Daphne du Maurier's novels remain compelling and striking decades after their original publication. I didn't like this one nearly as much as I loved Rebecca, but this novel about a young woman living in the questionable Jamaica Inn, where criminal activity abounds and dark characters lurk, is certainly worth reading. Enjoyable, but not one that will stick with me the way Rebecca did. ( )

If this was supposed to be a gothic tale of misery all the way to the end, then I loved it. If this was supposed to have an overriding romantic arc, then I didn’t love it.

I expected to love Jamaica Inn just as much as I had loved My Cousin Rachel and Rebecca. However, I felt that there was something missing from this particular novel. The plot could've benefited from some fine tuning and there were definitely characters that needed more depth and overall development. It was eerie and atmospheric, but being that it was the shortest du Maurier book I've read that also took me the longest to read, it's quite evident that I was never absolutely taken with it. ( )

"Jamaica Inn" by Daphne Du Maurier first published in 1936 with a recent edition being a paperback published in 2015 by William Morrow an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. English author and Cornwall native Du Maurier weaves an exciting suspenseful tale around Mary Yellan a young woman left alone in the world who travels to fulfill the dying wish of her mother that she go live with her sister and her husband at the titular inn. Foreboding sets in early as the remaining passengers depart the stagecoach and the driver advises not to travel on while Mary demonstrates strength of character by insisting she be brought to her waiting relatives Aunt Patience and Uncle Joss even after the driver advises that these days no one stops at the notorious Jamaica Inn. Mary soon finds that her Aunt Patience is no longer the vibrant woman from her childhood memories of visits with her mother at their farm as she is now a nervous frightened woman in the presence of her husband Mary's Uncle Joss Merlyn. Mary soon discovers that her Uncle and Jamaica Inn are at the center of a cutthroat band of smugglers who may be involved in even worse deeds possibly at the behest of a mysterious leader of whom even the monstrous Uncle Joss may be afraid and beholden to.

Jamaica Inn would be the first of three Du Maurier stories adapted by Alfred Hitchcock being made as his last film in England in 1939 before relocating to Hollywood to immediately make Rebecca in 1940 for David O. Selznick and then The Birds in 1963. Hitchcock's adaptation of Jamaica Inn has suffered neglect over the years because it fell into public domain with many poor quality prints in circulation on TV and video as well as being due to Hitchcock's own dismissal of it as a work for hire. Fortunately today there is a gorgeous restoration from Cohen Media available on DVD, Blu-ray, and streaming which allows us to appreciate Hitchcock's stylish design, framing and editing while understanding that film was produced by Charles Laughton as showcase for himself and his talented protégé Maureen O'Hara which resulted in a popular success that carried them to the USA as well where they starred in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Both stars are wonderful in Jamaican Inn's 1939 adaptation and while the mystery of who is the mastermind villain is revealed early, unlike the novel, it instead becomes a battle of wills with O'Hara receiving dashing support from a surprisingly youthful and handsome Robert Newton who is best remember as Long John Silver in Disney's Treasure Island.

Having seen the restored Jamaica Inn prior to reading the novel the changes of the 1939 film actually preserved the mysteries of the novel for this reader. I highly recommend both book and film of Jamaica Inn which can each be enjoyed for their differing merits. Additionally, I look forward to someday seeing one of the more recent adaptations plus who knows maybe a visit to the real Jamaica Inn in Cornwall, still in operation after hundreds of years, which so inspired author Daphne Du Maurier. ( )

Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier is a 1936 publication.

Time for a classic!

This book has all the hallmarks of a great piece of Gothic fiction… a personal favorite of mine. Cornwall, of course, a huge Inn that is basically a ‘front’, a delicate, cowering lady of the house, married to large violent, brute of a man, who is every bit as intimating as he looks…

This is the situation Mary encounters when she comes to stay with her aunt at the Jamaica Inn after her mother passes. The situation is hardly what she was expecting. Her aunt is a shadow of the girl she once was, and her husband is harsh, domineering and a mean drunk… and a criminal.

Thus begins Mary’s crusade to find a way to get herself and her aunt away from the Jamaica Inn….

This one is a bit different from the few other books I’ve read by Daphne du Maurier- or at least it felt that way to me. It seemed more like a tense crime thriller than a story heavy with atmosphere. That said, the book was often unbearably suspenseful, and it took me little time to read it, finding it hard to put down for any length of time.

The male characters, even those who were supposed to be a little softer, were so rough, it made it hard to fully enjoy the story as I’d hoped. I had mixed feelings about the conclusion, but it was also expected, especially from Gothic stories written during this time.

All that said, there’s a lot of tension packed into this story, and it definitely kept me on edge. Though this is not my favorite novel by this author, thus far, it is still a solid novel of suspense.

3 stars ( )