Orphaned by her mother’s death, Mary Yellan (Jessica Brown Findlay, Downton Abbey’s Sybil) travels to Cornwall to join her aunt, Patience (Joanne Whalley, Wolf Hall). Arriving at the isolated Jamaica Inn, Mary is met by a brutish, menacing man- her uncle, Joss (Sean Harris, The Borgias). She soon learns that no guests stay at the inn, and Joss is part of a savage gang of smugglers. Meanwhile, she’s drawn to the handsome, mysterious Jem Merlyn (Matthew McNulty, The Paradise), Joss’s younger brother.
Set in 1821 against a backdrop of windswept Cornish moors, this dark tale of “sex and skulduggery in Du Maurier country” (The Times, UK) has been lavishly directed by BAFTA winner Phillipa Lowthorpe (Call the Midewife) and adapted by Emma Frost (The White Queen). Also starring Ben Daniels (House of Cards) and Shirley Henderson (Bridget Jones’s Diary), the “moodily atmospheric” (Daily Mail, UK) drama follows a spirited young woman whose sense of morality is challenged by circumstance and love.
Note: When Jamaica Inn aired on television, many found the dialogue (which features strong west country accents) hard to follow. It may have primarily been a broadcast audio issue, but to be safe, turn on the subtitles.