diff --git a/hy/lex/lexer.py b/hy/lex/lexer.py
index 1480413..4a770f5 100644
--- a/hy/lex/lexer.py
+++ b/hy/lex/lexer.py
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ partial_string = r'''(?x)
     "  # start string
     (?:
        | [^"\\]             # non-quote or backslash
-       | \\.                # or escaped single character
+       | \\(.|\n)           # or escaped single character or newline
        | \\x[0-9a-fA-F]{2}  # or escaped raw character
        | \\u[0-9a-fA-F]{4}  # or unicode escape
        | \\U[0-9a-fA-F]{8}  # or long unicode escape
diff --git a/tests/lex/test_lex.py b/tests/lex/test_lex.py
index 56ed52a..4413a6b 100644
--- a/tests/lex/test_lex.py
+++ b/tests/lex/test_lex.py
@@ -98,8 +98,14 @@ def test_lex_symbols():
 
 def test_lex_strings():
     """ Make sure that strings are valid expressions"""
-    objs = tokenize("\"foo\" ")
+    objs = tokenize('"foo"')
     assert objs == [HyString("foo")]
+    # Make sure backslash-escaped newlines work (see issue #831)
+    objs = tokenize(r"""
+"a\
+bc"
+""")
+    assert objs == [HyString("abc")]
 
 
 def test_lex_integers():