Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
I chose to read this book specifically because it is set in Cornwall and I am spending the Christmas period in Padstow. I enjoyed reading Rebecca for the first time earlier in the year, so I had positive expectations.
I don’t usually read this type of book. I don’t enjoy historical fiction on the whole, but I found myself engrossed in the story. I enjoy the way that Du Maurier writes, she made me feel like I was actually on Bodmin Moor at the Jamaica Inn. I could smell and feel and see and hear the pub and its patrons, and then the wild moorland. It was captivating.
I felt that the character of Aunt Patience was somewhat weak. There wasn’t enough time spent exploring the character and what had made her the way that she was, and she seemed very flat and two dimensional in comparison to the other characters in the novel, and I did notice this somewhat.
There were a few typos in the edition of the book that I read, which detracted a little from my enjoyment.
Overall, I found the story solid and engaging, and difficult to put down! It was an excellent choice for a holiday read.
I don’t usually read this type of book. I don’t enjoy historical fiction on the whole, but I found myself engrossed in the story. I enjoy the way that Du Maurier writes, she made me feel like I was actually on Bodmin Moor at the Jamaica Inn. I could smell and feel and see and hear the pub and its patrons, and then the wild moorland. It was captivating.
I felt that the character of Aunt Patience was somewhat weak. There wasn’t enough time spent exploring the character and what had made her the way that she was, and she seemed very flat and two dimensional in comparison to the other characters in the novel, and I did notice this somewhat.
There were a few typos in the edition of the book that I read, which detracted a little from my enjoyment.
Overall, I found the story solid and engaging, and difficult to put down! It was an excellent choice for a holiday read.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Dec 2020
This was my third du Maurier novel and once again I really enjoyed it. While I didn't think the ending was as strong as My Cousin Rachel and Rebecca, it was dark and dramatic and still really gripped me. I love her writing and the atmosphere of her books. The ominous mood throughout and the vivid descriptions of the moors and the weather really made the book for me. I'm excited to pick up more du Maurier next year.
Nov 2022
I re-read this for my book club and I enjoyed it just as much the second time round. I really love du Maurier's writing and the way she creates atmosphere. It's also always interesting re-reading a book with a twist when you know what's going to happen. I'm still not completely on board with the ending, but it's still a really gripping read.
This was my third du Maurier novel and once again I really enjoyed it. While I didn't think the ending was as strong as My Cousin Rachel and Rebecca, it was dark and dramatic and still really gripped me. I love her writing and the atmosphere of her books. The ominous mood throughout and the vivid descriptions of the moors and the weather really made the book for me. I'm excited to pick up more du Maurier next year.
Nov 2022
I re-read this for my book club and I enjoyed it just as much the second time round. I really love du Maurier's writing and the way she creates atmosphere. It's also always interesting re-reading a book with a twist when you know what's going to happen. I'm still not completely on board with the ending, but it's still a really gripping read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I've been trying to watch the mini-series that made the cover of this book, but I just hated it : too fast, not enough plot, not good enough characters, Joss Merlyn is not as big and fantastic as in this book, Aunt Patience is not the same at all.
But the book itself, actually ? Awesome. A gothic feel, an atmosphere, progress that makes your toes curb while you're reading, an almost love story (I don't know if I would fall for Jem but have to say he's tempting) : it's not a historical romance, it's a rough and tough story with gruesome murder, hard characters but it's oh so worth the read...
But the book itself, actually ? Awesome. A gothic feel, an atmosphere, progress that makes your toes curb while you're reading, an almost love story (I don't know if I would fall for Jem but have to say he's tempting) : it's not a historical romance, it's a rough and tough story with gruesome murder, hard characters but it's oh so worth the read...
Overall, I wanted to like Jamaica Inn, but just found it too, too depressing.
Mary’s mother has died and Mary is going to live with her only remaining relative, her mother’s sister Patience. Aunt Patience is married to an innkeeper named Joss. But when Mary (who is a young woman of 23, not a child, by the way) arrives at Jamaica Inn, she finds it to be a frightening and lonely place that discourages visitors. Joss is a strong, terrible man, and Aunt Patience is a shadow of her former self. As the story progresses, Mary discovers various evil and terrible things going on around the inn, but feels unable to speak out against them because of how the destruction of Joss would devastate Patience.
Many of the descriptions are rather melodramatic, but excellent nonetheless. Du Maurier has a knack of describing people in a way that makes them quite easy to picture – perhaps aided by the fact that nearly everyone in this book is practically a caricature.
In both Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel, we are given a first person perspective from a possibly unreliable narrator. Much of tension from both of those books is not knowing how much of what we hear is actual truth, and how much of it is simply in the mind of the narrator. But in Jamaica Inn, the story is much more straightforward, a more traditional Gothic novel, with smugglers and dark, sweeping moors, and an innocent young woman caught up in circumstances beyond her control. It wasn’t exactly boring, but it almost was. While in Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel I was constantly guessing as the guilt and innocence to the very end, I really had Jamaica Inn figured out about a third of the way through; the book felt almost formulaic.
Throughout, I couldn’t tell if du Maurier was trying to make a point about the situation of women in society or what, but she constantly, and I do mean constantly, harps on how hopeless and almost pointless the existence of women is, because they are so dependent on men. Of Aunt Patience she says –
And really, that sums up the way both sexes are portrayed throughout. The women – downtrodden, hopelessly bound by love and loyalty; the men – vacillating between cruelty and indifference.
Even Mary herself, who claims that she will always be independent and strong, and will never fall in love or put herself into a place where a man has control over her, falls in love “against her will” –
Later in the same chapter she is thinking about how back at home she would see people in love, but after they married –
Just… ugh. So hopeless, not just about love, but about life – that all we are is unthinking animals who know nothing better than to find someone to whom we have a spark of attraction that we may breed – no hope of any kind of long-lasting affection or companionship – just drudgery and darkness.
And that’s what this book was, consistently, throughout every page. Drudgery and darkness. Complete hopelessness. In the end, Mary goes off with with this man who stands “for everything she feared and hated and despised” – and there is no sign whatsoever that he is not all of the things she lists off in that paragraph. And so Mary, despite knowing that her life will probably be miserable, purposefully chooses to go with him! I had already lost all my respect for Mary about halfway through the book; for all her claims to be strong and saucy, she really isn’t terribly smart and is already completely resigned to a life just as miserable as Aunt Patience’s (even though Mary spends a great deal of time despising her Aunt Patience for her loyalty to Joss).
In the end, du Maurier leaves us with nothing. Christianity is “built upon a fairy tale. Christ himself is a figurehead, a puppet thing created by man himself.” Humans are nothing more than animals who can never expect to be anything better. Women will forever be subservient to men because they will always choose to be loyal to a man, even if he is cruel – which he will be, because all men are so instinctively, desiring nothing more than to crush all who are weaker than they are.
The picturesque descriptions of the moors and the attempt at a mystery were not enough to overcome the darkness and hopelessness of this story for me. 2/5 and not recommended.
Mary’s mother has died and Mary is going to live with her only remaining relative, her mother’s sister Patience. Aunt Patience is married to an innkeeper named Joss. But when Mary (who is a young woman of 23, not a child, by the way) arrives at Jamaica Inn, she finds it to be a frightening and lonely place that discourages visitors. Joss is a strong, terrible man, and Aunt Patience is a shadow of her former self. As the story progresses, Mary discovers various evil and terrible things going on around the inn, but feels unable to speak out against them because of how the destruction of Joss would devastate Patience.
Many of the descriptions are rather melodramatic, but excellent nonetheless. Du Maurier has a knack of describing people in a way that makes them quite easy to picture – perhaps aided by the fact that nearly everyone in this book is practically a caricature.
In both Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel, we are given a first person perspective from a possibly unreliable narrator. Much of tension from both of those books is not knowing how much of what we hear is actual truth, and how much of it is simply in the mind of the narrator. But in Jamaica Inn, the story is much more straightforward, a more traditional Gothic novel, with smugglers and dark, sweeping moors, and an innocent young woman caught up in circumstances beyond her control. It wasn’t exactly boring, but it almost was. While in Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel I was constantly guessing as the guilt and innocence to the very end, I really had Jamaica Inn figured out about a third of the way through; the book felt almost formulaic.
Throughout, I couldn’t tell if du Maurier was trying to make a point about the situation of women in society or what, but she constantly, and I do mean constantly, harps on how hopeless and almost pointless the existence of women is, because they are so dependent on men. Of Aunt Patience she says –
“You mustn’t mind your uncle Joss,” [Aunt Patience] said, her manner changing suddenly, fawning almost, like a whimpering dog that has been trained by constant cruelty to implicit obedience, and who, in spite of kicks and curses, will fight like a tiger for its master.
And really, that sums up the way both sexes are portrayed throughout. The women – downtrodden, hopelessly bound by love and loyalty; the men – vacillating between cruelty and indifference.
Even Mary herself, who claims that she will always be independent and strong, and will never fall in love or put herself into a place where a man has control over her, falls in love “against her will” –
And there, in spite of herself, came [his] face again, with growth of beard like a tramp, and his dirty shirt, and his bold offensive stare. He lacked tenderness; he was rude; and he had more than a streak of cruelty in him; he was a thief and a liar. He stood for everything she feared and hated and despised; but she knew she could love him. Nature cared nothing for prejudice. Men and women were like the animals on the farm at Helford, she supposed; there was a common law of attraction for all living things, some similarity of skin or touch, and they would go to one another. This was no choice of the mind.
Later in the same chapter she is thinking about how back at home she would see people in love, but after they married –
…when the lad came home at evening tired from his work in the fields, and calling sharply that his supper was burnt, not fit for a dog, while the girl snapped back at him from the bedroom overhead, her figure sagging and her curls gone, pacing backward and forward with a bundle in her arms that mewed like a cat and would not sleep. There was no talk then of the moonlight on the water. No, Mary had no illusions about romance. Falling in love was a pretty name for it, that was all.
Just… ugh. So hopeless, not just about love, but about life – that all we are is unthinking animals who know nothing better than to find someone to whom we have a spark of attraction that we may breed – no hope of any kind of long-lasting affection or companionship – just drudgery and darkness.
And that’s what this book was, consistently, throughout every page. Drudgery and darkness. Complete hopelessness. In the end, Mary goes off with with this man who stands “for everything she feared and hated and despised” – and there is no sign whatsoever that he is not all of the things she lists off in that paragraph. And so Mary, despite knowing that her life will probably be miserable, purposefully chooses to go with him! I had already lost all my respect for Mary about halfway through the book; for all her claims to be strong and saucy, she really isn’t terribly smart and is already completely resigned to a life just as miserable as Aunt Patience’s (even though Mary spends a great deal of time despising her Aunt Patience for her loyalty to Joss).
In the end, du Maurier leaves us with nothing. Christianity is “built upon a fairy tale. Christ himself is a figurehead, a puppet thing created by man himself.” Humans are nothing more than animals who can never expect to be anything better. Women will forever be subservient to men because they will always choose to be loyal to a man, even if he is cruel – which he will be, because all men are so instinctively, desiring nothing more than to crush all who are weaker than they are.
The picturesque descriptions of the moors and the attempt at a mystery were not enough to overcome the darkness and hopelessness of this story for me. 2/5 and not recommended.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book was published two years before [b:Rebecca|12873|Rebecca|Daphne du Maurier|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327871977l/12873._SY75_.jpg|46663], and I'm kind of amazed that she went from this one to that one in such a short time--because the latter is far superior, and du Maurier must have learned some pretty quick damn lessons from the former.
Mind you, Jamaica Inn isn't a bad book by any means. And perhaps any book of "romantic suspense" will pale in comparison to Rebecca, even other books from the same author. The atmosphere here is, as expected, absolutely exquisite. Du Maurier was so skilled at really putting you right there alongside the characters, with simple things like her description of the sound of the wind in the grass, the discoloration of a coach seat from a dripping roof, and the scrape of a door on a stone floor. The woman could set a scene, let me tell you. And Jamaica Inn itself is foreboding and looms right out of the page at the reader. It's definitely not anything like its namesake island, I can say that for sure without ever having been there.
And I liked the main character Mary quite a bit, especially the fact that she's 23 and does not, as often happens in older books, come across as either a silly teenager or an old spinster, which she pretty much was at 23 in her time. Mary is steady and smart, but also gets freaked the eff out just like real people would at certain goings-on in this story. She's neither too weak or too strong, and I appreciated that a lot.
However, Joss, her hateful uncle and the ringleader of all the scary shit that goes on in this story, was very poorly done. He's so over-the-top, almost cartoonish really, and it surprised me to see such a lack of subtlety in his character. Right from the first moment Mary meets him, he's just ridiculously nasty and mean, and practically stating so out loud, all the time. He's full of threats and huskily-whispered cruelties, he's wildly violent at the drop of a hat, and seems to have nothing even approaching a soul. It was just all too much, too heavy-handed.
The central mystery was okay. You think it's just one thing but it turns out to be a little deeper and darker, and it was definitely wild. But again, it ended up feeling too pointed and unsubtle. And then we get a reveal that didn't totally surprise me, but it did let me down because I was hoping it wouldn't come about. And then the very end was just...meh.
So there's some good stuff here for sure, but of the three du Maurier books I've read, it definitely takes the bronze.
Mind you, Jamaica Inn isn't a bad book by any means. And perhaps any book of "romantic suspense" will pale in comparison to Rebecca, even other books from the same author. The atmosphere here is, as expected, absolutely exquisite. Du Maurier was so skilled at really putting you right there alongside the characters, with simple things like her description of the sound of the wind in the grass, the discoloration of a coach seat from a dripping roof, and the scrape of a door on a stone floor. The woman could set a scene, let me tell you. And Jamaica Inn itself is foreboding and looms right out of the page at the reader. It's definitely not anything like its namesake island, I can say that for sure without ever having been there.
And I liked the main character Mary quite a bit, especially the fact that she's 23 and does not, as often happens in older books, come across as either a silly teenager or an old spinster, which she pretty much was at 23 in her time. Mary is steady and smart, but also gets freaked the eff out just like real people would at certain goings-on in this story. She's neither too weak or too strong, and I appreciated that a lot.
However, Joss, her hateful uncle and the ringleader of all the scary shit that goes on in this story, was very poorly done. He's so over-the-top, almost cartoonish really, and it surprised me to see such a lack of subtlety in his character. Right from the first moment Mary meets him, he's just ridiculously nasty and mean, and practically stating so out loud, all the time. He's full of threats and huskily-whispered cruelties, he's wildly violent at the drop of a hat, and seems to have nothing even approaching a soul. It was just all too much, too heavy-handed.
The central mystery was okay. You think it's just one thing but it turns out to be a little deeper and darker, and it was definitely wild. But again, it ended up feeling too pointed and unsubtle. And then we get a reveal that didn't totally surprise me, but it did let me down because I was hoping it wouldn't come about. And then the very end was just...meh.
So there's some good stuff here for sure, but of the three du Maurier books I've read, it definitely takes the bronze.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes