The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910 discussion

Lorna is reunited with her governess. Gweeny is reunited with her father. Uncle Ben is secretly mining for gold. This enterprise now explains the mystery of the man popping up out of nowhere. And Lorna goes to London under the protection of a relative. We find she is a lady of great wealth.

There are quite a few references of honest men that appear along side a description of robbing and the like. What do you think honesty means to the characters?

John referred to Lorna living in London as a rich woman. Does this mean they don’t end up together, but they don’t necessarily have a tragic end? Or maybe he’s only talking about the period she lived with her uncle before she turned 21? We'll have to see. At least she's out of reach of the Doones. I doubt they'd go after her there. But Carver will still want revenge on John.

Annie also might be safe from the Doones since she's with John.

I'm glad we learned what the noise was.

I love how John talks about how his horses earned their names rather than inheriting them, as noblemen do.

I like how John is a local celebrity for his wrestling but he only alludes to it in the story when he needs to for the plot. Like he is a bit embarrassed about it.

I don't remember how old Lorna is by now, so how long it will be till she is 21.

As far as honesty, it seems the outlaws still have certain codes, like Uncle Ben didn't rob Lorna's mother because there were only women in the carriage (and he didn't know about the valuable necklace!)

How do you think Lorna’s new life will change her?

I'm confused about Uncle Ben's actions and would appreciate someone explaining as I think I'm missing some things. How long have they been doing that mining? It seems like it has been years. at least since Gwynny was lost to her Dad Simon Carfax. How do you keep it secret for years. Uncle Ben is supposed to be involved in a rebellion, yet I only see them mining. What rebellious actions do they do besides mine? Or is that it?

Brian wrote: "I'm confused about Uncle Ben's actions and would appreciate someone explaining as I think I'm missing some things. How long have they been doing that mining? It seems like it has been years. at lea..."

The way I understood it, Uncle Ben is not involved in the Monmouth rebellion in any way. But he is somewhat in rebellion against the king because the mine is secret and they're not paying taxes on the gold they find, which is, apparently, highly illegal.

Brian wrote: "I'm confused about Uncle Ben's actions and would appreciate someone explaining as I think I'm missing some things. How long have they been doing that mining? It seems like it has been years. at lea..."

Yes it’s been going on for years since Gwenny appears to be late teens or an adult. I see her as about the same age as Lorna. In earlier chapters, there was a mention of a strange haunting noise, which we now learn is the mine. In the next segment we read after the introduction of the noise, a “spirit” or man comes out of the ground in front of John (Annie’s husband). Both references to the noise and the “spirit” were small comments and didn’t seem like much to do with the plot when we read them.

Thanks, Lori and Deborah. Seems that I can read and understand Ulysses and The Sound and the Fury yet have trouble with Lorna Doone.

Brian wrote: "Thanks, Lori and Deborah. Seems that I can read and understand Ulysses and The Sound and the Fury yet have trouble with Lorna Doone."

I think it’s the timing of our reading. I’m finding it hard to concentrate. Plus I feel like the author rambles.