Adapted by Emma Frost (The White Queen), BBC One’s new three-part adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s classic gothic novel Jamaica Inn airs this Easter, starring Jessica Brown Findlay (Downton Abbey), Matthew McNulty (The Paradise), Sean Harris (The Borgias) and Shirley Henderson (Southcliffe).
Set in 1821 against the forbidding backdrop of windswept Cornish moors, the story follows the journey of young and spirited Mary Yellan who is forced to live with her Aunt Patience after the death of her mother.
Episode 1
Monday 21 April 2014, 9pm
Spirited Mary Yellan finds herself alone in the world when her mother passes away. Her only option is to travel to Cornwall to stay with her aunt Patience at Jamaica Inn on Bodmin Moor.
Despite pressure to marry local boy Ned after her mother’s death, Mary refuses to compromise. Though Ned is kind to her, she doesn’t love him and won’t marry without love. Mary declines Ned’s proposal, and journeys to the ends of the Earth to Jamaica Inn in Cornwall to stay with her aunt Patience.
When Mary arrives at the isolated Inn she discovers that Patience is not the vibrant beauty Mary remembers from childhood, and the years of marriage to Mary’s bullying uncle Joss have taken their toll, leaving a tired and anxious woman in her place. Joss is a smuggler and the head of a gang of men who smuggle all along the stretch of coastline. It’s dangerous and violent work and when Joss isn’t smuggling, he is drinking heavily to forget all that he has seen.
To complicate matters further, Mary finds herself drawn to the enigmatic Jem Merlyn, but Jem is her uncle’s brother and therefore not to be trusted in Mary’s mind – although her heart may say otherwise…
Life at Jamaica Inn challenges Mary’s black and white perceptions of morality as she finds herself living among smugglers in a lawless land where no one is quite who they seem. When she thinks she has witnessed a murder, Mary wonders at what cost she will stay silent.
Episode 2
Tuesday 22 April 2014, 9pm
Mary is drawn in to life at Jamaica Inn, but is shaken when Joss’s night terrors lead to some shocking confessions.
Joss confesses to wrecking whole ships and murdering all the sailors on board. Mary, left reeling by these revelations, confides in Francis Davey, the vicar of Altarnun and his sister Hannah. Taking Hannah’s advice, Mary does her best to keep her head down at the Inn while escaping when she can to the church at Altarnun, sharing what she knows of her uncle’s smuggling with Hannah and Mr Davey.
Jem comes to Mary’s aid when she finds herself in peril on Bodmin Moor, reigniting the spark she felt from their first meeting. When he encourages her to come to market with him, Mary initially resists but when Joss confronts Mary with some difficult home truths at Jamaica Inn, Jem’s offer of a day away suddenly feels like a lifeline to Mary.
However, a lot can happen in a day, and when Mary gets back to Jamaica Inn that night, Joss greets her with an unpleasant surprise.
Episode 3
Wednesday 23 April 2014, 9pm
As the net tightens on Joss and his smuggling gang, Jem is taken into custody and Mary struggles to know who to trust.
Determined to save himself and his brother from hanging, Jem makes it his mission to find out the identity of the man who gives Joss his orders. But his pleas to Joss to give up the leader fall on deaf ears and Joss unwittingly squanders a lifeline from Jem. Meanwhile, Mary tries to persuade Patience to take the chance to escape and avoid hanging with Joss, but Patience refuses to leave her husband, forcing Mary to make a difficult choice.
Mary is unaware that her life is also in danger because the gang leader knows that she is closing in on the truth. As Mary seeks to navigate the truth and save her Aunt Patience, she must ask herself whether there is anyone she can trust.
When news breaks of a shocking discovery at the inn, Jem realises Mary is at risk, but can he rescue her before it’s too late?
Are you looking forward to Jamaica Inn? Let us know below…