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The Lady of Blossholme
H. Rider Haggard's 34th novel, "The Lady of Blossholme," is one of the author's more straightforward historical adventures. The story takes place in England during the reign of Henry VIII, in 1536.
270 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1909
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154 people want to read
About the author
H. Rider Haggard
1,580 books1,095 followersSir Henry Rider Haggard, KBE was an English writer of adventure novels set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and the creator of the Lost World literary genre. His stories, situated at the lighter end of the scale of Victorian literature, continue to be popular and influential. He was also involved in agricultural reform and improvement in the British Empire.
His breakout novel was King Solomon's Mines (1885), which was to be the first in a series telling of the multitudinous adventures of its protagonist, Allan Quatermain.
Haggard was made a Knight Bachelor in 1912 and a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1919. He stood unsuccessfully for Parliament as a Conservative candidate for the Eastern division of Norfolk in 1895. The locality of Rider, British Columbia, was named in his memory.
His breakout novel was King Solomon's Mines (1885), which was to be the first in a series telling of the multitudinous adventures of its protagonist, Allan Quatermain.
Haggard was made a Knight Bachelor in 1912 and a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1919. He stood unsuccessfully for Parliament as a Conservative candidate for the Eastern division of Norfolk in 1895. The locality of Rider, British Columbia, was named in his memory.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 17, 2022
I'm confused about ratings 2 or 3.so it's 2.5
It's good but I found it lil bit boring sometimes which made my reading speed slower (which is already like a 🐌)
I like Emlin character, found her more strong and intelligent than any other characters even the lady of blossholme.
It's good but I found it lil bit boring sometimes which made my reading speed slower (which is already like a 🐌)
I like Emlin character, found her more strong and intelligent than any other characters even the lady of blossholme.
August 18, 2011
"The Lady of Blossholme" was Henry Rider Haggard's 34th piece of fiction, out of an eventual 58 titles. It is a novel that he wrote (or, to be technically accurate, dictated) in the year 1907, although it would not see publication until the tail end of 1909, and is one of the author's more straightforward historical adventures, with hardly any fantasy elements to speak of. The story takes place in England during the reign of Henry VIII, in the year 1536. This was the period when King Henry was rebelling against Pope Clement VII, and when many Englishmen in the north, and many clergymen, were consequently rebelling against Henry, in the so-called Pilgrimage of Grace. To raise needed funds for this rebellion against the king, the Spanish abbot Clement Maldon murders Cicely Foterell's father and tries to claim all the family's lands and jewels. And what a hell this religious zealot puts poor Cicely through. She and her foster mother, Emlyn, are incarcerated in a nunnery and later tried as witches. Cicely's husband is conked on the head and shipped overseas, and a murderous midwife is sent to do away with Cicely's new baby. Before all can be put to rights, and our heroine and her husband are reunited, Cicely and her few friends must seek an audience with no less personages than Thomas Cromwell and King Henry themselves.
Anyway, that's the story in a nutshell. But what a detailed, densely written, fast-moving and action-packed story it is! The Abbot Maldon--a holy man using evil methods to achieve his dubious ends--is one of Haggard's more interesting villains, conflicted mess that he is. The character of King Henry here is revealed by Haggard to be a wise, brooding, decent, harried and coarsely jovial person, and Cromwell, too, avaricious as he may have been, is shown in a decent light. Unlike many of Haggard's other historicals, this one, as mentioned, features hardly any fantasy elements, unless one can count Lady Cicely's visions of angels, and Emlyn's contacting of her swain, Thomas Bolle, by nighttime dreams, as fantasy. Like several other Haggard novels that I've read recently, such as "Swallow" (1899) and "Red Eve" (1911), this book uses the plot device of newly married/engaged lovers forced to separate for long periods of time, and fighting near insuperable odds to reunite. And like those other titles, "The Lady of Blossholme" can serve as a fun history lesson for readers. I personally knew nothing of the Pilgrimage of Grace before opening this book, just as I knew little of the Great Trek before reading "Swallow" or the Battle of Crecy before getting into "Red Eve." What an excellent way to acquire a knowledge of a specific historical time and place! Haggard has really done his homework here, and his use of language and scenic description are extremely convincing. The average reader may require an UNabridged dictionary to assist with some words here and there (such as "gralloch," "grieve," "durance," "pleasaunce," "byre" and "wain"), but for the most part, Haggard, expert storyteller that he always was, keeps the reader flipping those pages. (I just read the cute litte Tauchnitz edition of this book from 1909, as I still prefer to flip a page than click a mouse!) Although perhaps one of the more obscure titles in the Haggard canon, "The Lady of Blossholme" is well worth a reader's time. With memorable characters, a unique setting, a different kind of Haggardian villain, several interesting Haggardian sidekicks, and a healthy dose of red-blooded action, the novel is a real pleaser. And, to top it all off, it concludes with one of the most satisfying final sentences ever. Don't peep ahead! Just trust me on this one, okay?
Anyway, that's the story in a nutshell. But what a detailed, densely written, fast-moving and action-packed story it is! The Abbot Maldon--a holy man using evil methods to achieve his dubious ends--is one of Haggard's more interesting villains, conflicted mess that he is. The character of King Henry here is revealed by Haggard to be a wise, brooding, decent, harried and coarsely jovial person, and Cromwell, too, avaricious as he may have been, is shown in a decent light. Unlike many of Haggard's other historicals, this one, as mentioned, features hardly any fantasy elements, unless one can count Lady Cicely's visions of angels, and Emlyn's contacting of her swain, Thomas Bolle, by nighttime dreams, as fantasy. Like several other Haggard novels that I've read recently, such as "Swallow" (1899) and "Red Eve" (1911), this book uses the plot device of newly married/engaged lovers forced to separate for long periods of time, and fighting near insuperable odds to reunite. And like those other titles, "The Lady of Blossholme" can serve as a fun history lesson for readers. I personally knew nothing of the Pilgrimage of Grace before opening this book, just as I knew little of the Great Trek before reading "Swallow" or the Battle of Crecy before getting into "Red Eve." What an excellent way to acquire a knowledge of a specific historical time and place! Haggard has really done his homework here, and his use of language and scenic description are extremely convincing. The average reader may require an UNabridged dictionary to assist with some words here and there (such as "gralloch," "grieve," "durance," "pleasaunce," "byre" and "wain"), but for the most part, Haggard, expert storyteller that he always was, keeps the reader flipping those pages. (I just read the cute litte Tauchnitz edition of this book from 1909, as I still prefer to flip a page than click a mouse!) Although perhaps one of the more obscure titles in the Haggard canon, "The Lady of Blossholme" is well worth a reader's time. With memorable characters, a unique setting, a different kind of Haggardian villain, several interesting Haggardian sidekicks, and a healthy dose of red-blooded action, the novel is a real pleaser. And, to top it all off, it concludes with one of the most satisfying final sentences ever. Don't peep ahead! Just trust me on this one, okay?
March 7, 2020
ফ্ল্যাপে লেখা ছিল স্যর হ্যাগার্ডের আর একটি অসাধারণ সৃষ্টি। তো বইটি পড়তে যেয়ে এই কথার সত্যতা হারে হারে টের পেয়েছি। পুরোটা সময় মন্ত্রমুগ্ধের মতো আচ্ছন্ন হয়ে পড়েছি। আর লেডি অভ ব্লসহোমের প্রেমে পড়ে গিয়েছি :3
February 5, 2018
The Lady of Blossholme
Written in 1907. The story opens on 12/31/1535 during the reign of Henry VIII with most of the events happening in 1536. It is the time of Henry VIII, Thomas Cromwell, the dissolution of the monasteries and a rebellion against the king. It is one of Haggard’s more straight forward historical adventures, with hardly any fantasy elements with a stereotypical hero and heroine who have many adventures, King Henry and Cromwell put in appearances and evil men plot against the good guys. It opens with Sir John Foterell, lord of Blosscome, having a clash with the villainous abbot of Blossholm Abbey in which the abbort is using bribery and skullduggery to obtain a large portion of Foterell’s holdings with the possibility of all of his lands. Foterell seeks to use evidence he has to discredit the abbot and is murdered before he can do so.
There is also a love story involved between Foterell’s daughter, Cicely and the man she’s loved since childhood, Sir Christopher Harflete who get caught up in the abbot’s schemes to control the Forterell lands and obtain money to undermine and overthrown Henry.
The basic tale is very good, but drawn out with repeated complications. With Haggard, the road to true love and fulfillment is never easy and not always granted in this life.
Written in 1907. The story opens on 12/31/1535 during the reign of Henry VIII with most of the events happening in 1536. It is the time of Henry VIII, Thomas Cromwell, the dissolution of the monasteries and a rebellion against the king. It is one of Haggard’s more straight forward historical adventures, with hardly any fantasy elements with a stereotypical hero and heroine who have many adventures, King Henry and Cromwell put in appearances and evil men plot against the good guys. It opens with Sir John Foterell, lord of Blosscome, having a clash with the villainous abbot of Blossholm Abbey in which the abbort is using bribery and skullduggery to obtain a large portion of Foterell’s holdings with the possibility of all of his lands. Foterell seeks to use evidence he has to discredit the abbot and is murdered before he can do so.
There is also a love story involved between Foterell’s daughter, Cicely and the man she’s loved since childhood, Sir Christopher Harflete who get caught up in the abbot’s schemes to control the Forterell lands and obtain money to undermine and overthrown Henry.
The basic tale is very good, but drawn out with repeated complications. With Haggard, the road to true love and fulfillment is never easy and not always granted in this life.
November 4, 2021
This was the first Haggard book I read that wasn't set in Africa. His handling of medieval English history was exciting too and quite clever, concerning a titled woman whose properties were being confiscated by the Catholic church and in the process, she was declared a witch. The entertaining part had to do with the witchcraft as Haggard characters are colorful and full of maneuvers. This did chronicle the conflict between Henry VIII and Catholicism which affected the rural English, the manors, and the people of the district which was informing since the issue usually focuses on the royalty. His dialogue and appearance with Henry was satisfying though perhaps wilder than was, but showed how his war was concerning the whole nation. I was impressed with his dialogue and his diction, very convincing of the time.
November 7, 2018
Как не рассказать о фигуре английского короля Генриха VIII? Он отказался признавать над собой власть папы римского, выступив против и создав собственное христианское религиозное течение. К тому его побудила необходимость развода с первой женой, так и не родившей ему жизнеспособного наследника. О событиях тех времён Хаггард и решил рассказать читателю. Но где дух приключений? Вместо увлекательных происшествий, за которыми можно наблюдать и переживать за действующих лиц, страницы оказались исписаны политическими нюансами. Может Райдер желал погрузить читателя в начинающуюся эпоху реформации? Если так, то погружение оказалось излишним. За стремлением разобраться во всех деталях, потерялось само произведение.
(c) Trounin
(c) Trounin
December 21, 2025
This 1909 release of Sir N. Rider Haggard's ‘Lady of Blossholme’ is one his few books grounded in actual history, and not a fantastic one set in a lost world or an exotic location. While it is interesting for the details of social and political history in England during the reign of King Henry VIII, it is too improbable in the life and misadventures of his fictional heroine and her unusually strong-minded, strong-willed and loyal nurse. However, for the period and the author it is also something of surprise to find such a female-oriented book.
Another first for Rider Haggard is the level of realism, at times verging on cynicism, one finds in this book, particularly in the bribes that need to be paid to the King, to Thomas Cromwell, to the King's Commissioner and others along the way, including Jane Seymour, the future Queen herself, for the heroine’s personal safety and the security of her property.
That the novel is anti-Catholic is almost mandatory in any novel of the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries. That this should be so also in the nineteenth century is inevitable, given the religious ferment of the times, the rise of Irish nationalism, the very unpopular Catholic Emancipation act, and as an expression of loyalty to Queen Victoria's own religion. Almost every novelist of the nineteenth century, from G. P. R. James and Walter Scott to Wilkie Collins and William Harrison Ainsworth to George Eliot or Mrs Oliphant or Elizabeth Gaskell have Catholics as negative characters, principally as the chief villain through whom a malign Catholic Church is acting to overthrow England. This novel is no exception.
At times slow, and most of the time repetitive, while the machinations of the villain are predictable and almost monotonous, and the last minute escapes and rescues equally remarkable.
Another first for Rider Haggard is the level of realism, at times verging on cynicism, one finds in this book, particularly in the bribes that need to be paid to the King, to Thomas Cromwell, to the King's Commissioner and others along the way, including Jane Seymour, the future Queen herself, for the heroine’s personal safety and the security of her property.
That the novel is anti-Catholic is almost mandatory in any novel of the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries. That this should be so also in the nineteenth century is inevitable, given the religious ferment of the times, the rise of Irish nationalism, the very unpopular Catholic Emancipation act, and as an expression of loyalty to Queen Victoria's own religion. Almost every novelist of the nineteenth century, from G. P. R. James and Walter Scott to Wilkie Collins and William Harrison Ainsworth to George Eliot or Mrs Oliphant or Elizabeth Gaskell have Catholics as negative characters, principally as the chief villain through whom a malign Catholic Church is acting to overthrow England. This novel is no exception.
At times slow, and most of the time repetitive, while the machinations of the villain are predictable and almost monotonous, and the last minute escapes and rescues equally remarkable.
January 8, 2017
This is a tale of adventure and derring-do set in the time of King Henry VIII and the pilgrimage of grace. The Stereotypical hero and heroine have many adventures, king Henry and Cromwell put in appearances, evil men plot against the good guys, but in the end all comes out well. A wealth of interesting lesser characters spice up the story. This is a typical rider haggard novel, a writer who is sometimes compared to Rudyard Kipling.
June 15, 2021
Entertaining listening
Due to eye issues and damage Alexa reads to me.
An interesting will written historical romance thriller adventure novella with will developed characters. The story line is set in the regime of Henry VIII when a Spanish bishop has the Lord of Blossholme killed. The story goes from there to the unexpected conclusion. I would recommend this novella to anyone who reads historical novels. Enjoy the adventure of reading 📚 2021
Due to eye issues and damage Alexa reads to me.
An interesting will written historical romance thriller adventure novella with will developed characters. The story line is set in the regime of Henry VIII when a Spanish bishop has the Lord of Blossholme killed. The story goes from there to the unexpected conclusion. I would recommend this novella to anyone who reads historical novels. Enjoy the adventure of reading 📚 2021
August 17, 2020
Fights, courage. Faith in God brings dreams, predictions. Slow but worthy phrasing. Evil Abbot conspiring against knight for land and jewels ties ladies to stake as witches, men are jailed, starved, tortured, taken for dead.
Typo:18.3 there are on IS on
Typo:18.3 there are on IS on
January 19, 2023
হ্যাগার্ড এর এই বইটাও অসাধারণ। তার বই আপনি যেটাই ধরেন না কেন হতাশ হবেন না। দ্য লেডি অভ ব্লসহোম হতাশ করেনি। এবার চির চে��া আফ্রিকা থেকে বের হয়ে হ্যাগার্ড সাহেব ভিন্ন এক রোমাঞ্চ তৈরি করেছে। সেবার অনুবাদ টাও বেশ ভাল হয়েছে।
Want to read
January 2, 2020good
April 4, 2020
A wonderful book!!
January 15, 2021
at some points I couldn't even stop reading because I wanted to know what happened next. But I would say that for me Emlin was more interesting as a character, than Cicely
December 6, 2023
পরম বিশ্বাস আর চরম বিশ্বাসঘাতকতার মিশ্রণে "লেডি অফ ব্লসহোম" এর প্লট। তবে হ্যাঁ, কিছু দিক দিয়ে লেডি সিসিলিকে ছাপিয়ে গিয়েছে এমলিন।
November 10, 2024
4.5(ক্রিস্টোফারের এডভেঞ্চার/ওর দিক টাও লিখা উচিত ছিলো)
March 6, 2014
I found this for free online. I would love to own this book. Fantastic!
October 18, 2023
An excellent historical fiction novel.
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February 4, 20164 stars from Sandy: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews