The epic qualities of Lorna Doone - seen both in its extreme archetypal characters as well as in the action and language itself - are what makes it such a riveting adventure throughout. Just as the boy John Ridd climbed the waterfall into an almost fairytale world of evil Doones and the enchanting Lorna; so we are drawn into Blackmore's fictional drama, which is at the same time both real and magical. Notice how John's narrative and actions - at times grandly poetic and heroic, at others urbane and pragmatic - allow the lyrical and the down-to-earth qualities of the story to co-exist side by side to brilliant comic effect.