Jan 26, 2015johndouglashey rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
The strength of the novel lies in its close association with the rugged landscape and coastline of Cornwall, and particularly the detailed descriptions of Bodmin Moor, on which the author apparently spent a great deal of time examining the hills and marshes. In this respect, comparison with the fine Wessex novels of Thomas Hardy, based in Dorset, is interesting. This novel is marred, however, by a striking discrepancy between the vocabulary and manner of speech of the characters, and the supposed period of events (Regency period, ca. 1810): the characters belong instead to period of Daphne du Maurier, ca. 1930. The reader will note certain words, e.g 'trek' [Cape Dutch, which entered the English language only after the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1901)], which no-one of the Jane Austin period would have understood. It is surprising that she, unlike her contemporary Georgette Heyer, who prepared her novels in this respect with meticulous care, made so little effort to adapt her writing to the historical period. The novel is, certainly, far stronger in terms of human emotion and adventure, than anything which Georgette Heyer wrote, but nowhere does "Jamaica Inn" come close to the subtlety and descriptive power of Thomas Hardy.
Those who associate the title with the fine film of Alfred Hitchcock (starring Charles Laughton) will be surprised to note how widely the film and the book differ. In my opinion, Hitchcock has done well to replace the implausible Vicar of Altarnun with Sir Humphrey Pengallan, a very clever notion which works well on screen.
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Jamaica Inn. --