A second book read and reviewed for Ali’s Daphne Du Maurier Reading Week and I’m quite proud of myself for that! I read and wrote a review to publish during the Week for “Rebecca” just in case I ran out of time to get this one read – of course, it turned out to be another one that cannot be put down, and I finished it in a great rush one lunchtime (of course, I slightly regretted reading it over my lunch, but I just about coped!). So although I will probably have a pause before reading more Daphne Du Maurier, I certainly won’t rule out dipping into her long list of works again, especially if there’s another Week next year. Thank you to Ali for introducing me to a new to me author (and Cornishgirl for sending me this one!)
Daphne Du Maurier – “Jamaica Inn”
(25 December 2019, part of my LibraryThing Virago Group Not So Secret Santa gift
I have realised that you can pretty well guarantee a cracking good story and a great sense of place with DDM. In this historical novel (yes, me reading a historical novel!), set in the 19th century just when the vile practice of “wrecking” ships was being stamped out, orphaned Mary moves to the forbidding Cornish moors from a hard life in a pretty village to stay with her aunt and the horrible man who she married, in their forbidding and empty inn.
The opening is suitably Gothic, with Mary swaying along in a coach in a storm, head full of warnings about staying at Jamaica Inn, all very Hardyesque or Mary Webbish (and in fact there’s a bit at the end that’s very Mary Webb but not quite as horrific). We have doors that are bolted to strange rooms, odd noises in the night, a bog to get lost in and a peculiar vicar who keeps turning up at just the right time, and it’s a touch more scary and violent than I’d normally read, but nothing is gratuitous. You know Mary is asking for trouble – or is she – when she’s too proud to turn down the opportunity to take a trip to Launceston on Christmas Eve with Uncle Joss’ younger and more attractive (mainly because he has basically killed fewer people) brother; it’s interesting when there’s a clear pivot point in a novel. But the story is by no means guessable or simple from there on in.
There’s an interesting gender politics angle – Mary is described as working or being fit to work as well as a boy, Uncle Joss wishes she were one, and she’s very clear that once she tries to escape the Inn, if she’d been a boy she’d have been sent off to work her way onto a ship, rather than being looked after and offered a cosy job.
I’m glad I read this one and didn’t run away screaming when it got a bit dark. It’s always handy to have read “Northanger Abbey” in these situations and to assume better than the heroine does, even if she turns out to be right in the end!
May 16, 2020 @ 08:35:50
I’ve only read Rebecca so am keen to read more Du Maurier too. This sounds intriguing!
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May 16, 2020 @ 09:51:25
It was good but a bit alarming for me – I think you’re made of strong enough stuff, though!
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May 16, 2020 @ 09:21:57
Me and Mrs TD had our wedding reception in the house that was once the vicarage of that dodgy priest! It was a hotel (not any more)
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May 16, 2020 @ 09:51:35
Oh wow!!!
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May 16, 2020 @ 11:07:17
Yay well done for reading two du Maurier books. This is definitely darker than your usual reading fare – but as you say impossible to put down. I love that Gothic opening as Mary is on her way to Jamaica Inn, so full of impending menace.
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May 16, 2020 @ 14:30:27
It is, but I coped, and so unputdownable again. You feel safe in her hands, like with an earlier author like Hardy, that they won’t make a mistake in the plot and you can just read along.
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May 16, 2020 @ 11:15:57
It *does* sound great, and well done you for the two books. This one seems to have been a popular choice for the week!
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May 16, 2020 @ 14:30:49
Indeed – I’m working my way through the other reviews of it now!
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May 16, 2020 @ 14:00:42
I hadn’t thought of the gendered aspect to the story, other than mary being a girl made her more vulnerable. Thank you for giving me something new to think about when it comes to this book.
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May 16, 2020 @ 14:29:33
Welcome to my blog and thank you for your kind comment. There were a good few comments about Mary working as hard as a boy or a man which I picked up on, and then the contrasting fates Mary could have had was highlighted for me.
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May 17, 2020 @ 12:52:29
Hello Liz. I have just read your review on Jamaica Inn. I have long been an admirer of DDM and have read all her novels and short stories. Jamaica Inn wouldn’t be my favourite – that would have to be Rebecca or Cousin Rachel. And of course her short stories, The Birds and Don’t Look Now, both adapted for stage and screen many times. (I like Northanger Abbey too!) Thanks for the review.
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May 17, 2020 @ 15:48:29
Welcome to my blog! I have only read this one and Rebecca; the short stories look a bit scary for me but I am going to read some more next year, for sure. I can’t really work out why I’d never read her before to be honest!
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May 17, 2020 @ 13:55:33
it’s a great read, isn’t it? I loved it!
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May 17, 2020 @ 15:49:01
Unputdownable, I’d say!
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May 17, 2020 @ 15:13:59
This was the one I chose for this week, too, partly because I wanted to watch the TV adaptation (which was super atmosphere-y, but I only saw the first episode before realizing I hadn’t read the book yet). I found Mary’s expressions of frustration with how women had to/chose to behave, in regards to love and their primary relationships so interesting, how she was convinced that men always had the better deal in that regard (but there weren’t any happy men in the story either really). Somewhere I read that DDM either wished she’d been born a boy or that her father had wished for a boy, so I wonder if that played into things too.
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May 17, 2020 @ 15:49:23
Oh that’s really interesting because that is definitely a theme here, isn’t it.
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May 17, 2020 @ 19:14:02
I was definitely a bit scared to start this one as I was reading it before going to sleep……! 😳😱
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May 18, 2020 @ 06:01:05
Oh golly, not ideal for reading at that time of night!
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May 18, 2020 @ 06:08:09
Haha, indeed!
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May 17, 2020 @ 23:58:48
I’ve finally gotten Rebecca after years of saying that I should, yet to read it though but from your thoughts on Jamica Inn I think I like the vibes DDM gives off. Neat review. Cheers!
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May 18, 2020 @ 06:05:23
Did you spot the link to my review of Rebecca? No spoilers but you might prefer to save that one until you’ve read it. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed! And welcome to my blog!
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May 18, 2020 @ 17:34:52
As much as I adore Daphne DuMaurier, and I do, this was my least favorite which I read for Ali’s week. I have always had a great passion for Rebecca, but I also love Frenchman’s Creek and My Cousin Rachel. Is there anyone who can establish a mood of tension better than Daphne?
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May 18, 2020 @ 18:25:47
Interesting, why do you think that was? I think those two are the two I’m going to read next year, as I’ve heard so many good things about them.
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May 18, 2020 @ 18:37:08
I only vaguely remember it, but I think I “disliked” it for being so very dark, and involving a child, as I recall. Or, at least a young girl who seemed so very powerless.
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May 19, 2020 @ 06:24:59
It’s very dark, and Mary is about 22 but also pretty powerless, although she is strong and carves out her own power. But fair enough! I wouldn’t read it again!
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May 19, 2020 @ 06:57:24
I recently read this too, it is a great read although I have to admit I didn’t get the ending I was hoping for
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May 20, 2020 @ 08:33:55
I know exactly what you mean! There were two alternatives I’d have preferred, one that she was offered and one of more independence. But I guess it’s internally consistent as she knew that’s what was going to happen.
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