|
After satisfying a sudden cookie craving, we headed to the front page of Yahoo! and typed "lorna doone" into the search box. As we soon discovered, the lady merits not only her own cookie but also a Yahoo! category. Lorna Doone is the heroine of R.D. Blackmore's novel of the same name. Published in 1869, the historical romance set in southwest England tells the tale of John Ridd, a young farmer who clashes with the Doones, a Scottish family of murderers and outlaws based on real people. Ridd eventually meets Lorna, a ward of the Doone family, and falls in love. It's a classic tale complete with love, murder, revenge, and, of course, a cliff-hanger ending. Alas, our search returned no mention of why this literary character inspired a shortbread cookie, so we tried again. This time we searched on "lorna doone cookie" and found some tasty results. In answering a similar cookie question, our frequently cited, reliable source Cecil at The Straight Dope offered this quote from a Nabisco executive: "No record exists as to the exact motivation behind the
selection of that name, but in those days [1912] shortbread biscuits were considered a product of Scottish heritage, and the Lorna Doone character was symbolic of Scotland." Another web page confirmed this theory. If you have the time and the unfailing eyesight, you can read the full text of the novel at Bibliomania. If you're not the literary type, there are several different movie versions available. Just rent one tonight and settle in with some shortbread.
|
