Comments on: Blog Tribute #4, dovegreyreader: Jamaica Inn, by Daphne du Maurier

By: KevinfromCanada

KevinfromCanada — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:52:19 +0000

DGR: Thanks — I’d say you and kimbofo have offered enough advice to say that the fictional Jamaica Inn of the nineteenth century is much more interesting than the actual Jamaica Inn of the the twenty-first century. I’ll add The Scapegoat to my du Maurier list as well.

By: dovegreyreader

dovegreyreader — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 20:58:03 +0000

Kevin I’m catching up at last and thank you for your kind words.
Jamaica Inn as kimbofo says is a real disappointment and I sometimes wonder how much more Cornwall can milk the du Maurier theme before it overdoes it.
I can recommend The Scapegoat as a very different Daphne read.

By: KevinfromCanada

KevinfromCanada — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:44:56 +0000

I agree, John — I suspect her prickly personality had something to do with it originally. Since this is the only novel I have read, I can’t say much more. If you go through to DGR’s posts on the link I provided, you’ll see that there is a resurgence of interest in England, at least in some circles.

By: john h

john h — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:24:11 +0000

I’ve only read Rebecca by du Maurier and a few of her short stories. I don’t know why but it seems as though she’s never had that much credibility in literary circles. Hopefully, that’s changing a little bit as Patrick McGrath recently edited a book of her stories. She is certainly a very atmospheric writer. Rebecca is a hell of a lot better than a lot of so- called literary novels.

By: KevinfromCanada

KevinfromCanada — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:23:17 +0000

kimbofo: Thanks for the link — I had scanned the net and did get the impression that contemporary commerce had overtaken literary history. That’s why I posted the pub sign instead of a picture of the inn as it is now. Doesn’t make the book any worse, thankfully. And I can’t help but note that the food, drink and service at the Inn were dreadful in the book as well — so it would appear that not much has changed in the last two centuries.

By: kimbofo

kimbofo — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:16:39 +0000

I went to Cornwall last year and visited Jamaica Inn – sadly, it’s one of those horrible over-priced tourist traps. Pics and post here: http://kimbofo.typepad.com/readingmatters/2008/03/the-inn-that-in.html

By: Trevor

Trevor — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:44:52 +0000

Hmmm, I looked it up on a map, and I don’t think that was it, Kevin. I was staying in Falmouth and driving mostly along the coast, and I’m pretty sure it was somewhere along there that we passed the, uhh, structure. I can’t believe how awful my memory of this moment is. Then again, I did drive around the whole of the area, so her descriptions of the area, the coast especially, will bring back fond memories (I hope!).

By: KevinfromCanada

KevinfromCanada — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 01:01:24 +0000

I’ll bet it is. Google it and you’ll find lots of pictures. If you remember that part of Cornwall with fondness, I’d say it would move the book up in interest — du Maurier’s moors, tors and coast are the strength of the book.

By: Trevor

Trevor — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:40:44 +0000

Ahh! You just reminded me of something I might have never thougt of again! A few years ago I stayed in Cornwall for a week and drove around for a lot of the time. On one of those drives someone pointed out a hotel or a pub or something that was the basis for one of du Maurier’s books. I need to figure out if this is it!

By: KevinfromCanada

KevinfromCanada — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 23:16:36 +0000

I can’t really comment, Trevor, since you yourself can’t figure out your reading mood. I certainly appreciated the book, but did regard it as an entry into a four-book reading project. I’d compare it to Hardy and early George Eliot, both of whom I respect. And I will admit I was in the mood for some rugged English setting, which I certainly got in spades. Watching some episodes of Wycliffe (a not very-good British tv detective series) helped because it is set in Cornwall so it brought some visual perspectives to du Maurier’s descriptions.