And November's book is... Jamaica Inn!

We'll be reading Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier for our November novel.

Hey!

I’m checking in today to let you know that November’s book read is going to be Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier.

As someone who lives a 45 minute drive from the inn this novel is based on, I can’t wait to start reading! Thanks to all of you who voted, too - this email is slightly late because I had to wait until we had a deciding vote between Jamaica Inn and Northanger Abbey!

If you need to purchase this book, I’ve got a few options below.

• In the UK, Amazon has a paperback version for £9.39 or the Kindle version for £4.99.

• In the USA, Amazon has a paperback version for $9.85 or the Kindle version for $9.99.

• I purchased my copy of Jamaica Inn from Vinted in the UK for just £1.50, so I’d recommend using a second hand shop of some kind to find it for cheaper.

Any issues finding a copy then please let me know and hopefully I can help!

What’s Jamaica Inn about?

Taken from Goodreads, this is snippet gives you an idea of what the novel is going to be about. I’ve not read it - so I couldn’t tell you more than this yet anyway!

“The coachman tried to warn her away from the ruined, forbidding place on the rainswept Cornish coast. But young Mary Yellan chose instead to honor her mother's dying request that she join her frightened Aunt Patience and huge, hulking Uncle Joss Merlyn at Jamaica Inn.

“From her first glimpse on that raw November eve, she could sense the inn's dark power. But never did Mary dream that she would become hopelessly ensnared in the vile, villainous schemes being hatched within its crumbling walls—or that a handsome, mysterious stranger would so incite her passions... tempting her to love a man whom she dares not trust.”

How long do you have to read the novel?

We are going to be discussing this novel on December 1st. I appreciate that it’s around three and a half weeks, and it’s a short turnaround because that way we’ll have time to fit in a Christmas novel before the end of the year!

I’ll be sharing a new post each week like I did for Frankenstein, discussing the novel, author and legacy of both. Hopefully this will help you be able to access and engage with the novel even more, though I think it will be an easier read in terms of language than Frankenstein was anyway!

I’m also going to make a couple of small adjustments to the discussion, namely that paid subscribers will be able to start new threads to make it easier to share new ideas. More on this soon!

Any issues with the reading, finding a novel or whatever - please use the Substack chat and feel free to ask.

Who was Daphne du Maurier?

I took this information directly from Daphne du Maurier’s official website. I’ll be sharing more about her during the month, but for now I hope this gives you a little overview into who she was.

Daphne du Maurier (13th May 1907 - 19th April 1989) was first and foremost a really excellent storyteller but she was also part of the remarkable du Maurier dynasty - a granddaughter, daughter, sister, military wife, mother and grandmother.  Daphne is often thought of as reclusive; she was perhaps solitary, comfortable with her own company and the make-believe world that she lived in and which enabled her to bring us her wonderful novels and short stories.

For a long time Daphne du Maurier was described as a romantic novelist.  This is completely misleading as she wrote dark, often gothic and edgy novels and short stories, with unexpected twists or suspenseful endings.

However she was also enormously kind and helped many people in such a quiet way that these acts of kindness and support almost always went undetected. If you have read Rebecca one might best explain this by saying she was both Rebecca - brave, strong, loving the outdoors, walking, riding, sailing and so on, and also the second Mrs de Winter - shy, unsure of herself, hiding herself away. She was a complex and very interesting person.

Daphne died in 1989 and today her following is large and varied.  She is read and studied by students at school and university but also by men and women, of all ages, who just enjoy the pleasure of reading her works. Interest in her is worldwide.