 First edition title page | |
| Author | R. D. Blackmore |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Sampson Low, Marston, & Company |
Publication date | 1876 |
Cripps the Carrier: a woodland tale, is a novel by Richard Doddridge Blackmore, author of Lorna Doone . It was first published in 1876 and is set in and around the village of Beckley in the rural area of Headington just outside Oxford to the east and the road to London.
The story is set in the 1830s [1] in rural Oxfordshire. [2] The main thread of the narrative follows the fortunes or misfortunes of Grace Oglander, the daughter of an Oxfordshire Squire. [3] She is borne off from the residence of her aunt by the machinations of a villainous attorney, who entraps her into his power by the expedient of a forged letter from her father. The latter, anxiously expecting his daughter's return, receives by the carrier a sack of potatoes, and in it a long coil of bright golden hair, accompanied by the brutal superscription—"All you will ever see of her." [3] Scarcely a doubt remains in his mind as to the fate of poor Grace, and his fears are confirmed by the testimony of Esther Cripps, the carrier's sister, who, in a belated walk, is the witness of a ghastly deed—the burial of the uncoffined body of a young girl in a ravine called the "Gipsy's Grave." [3] Grace herself is in the meantime safely ensconced in the depths of the Oxford forest under the care of Miss Patch, the governess, and makes such good use of her natural gifts that she enthrals the heart of Kit Sharp, the attorney's son. For him, both she and her large fortune were designed by his unscrupulous father; but an unforeseen difficulty is interposed by the traitorous conduct of Kit himself. [3] When he discovers that the girl is not an American, as he was led to suppose, but the daughter of Squire Oglander, he resolves to restore her to her father's roof; and this he succeeds in doing with the timely assistance of "Cripps the Carrier." [3]
The story describes the flight of Grace Oglander and her new protector, the conflict between father and son, and the eventual rescue of the maiden by the carrier. The attorney strikes his son dead, as he thinks, and then appropriately closes his career by blowing his own brains out in the forest. [3]
Cripps the Carrier was first published in three volumes in 1876. [4]
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 around the East Lyn Valley area of Exmoor. In 2003, the novel was listed on the BBC's survey The Big Read.
Philip Doddridge D.D. was an English Nonconformist minister, educator, and hymnwriter.
Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany was the eighth child and youngest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Leopold was later created Duke of Albany, Earl of Clarence, and Baron Arklow. He had haemophilia, which contributed to his death following a fall at the age of 30.
Richard Doddridge Blackmore, known as R. D. Blackmore, was one of the most famous English novelists of the second half of the nineteenth century. He won acclaim for vivid descriptions and personification of the countryside, sharing with Thomas Hardy a Western England background and a strong sense of regional setting in his works.
The Vicar of Wakefield, subtitled A Tale, Supposed to be written by Himself, is a novel by Anglo-Irish writer Oliver Goldsmith (1728–1774). It was written from 1761 to 1762 and published in 1766. It was one of the most popular and widely read 18th-century novels among Victorians.
John Byrne Leicester Warren, 3rd Baron de Tabley was an English poet, numismatist, botanist and an authority on bookplates.
Sir John Blundell Maple, 1st Baronet was an English business magnate who owned the furniture maker Maple & Co.
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The Prologue and Tale of Beryn are spurious fifteenth century additions to Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. They are both written in Middle English.
Alice Lorraine: a tale of the South Downs is a novel by R. D. Blackmore, published in 1875. Set in Sussex and Spain during the Napoleonic Wars, the novel recounts the divergent tales of the eponymous heroine and her brother in their efforts to save the noble Lorraine family from ruin.
Cradock Nowell: a tale of the New Forest is a three-volume novel by R. D. Blackmore published in 1866. Set in the New Forest and in London, it follows the fortunes of Cradock Nowell who is thrown out of his family home by his father following the suspicious death of Cradock's twin brother Clayton. It was Blackmore's second novel, and the novel he wrote prior to his most famous work Lorna Doone.
Springhaven: a tale of the Great War is a three-volume novel by R. D. Blackmore published in 1887. It is set in Sussex, England, during the time of the Napoleonic Wars, and revolves around the plots of the villainous Captain Caryl Carne who attempts to aid a French invasion.
Christowell: a Dartmoor tale is a three-volume novel by R. D. Blackmore published in 1882. It is set in the fictional village of Christowell on the eastern edge of Dartmoor.
Mary Anerley: a Yorkshire tale is a three-volume novel by R. D. Blackmore published in 1880. It is set in the rugged landscape of Yorkshire's North Riding and the sea-coast of its East Riding.
Erema; or, my father's sin is a three-volume novel by R. D. Blackmore published in 1877. The novel is narrated by a teenage girl called Erema whose father escaped from England having been charged with a murder he did not commit. Erema has grown up in exile with her father, and the story begins in California in the 1850s.
Dariel: a romance of Surrey is a novel by R. D. Blackmore published in 1897. It is an adventure story set initially in Surrey before the action moves to the Caucasian mountains. The story is narrated by George Cranleigh, a farmer who falls in love with Dariel, the daughter of a Caucasian prince. Dariel was the last of Blackmore's novels, published just over two years before his death.
Kit and Kitty: a story of west Middlesex is a three-volume novel by R. D. Blackmore published in 1890. It is set near Sunbury-on-Thames in Middlesex.
Perlycross: a tale of the western hills is a three-volume novel by R. D. Blackmore published in 1894. The story is set in eastern Devon around 1830.
Gertrude Helena Bone, Lady Bone was a British writer who published during the Edwardian era. She wrote short stories, three novels, and several illustrated collections.
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