Jamaica Inn is a book written by the English author Daphne du Maurier. It was first published in 1936. The story takes place in Cornwall around the year 1815. It was inspired by du Maurier’s visit to the real Jamaica Inn in 1930. This building still exists today as a pub on Bodmin Moor.

The story follows Mary Yellan, a young woman who moves to Jamaica Inn to live with her aunt, Patience, and her uncle, Joss, after her mother dies. Mary soon finds out that the inn is a place the local people do not trust. She also learns that her uncle is connected to a group of men who seem suspicious. These men are involved in smuggling, which is the illegal transport of goods.

Characters

The characters in the novel are introduced in the following order:

• Mary Yellan, a 23-year-old woman who is the niece of Patience and Joss Merlyn
• Joshua "Joss" Merlyn, Mary's uncle, a wrecker and a drunkard
• Patience Merlyn, Mary's aunt and the wife of Joss
• Henry "Harry," a pedlar and a friend of Joss
• Jeremiah "Jem" Merlyn, Joss's younger brother
• Squire Bassat, the Squire of North Hill and a local Magistrate
• Rev. Francis Davey, the Vicar of Altarnun
• Hannah, the housekeeper of Rev. Davey
• Mrs. Bassat, the wife of Squire Bassat

Plot

After her parents died, 23-year-old Mary Yellan had to sell the family farm. As a promise to her mother, Mary went to live with her only surviving relative—her mother’s sister, Patience Merlyn—who lived with her husband, Joss, at a coaching inn called Jamaica Inn. When Mary arrived at the dark and gloomy inn, she found her aunt looking very sad and tired, controlled by Joss, who was cruel and often angry. Mary soon noticed strange things happening at the inn, which did not allow guests to stay overnight but still served food and drinks to the public. She tried to ask Joss questions when he was drinking heavily, but he refused to explain why he lived at Jamaica Inn or why he was its landlord. Later, Mary learned that Joss was the leader of a group that illegally brought goods into the country, and the inn was used to store these items.

Not long after arriving at Jamaica Inn, Mary met Joss’s younger brother, Jem, who looked somewhat like his brother and sometimes did small crimes. Despite this, Jem interested Mary. On Christmas Eve, the two hired a horse-drawn cart to travel to the town of Launceston. While there, Jem gave Mary a pair of gold earrings and a red shawl. She did not want to accept the gifts, and even though they kissed, she refused Jem’s offer to stay with him that night. However, she found herself slightly charmed by him. When it was time to return to Jamaica Inn, Jem left Mary to get the cart but never came back.

Mary had no way to return home except by walking, but she soon realized the weather and distance made this impossible. At this point, the Rev. Francis Davey passed her on the road in a hired coach and offered her a ride home. He left the coach at a crossroads to walk the rest of the way to Altarnun. The coach was then attacked by Joss’s group of wreckers, and the driver was killed. Mary tried to escape but was almost raped by one of Joss’s men. She resisted and was caught, forced to watch as the wreckers tricked a ship into crashing onto rocks, after which they killed the survivors of the shipwreck.

A few days later, Jem went to the inn to speak with Mary, who had been locked in her room by Joss. With Jem’s help, Mary escaped. She went to Squire Basset’s home to tell him about Joss’s crimes, but Mrs. Basset told Mary that her husband already had evidence to arrest Joss and had gone to do so. Mrs. Basset’s driver took Mary to Jamaica Inn, where they arrived before the Squire’s group. Inside the inn, Mary found Joss stabbed to death. Soon after, the Squire and his men arrived and discovered Patience also murdered.

The Rev. Davey arrived at the inn and told Mary that Jem had informed on Joss. The vicar also revealed that he was the real leader of the wrecker gang and responsible for killing Joss and Patience. He then fled, taking Mary as his hostage. They rode across the moor on horses to reach a ship to sail to Spain. Meanwhile, Squire Basset and Jem led a search party to rescue Mary. Eventually, Jem got close enough to shoot the vicar.

Mary was offered a job as a servant for the Bassets and their two children, but she planned to return to Helford, her childhood home. As she walked on the moors, making plans to return to Helford, she met Jem, who was leading a cart with all his belongings, heading in the opposite direction. After talking with Jem, Mary decided to abandon her plans to return to Helford and agreed to leave Cornwall with him.

Adaptations

• A film version of the novel was made in 1939. Alfred Hitchcock directed the film, and the actors Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara appeared in it. The film has some differences from the book, such as replacing Francis Davey with Sir Humphrey Pengallan (played by Laughton). The author, Daphne du Maurier, did not like the film.

• Jamaica Inn (1983), an ITV television series, featured Jane Seymour, Trevor Eve, Billie Whitelaw, and Patrick McGoohan. This version was closer to the original story than the Hitchcock film.
• L'auberge de la Jamaïque (1995), a French television movie, starred Gilles Béhat and his daughter Alice Béat.
• Jamaica Inn (2014), a BBC television series, included Jessica Brown Findlay, Matthew McNulty, Sean Harris, Joanne Whalley, and Ben Daniels.

• On 9 April 1946, Louise Allbritton performed the play as part of the Theatre of Romance series.

BBC Radio full cast adaptations:
• 1939, adapted by Peter Stucley and produced by Michael Goodwin.
• 1947, in five episodes, adapted by Jonquil Antony and produced by Ayton Whitaker.
• 1950, in five episodes, adapted by Jonquil Antony and produced by Norman Wright.
• 1966, in five episodes, adapted by Jonquil Antony and produced by Norman Wright.
• 1975, in four episodes, adapted by Brian Gear and produced by Brian Miller.
• 1983, adapted by Barry Campbell and directed by Derek Hoddinott. [unconfirmed]
• 1984, in four episodes, adapted by Brian Gear and directed by Brian Miller.
• 1991, in four episodes, adapted by Michael Bakewell and directed by Enyd Williams.
• 2003, in four episodes, adapted by Michael Bakewell.
• 2015, in 10 episodes, adapted by Sue Allen and produced by Rob Carter.

BBC Radio serialised solo readings:
• 1946, in 20 episodes, read by Howard Marion-Crawford.
• 1977, in 12 episodes, abridged and read by Delia Paton.
• 1996, in 10 episodes, read by Jenny Agutter and produced by Jane Marshal.

• 1983, Music for Pleasure abridged recording by Trevor Eve, the same year he starred in the ITV TV adaptation. Only available on cassette.
• 1992, Chivers Audio Books unabridged recording by Tony Britton. Originally available on cassette, then in 2007 on MP3 by Audible.
• 1993, Random House Audiobooks abridged recording by Josie Lawrence, only available on cassette.
• 2004, Hodder Headline Audiobooks abridged recording by Samantha Bond, available on cassette and CD.

• The first known stage adaptation of Jamaica Inn was written by Trevor Hedden and performed by the Orchard Theatre Company on tour in 1985. A second adaptation, by David Horlock, was first performed at Salisbury Playhouse in 1990.
• An adaptation by John King was performed at the Regent Centre in 1993 and was scheduled to be performed again in February 2009.
• A 2004 adaptation by Lisa Evans was performed in 2007 and 2017.

• The song "Jamaica Inn" on singer Tori Amos's 2005 album The Beekeeper is about "a man and a woman falling out." It references the du Maurier novel and the wreckers of north Cornwall.
• In a 12 June 2012 interview with Rolling Stone, Neil Peart of the rock band Rush explained how the theme of the wreckers appears throughout the band's 2012 album Clockwork Angels.
• The track "A Smuggler's Tale" from the album Albion by the British melodic hard rock band Ten is based on the novel.