Blackmore studied Latin and Greek at Oxford University and
later studied law in London, but as a result of illness he never
worked in the law. Without his father's knowledge, he married
Lucy Maguire. They never had their own children, but one of
Lucy's niece's, Eva, lived with them as a daughter. His illness
forced Blackmore to move out of London, and he taught Latin
and Greek at a school in Twickenham. He also started to write
poems, although he did not use his real name - he used the name
'Melanter'.
His life changed in 1857 when his uncle died and left him
a large amount of money. Blackmore was able to stop teaching
and, in 1860, he and Lucy built their own house in Teddington,
which was in those days a small village just outside London, near
Hampton Court. He started growing and selling flowers, fruit
and vegetables, although without much success. He was also
interested in local politics, and argued publicly against the building
of the railway and the station in Teddington. More importantly,
Blackmore then had time to write. At first he wrote discussions
and stories about fruit growing. Then he translated poems by
Virgil, the Roman writer. As with his own poems, he did not
use his own name. He said that the translations were by 'a market
gardener'.
Blackmore was almost forty years old when his first story,
Clara Vaughan, came out in 1864. He had written it in 1853,
while he was still living in London. Again, he did not use his real
name. This was followed by Cradock Nowell (1866) and, in 1869,
his most famous story, Lorna Doone.
When it first came out, Lorna Doone was very long and was
not a great success. To Blackmore's surprise, though, it slowly
became more popular. Then in 1871, the book was shortened
and cost less money to buy. In that same year, Princess Louise, a
daughter of Queen Victoria, married a man who was not from
the royal family. People became very excited about the wedding.