Clara Vaughan is a sensation novel by R. D. Blackmore

R. D. Blackmore

Richard Doddridge Blackmore , referred to most commonly as R. D. Blackmore, was one of the most famous English novelists of the second half of the nineteenth century. Over the course of his career, Blackmore achieved a close following around the world...

, who was later to achieve lasting fame for another Romantic novel, Lorna Doone

Lorna Doone

Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor is a novel by Richard Doddridge Blackmore. It is a romance based on a group of historical characters and set in the late 17th century in Devon and Somerset, particularly around the East Lyn Valley area of Exmoor....

. It was written in 1853 and published anonymously in 1864. 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.