Historical fiction book · Curated
Jamaica Inn
Daphne du Maurier · historical fiction
On a November night Mary Yellan crosses Bodmin Moor to keep a promise to her dying mother, and finds Jamaica Inn shuttered to honest travelers: her Aunt Patience cowers, Uncle Joss Merlyn runs wreckers, and Mary is drawn to Joss’s brother Jem—a horse thief she dares not trust. Daphne du Maurier’s 1936 novel is Regency mystery historical fiction of Cornish smugglers, a haunted inn, and a young woman who will not look away.
Why read it: A widely searched gothic historical novel—the du Maurier title readers look up by name (and the Hitchcock film), and a Cornish-moor counterpart to Jane Eyre already on the shelf.
About this historical novel
Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier is historical fiction set around 1820s in the Regency / Napoleonic period with key settings including Jamaica Inn, Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, England. On a November night Mary Yellan crosses Bodmin Moor to keep a promise to her dying mother, and finds Jamaica Inn shuttered to honest travelers: her Aunt Patience cowers, Uncle Joss Merlyn runs wreckers, and Mary is drawn to Joss’s brother Jem—a horse thief she dares not trust. Daphne du Maurier’s 1936 novel is Regency mystery historical fiction of Cornish smugglers, a haunted inn, and a young woman who will not look away.
On HisFic we tag it under 3. Historical mystery & crime and 6. Adventure & epic so you can pair it with similar story types. Recurring themes include smuggling, wreckers, gothic, trust, and moors. A widely searched gothic historical novel—the du Maurier title readers look up by name (and the Hitchcock film), and a Cornish-moor counterpart to Jane Eyre already on the shelf.
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Plot summary
On a November night Mary Yellan crosses Bodmin Moor to keep a promise to her dying mother, and finds Jamaica Inn shuttered to honest travelers: her Aunt Patience cowers, Uncle Joss Merlyn runs wreckers, and Mary is drawn to Joss’s brother Jem—a horse thief she dares not trust. Daphne du Maurier’s 1936 novel is Regency mystery historical fiction of Cornish smugglers, a haunted inn, and a young woman who will not look away. A widely searched gothic historical novel—the du Maurier title readers look up by name (and the Hitchcock film), and a Cornish-moor counterpart to Jane Eyre already on the shelf.
Subgenres
Eras
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- The Count of Monte Cristo · Alexandre Dumas
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- Jane Eyre · Charlotte Brontë
Orphaned Jane Eyre survives Gateshead and Lowood, then takes a governess post at Thornfield Hall, where she falls in love with the brooding Edward Rochester—and discovers the secret locked on the third floor that makes their wedding impossible. Charlotte Brontë’s 1847 novel is Regency gothic historical romance: a woman who will not be owned, and the most famous governess courtship in English fiction.
Regions & places
Britain & Ireland
Jamaica Inn · Bodmin Moor · Cornwall · England
Themes
- smuggling
- wreckers
- gothic
- trust
- moors
Tags
classic · mystery · gothic