R D BlackmoreRichard Doddridge Blackmore, who wrote under the name R. D. Blackmore and was born on June 7, 1825, and died January 20, 1900, was one of the most famous English writers of the 1800s. He was praised for vividly describing and giving people in the coutryside personalities. Like Thomas Hardy, he was born in Western England and his works have a strong sense of where they are set. A poster for R. D. Blackmore's book Perly-Cross. Blackmore, who is sometimes called the "Last Victorian," was one of the first literary writers of the period that other writers like Robert Louis Stevenson followed. People have said that he is "proud, shy, quiet, strong-willed, sweet-tempered, and self-centered." His other books are no longer in print, except for Lorna Doone, his novel, which has stayed famous. In Berkshire (now Oxfordshire), Richard Doddridge Blackmore was born on June 7, 1825, at Longworth. He was born a year after his older brother Henry (1824 1875). His father, John Blackmore, was Curate-in-Charge of the church. His mother died a few months after he was born. She had typhus, which had spread through the town. Read More Read Less