This very brief summary of the novel, which enjoyed considerable popularity at the time, is from Ernest Baker and James Packman, A Guide to the Best Fiction (London: George Routledge, 1932); the novel can be read here on Project Gutenberg. — DB
Though the chief characters are English and Scottish, the scene is laid in California, New York, and Washington. Plot-interest is dominant and tragic, but the humour of the characterization and the beauty of the surroundings lighten the gloom.
Comment in the Westminster Review
There is no necessity for us to call attention to Mr. Blackmore's "Erema," which has so long delighted the readers of the "Cornhill Magazine." In some respects we consider "Erema" his finest work. If any one wants a proof that Mr, Blackmore's hand has lost none of its cunning, let him turn to the thirty-fourth chapter of the second volume, and see with what skill the little village of Shoxford is drawn, with its churchyard and mill and village inn, and then let him try to make a similar picture. Mr. Blackmore's style seems easy to imitate, but it is really one of the most difficult. because it is so simple. As another crucial test of power, let the reader turn to "The Sawyer's Prayer" in the first volume, or to the three chapters of "Betsy's Tale" in the second volume, and then let him attempt the still more diflicult task of making characters speak in character, and not in the conventional style of most novelists. By "Erema" Mr. Blackmore has done something more than hold his ground amongst the foremost novelists of the day.
Created 25 April 2006
Last modified 3 July 2026