His parents have recently died, and he is out to make his way in the world. He is given a ... (Wikipedia)

  19. The Last of the Mohicans

    by James Fenimore Cooper
    Historical fiction set during the French and Indian War, featuring a native American family and their allies.

    Cora and Alice Munro, daughters of Lieutenant Colonel Munro, are traveling with Major Duncan Heyward from Fort Edward to Fort William Henry, where Munro is in command, and acquire another companion ... (Wikipedia)

  20. The Return of the Native

    by Thomas Hardy
    A story of a man's ill-fated love, set against the wild landscape of rural England.

    The novel takes place entirely in the environs of Egdon Heath , and, with the exception of the epilogue, Aftercourses , covers exactly a year and a day. The narrative begins on the evening of Guy ... (Wikipedia)

  21. The Princess and the Goblin

    by George MacDonald
    A young princess discovers a secret world of goblins and befriends a brave miner boy to save her kingdom from their evil plans.

    Princess Irene's discovery of a secret stair leads to a wonderful revelation. At the same time, Curdie overhears a fiendish plot by the goblins. Princess Irene & Curdie must make sense of their ... (Goodreads)

  22. Around the World in Eighty Days

    by Jules Verne
    An epic journey of adventure and exploration, pushing the boundaries of the known world.

    The story starts in London on Wednesday, 2 October 1872. Phileas Fogg is a rich British gentleman living a solitary life. Despite his wealth, Fogg lives a modest life with habits carried out with ... (Wikipedia)

  23. The Mill on the Floss

    by George Eliot
    A story of a young woman's struggle to reconcile her inner life with society's expectations.

    Spanning a period of 10 to 15 years, the novel details the lives of Tom and Maggie Tulliver, siblings who grow up at Dorlcote Mill on the River Floss. The mill is situated at the junction of the ... (Wikipedia)

  24. The Portrait of a Lady

    by Henry James
    A young woman's journey of self-discovery, standing up to society's expectations.

    Isabel Archer, from Albany, New York , is invited by her maternal aunt, Lydia Touchett, to visit Lydia's rich husband, Daniel, at his estate near London, following the death of Isabel's father. ... (Wikipedia)

  25. The Three Musketeers

    by Alexandre Dumas
    An adventurous tale of friendship, courage, and battle in 17th century France.

    In 1625 France, d'Artagnan leaves his family in Gascony and travels to Paris to join the Musketeers of the Guard . At a house in Meung-sur-Loire , an older man derides d'Artagnan's horse. Insulted, ... (Wikipedia)

  26. Oliver Twist

    by Charles Dickens
    An orphan's journey of survival and resilience in the face of poverty and injustice.

    Oliver Twist is born into a life of poverty and misfortune, raised in a workhouse in the fictional town of Mudfog , located 70 miles (110 km) north of London . , , , He is orphaned by his father's ... (Wikipedia)

  27. The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman

    by Laurence Sterne
    A satirical novel that follows the life and opinions of Tristram Shandy, a gentleman with a penchant for digressions and tangents.

    »Wo ist der Mann von Geschmack, dessen Seele einen Sinn für die Launen des Genies, für Witz und Ironie, für attisches und britisches, cervantisches, rabelaissches und für yoricksches Salz hat und der ... (Goodreads)

  28. The Screwtape Letters

    by C.S. Lewis
    A series of letters between two devils, providing a window into human nature and morality.

    The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis is a classic masterpiece of religious satire that entertains readers with its sly and ironic portrayal of human life and foibles from the vantage point of ... (Goodreads)

  29. That Hideous Strength

    by C.S. Lewis
    A battle between good and evil, as a group of revolutionaries attempt to overthrow a sinister scientific organization.

    The book, written during the final period of World War II , takes place at an undetermined year "after the end of the war". Mark Studdock is a young academic who has just become a Senior Fellow in ... (Wikipedia)

  30. Alanna: The First Adventure

    by Tamora Pierce
    A young girl disguises herself as a boy to achieve her dreams of becoming a knight.

    Alanna of Trebond and her twin brother Thom may be twins , but are very different; Alanna is a tomboy who dreams of being a knight, and Thom wishes to become a sorcerer. Unfortunately, Alanna is ... (Wikipedia)