Jamaica Inn

Jamaica Inn (1936) is a period piece thriller written by Daphne du Maurier. Inspired by her stay at the eponymous inn—which still stands and hosts visitors today—du Maurier’s novel is set in the early 1800s and centers on the infamous underbelly of smuggling in Cornwall, United Kingdom. Jamaica Inn follows the protagonist, Mary Yellan, as she navigates the unfamiliar world of the moorlands, where life is harsh, and the ever-present proximity of the moors and rocky tors are a reminder of the region’s “pagan” past. Du Maurier came from a line of creatives: Her parents were actors, and her grandfather, George du Maurier, wrote the novel Trilby (1894), which became a cultural sensation in the late 1800s. Daphne du Maurier was a prolific writer who published dozens of novels, plays, short stories, and books of nonfiction from 1931 until her death in 1989. Her career was not without controversy: Accusations of plagiarism were levied at du Maurier and her publisher over her widely acclaimed novel Rebecca (1938) and famous short story “The Birds” (1952), but these allegations were never proven. Rebecca, “The Birds,” and Jamaica Inn all received film adaptations by famous director Alfred Hitchcock. Jamaica Inn has been adapted several other times, as stage plays and television series, usually to mediocre critical reception. Jamaica Inn’s main cultural impact can be found in its depiction of Cornish smugglers and wreckers, feeding into the public imagination about pirates, and even coined the phrase “dead men tell no tales.”

This guide uses the Barnes and Nobel Nook eBook edition.

Content Warning: This book and the guide contain discussions of domestic violence, murder, rape, ableism, and alcohol addiction.

Plot Summary

Mary Yellan leaves the comfort of Helston, Cornwall, after the death of her mother to stay with her only remaining relative, Aunt Patience, who lives with her husband near Bodmin in North Cornwall. Mary has not seen Patience in years. Patience’s husband, Joss Merlyn, who neither Mary nor her mother ever met, is the landlord of Jamaica Inn—Mary’s destination. Locals try to warn her against going to the inn; it is a dangerous place, and locals avoid it.

Joss is an enormous, brutal man, given to violence and bouts of drinking. Mary soon comes to dislike him, especially after seeing the impact that he has had on Aunt Patience: Her youth and vitality are gone, and her mental health has been negatively impacted. Mary stands up to Joss and will not let him bully her; paradoxically, this causes Joss to take a liking to her. Mary is warned several times to ignore the wagons that come and go in the night. Over the coming days, Mary questions Aunt Patience about what Joss does at Jamaica Inn, which seems to never receive guests. Patience fearfully warns her that terrible things happen at the inn and that Mary is better off not knowing.

Mary is often awoken by wagons in the night. She spies on the proceedings from her window, and she determines that Joss is involved in a smuggling ring, with Jamaica Inn serving as a waypoint and storehouse along the high road. Determined not to be afraid of Joss, she sneaks into the inn to eavesdrop, but to her horror, she believes she hears Joss and an unknown accomplice murder a man. Mary is determined to take Joss down and save her aunt from his abuse.

Jem Merlyn, Joss’s younger brother, visits. Despite their rocky introduction and his familial resemblance to Joss, Mary takes a liking to him. However, she cannot shake off the suspicion that Jem was Joss’s accomplice to murder. Squire Bassat, the local magistrate and the man who sold Jamaica Inn to Joss, comes by unannounced to inspect the premises for stolen goods one day when Joss is gone but leaves frustrated. Mary lies to him to protect Patience; Joss is disquieted by the magistrate’s inspection and sets off across the moors for an unknown destination.

Mary follows Joss across the moors, but the landscape is treacherous, and she loses him. Mary loses her way, but she is rescued by Francis Davey, the Vicar of Altarnun. She tells him of the events at Jamaica Inn, and the vicar advises her to lie low for the time being. When he takes her back to Jamaica Inn, they find Joss passed out, drunk. He drinks for five days. Mary goes out into the moors again and this time comes across Jem. Mary struggles with the attraction and repulsion she feels toward Jem. He invites her to come with him to Launceston on Christmas Eve and Mary accepts.

That night, Joss makes a horrible confession to Mary while drunk: Not only is he a smuggler, but he is the leader of a group of wreckers—pirates who lure ships to the shore to sink them and steal their cargo. Joss has personally killed countless people. This revelation horrifies Mary. However, she is able to forget the weight of Joss’s confession during her Christmas Eve with Jem. Despite her misgivings about love, she actually does start to love him. A fortune teller tells them that Jem will have blood on his hands, though Jem is adamant he has never killed anyone. Jem kisses Mary, but Mary is adamant that she will not stay the night with him in Launceston, so Jem goes to get his carriage, but he never returns. After looking for Jem to no avail, Mary sets out in the pouring rain.

For a second time, Mary is rescued by Francis Davey. His interest seems piqued when she mentions Joss’s drunk confession. The vicar tells Mary that the days of wreckers are numbered: The government plans to crack down on them. He sends his driver with Mary toward Jamaica Inn where they are ambushed by Joss and his men. Joss kills the driver, and they kidnap Mary, forcing her to come along as they try for one last wreck. Mary is nearly raped by Harry the pedlar, but she manages to escape, only to have to bear witness to the horrible scene of a ship crashing into the rocks. The wreckers stay too long; the sun comes up, leaving them exposed. In the chaotic dash to secure the loot, they overturn the wagon. The men mutiny against Joss and scatter. They burn the wagon but manage to load up Joss’s farm cart.

Mary swoons and awakens two days later. Joss is paranoid that someone he answers to will kill him, Patience, and Mary. Jem comes to Mary’s window, and though he does not explain his disappearance on Christmas Eve, he vows to kill Joss for what he put Mary through. Mary begs him to flee the county. She is almost fully convinced that Jem is the one whom Joss fears.

Mary sneaks out in the day—Joss plans on leaving in the night. She goes to seek the vicar’s help, but he is gone; dismayed, she leaves a note explaining the situation. She goes to find Squire Bassat who is gone as well; he is rounding up a posse to arrest Joss. A servant escorts Mary back to the inn, which they find dark and quiet. Mary finds Joss dead. She flees, and Bassat arrives soon after. They confirm her fears: Patience has been murdered as well. Mary suspects Harry the pedlar, but they find him locked in the storage room in the inn. Francis Davey arrives and takes Mary to his house to recover.

Mary wakes up and examines her surroundings. She finds a blasphemous sketch of the vicar as a wolf preaching to a congregation of sheep. Mary comes to realize that she has misplaced her trust: Francis Davey is the ringleader of the wreckers and the murderer of Joss and Patience. With his time running out, Francis Davey takes Mary with him on the run. On the moors, the vicar and Mary soon become endangered by the fog. When the fog clears, Jem shoots and kills the vicar from the valley below.

Mary is taken in by the Bassats, but she longs for her hometown of Helston. Sometime later, she runs into Jem, whom she has not seen since he saved her from the vicar. Jem has packed all of his belongings into his cart; he is tired of the moorlands where he grew up. Mary hesitates at first, but her heart soon wins out: She decides to get in the cart with him.