Clara Vaughan

Clara Vaughan

Cover of 2009 Edition of Clara Vaughan
Author R. D. Blackmore
Country England
Language English
Genre Sensation novel
Publisher Macmillan & Co.
Publication date
1864
Media type Print

Clara Vaughan is a sensation novel by R. D. Blackmore, who was later to achieve lasting fame for another Romantic novel, Lorna Doone. It was written in 1853 and published anonymously in 1864. It was Blackmore's first novel.[1] The novel was generally well received by the public, though some reviewers at the time believed it to have been written by Mary Elizabeth Braddon and criticised its author for not knowing about the law.

Plot introduction

Clara Vaughan, which takes place in the mid-19th century, is the story of the eponymous heroine, an only child whose father is mysteriously murdered when she is a young girl. As a young woman, she sets out to uncover the identity of her father's killer, and for this reason the novel is often classed among the first detective novels in English. In addition to this overarching theme, there are several subplots involving family secrets, romances, and questions of familial inheritance.

Publication history

The novel was first published in 1864 and was still in print in various editions into the early 20th century.

1872 revision

Blackmore chose to fully revise the novel for a new edition in 1872. Blackmore states in the preface that he removed "many things offensive to maturer taste and judgement".[2]

References

  1. "Blackmore" entry in Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia Of Literature (1995), Merriam-Webster.
  2. Clara Vaughan (1889 edition) at the Internet Archive

External links


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, December 22, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.