lorna doone: a romance of exmoor is a novel written by richard doddridge blackmore. the novel was published in 1869. the story begins in late 17th century in the united kingdom towns of devon and somerset. the story shows the romance of a group of people living around the east lyn valley area of exmoor. a 2003 bbc's survey the big read selected the novel as one of the top 200 books ever published.