Review: Jamaica Inn

I've had an extremely long love affair with Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca, which I read when I was around the age of 16 . I distinctly remember reading the novel in three days (or thereabouts) whilst nestled in a cosy log cabin in The Lake District one rainy summer as I just couldn't bear to part with it before I'd reached the end.

Not long after this, I visited Barter Books in Northumberland; coincidently, this is my favourite book shop in the world, but that's a whole other post! Because I'd loved Rebecca so much I picked up every Du Maurier book I could lay my little hands on, along with countless other purchases.

Fast forward several years....

At the end of 2015 I picked up Jamaica Inn from my bookshelf and finally settled down to read. It's the first novel I've read in a long time that inspired me to write an essay not dissimilar to those I would've done at uni, and to want to share my thoughts on it with everyone who will listen. So, basically, that's what I'm doing here.

Jamaica Inn is an incredible novel. With the same gothic feel of Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea, this enchanting tale tells of how Mary Yellen adapts to living with her Aunt and Uncle on the remote moors in Cornwall following the death of her mother. A feisty, brave young character, she discovers that trouble is afoot at Jamaica Inn, and sets out to discover for herself why travellers no longer stop at the once very popular resting place. Her controlling Uncle bullies her and her Aunt into secrecy over his wrongdoings, but fails to remember that Mary is very strong willed and determined to discover the truth.

As with any good classic novel, this one covers  religion, morality, feminism, romance and offers a historical context to a contemporary reader. However, there were a few comments from Mary herself that contradicted the feminist nature of her character, which I'm assuming is a sign of the time of writing.

People often shy away from reading classic books as they assume they'll be challenging and boring, but I rarely read a modern book more compelling or well written than any by Du Maurier.

Have you read Jamaica Inn? Anyone else love Du Maurier's work as much as I do?

Thanks for reading x