Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor

On seventeenth-century Exmoor, the Doones rule the wild country from their hidden valley, a clan of well-born outlaws who rob and kill under the noses of a king too distracted to care. They murdered John Ridd's father when John was a boy. Years later, John (grown into the strongest man on the moor, and one of the gentlest) climbs into the forbidden valley and meets Lorna Doone, the clan's treasured jewel. She is everything his blood should hate, and he loves her on sight.

Blackmore's great romance sweeps from secret meetings in the outlaws' glen through blizzards, rebellion, and a reckoning with the terrifying Carver Doone, all narrated in John's modest, wry, utterly winning farmer's voice. It is a big, warm, old-fashioned yarn in the best sense, a love story with mud on its boots and a storm always building over the moor.

At roughly 251,800 words, Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor runs about 28 hours at 1x narration speed. That figure is an estimate based on a typical narration pace. The exact length depends on the voice and the playback speed you choose.

Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor is in the public domain, so the complete text is free on Project Gutenberg and LoudReader has the entire Project Gutenberg catalog built in. To listen:

1. Download LoudReader for Mac or iPhone (free, no account).
2. Search for “Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor” in the built-in catalog and add it to your library.
3. Press play. A natural offline voice reads the book while each word highlights on screen, and your place is saved between sessions.

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