By: Richard Doddridge Blackmore (1825-1900)
CLARA VAUGHAN, the young heroine, narrator, and namesake for R. D. Blackmore’s early detective novel, is determined to solve the mystery of her father’s murder—a crime that occurred when she was only 10 years of age. The book gives an account of Clara’s adventures, romances, and encounters with many eccentric characters, when, years later, she devotes herself to unraveling the mystery. As Clara states at the beginning of Chapter II, “How that deed was done, I learned at once, and will tell. By whom and why it was done, I have given my life to learn.” R. D. Blackmore, undoubtedly better known for his later novel LORNA DOONE, published this book anonymously in 1864.