''Jamaica Inn'' is a British drama television series that was first broadcast on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

for three consecutive nights from 21 to 23 April 2014. The three-part series, written by

Emma Frost Emma Grace Frost is a fictional Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the X-Men. The character first appeared in ''The Uncanny X-Men'' #129 (Jan. 1980), and was ...

, is an adaptation of

Daphne du Maurier Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, (; 13 May 1907 – 19 April 1989) was an English novelist, biographer and playwright. Her parents were actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and his wife, actress Muriel Beaumont. Her grandfather was Geor ...

's 1936

gothic novel Gothic fiction, sometimes called Gothic horror in the 20th century, is a loose literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name is a reference to Gothic architecture of the European Middle Ages, which was characteristic of the settings of ea ...

Jamaica Inn The Jamaica Inn is a traditional inn on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall in the UK, which was built as a coaching inn in 1750, and has a historical association with smuggling. Located just off the A30, near the middle of the moor close to the hamle ...

''. It was poorly received, becoming a subject of controversy and making national news over its mumbling cast and other sound problems.

Plot

''Jamaica Inn'' is set in 1821. It tells the story of Mary Yellan (

Jessica Brown Findlay Jessica Rose Brown Findlay (born 14 September 1987) is an English actress. She played Lady Sybil Crawley in the ITV television period drama series ''Downton Abbey'' and Emelia Conan Doyle in the 2011 British comedy-drama feature film '' Albatr ...

) who is uprooted to live with her Aunt Patience (

Joanne Whalley Joanne Whalley (born 25 August 1961) is an English actress who began her career in 1974. She has appeared primarily on television, but also in nearly 30 feature films, including '' Dance with a Stranger'' (1985), ''Willow'' (1988), ''Scandal'' ( ...

) after her mother dies. Mary finds Aunt Patience under the spell of her husband, Joss Merlyn (

Sean Harris Sean Harris (born 1965/1966) is an English actor and writer. He played Ian Curtis in ''24 Hour Party People'' (2002), Micheletto Corella in '' The Borgias'' (2011–2013), Fifield in ''Prometheus'' (2012), Solomon Lane in '' Mission: Impossib ...

) after she arrives at

, a

coaching inn The coaching inn (also coaching house or staging inn) was a vital part of Europe's inland transport infrastructure until the development of the railway, providing a resting point ( layover) for people and horses. The inn served the needs of tra ...

he owns in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. Mary soon realizes that the inn has no guests and is being used as the hub of Joss' criminal activity, misleading ships and plundering their wreckage. Mary becomes attracted to Jem Merlyn (

Matthew McNulty Michael Anthony McNulty (born 14 December 1982), known professionally as Matthew McNulty, is a German-born British actor. Early life McNulty was born on 14 December 1982 in Hanover, Lower Saxony, West Germany, and lived in Berlin and Münster ...

), Joss' younger brother who is a petty thief. Mary hopes for help from Francis Davey ( Ben Daniels), the parish vicar, and his sister Hannah (

Shirley Henderson Shirley Henderson (born 24 November 1965) is a Scottish actress. Her accolades include two Scottish BAFTAs, a VFCC Award and an Olivier Award, as well as BAFTA, BIFA, London Critics' Circle, Chlotrudis, Gotham, and Canadian Screen Award ...

Background and production

The three-part series was commissioned by

Ben Stephenson Benjamin Stephenson is a television executive, formerly controller of drama at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and currently Head of Television at Bad Robot Productions in the United States. Personal life Stephenson attended The ...

and Danny Cohen, both from the BBC. Filming began in September 2013 in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

and

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

(

Kirkby Lonsdale Kirkby Lonsdale () is a town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, on the River Lune. Historically in Westmorland, it lies south-east of Kendal on the A65. The parish recorded a population of 1,771 in the 2001 ...

). It was originally decided that the series would be filmed in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. An investment from Screen Yorkshire was provided for the series.

Cast

as Mary Yellan *

as Jem Merlyn *

as Joss Merlyn *

as Patience Merlyn *

as Hannah Davey * Ben Daniels as Francis Davey *

Andrew Scarborough Andrew Scarborough (born 30 November 1973) is an English actor, most widely known for his starring role on screen as Tim Drewe in the multi BAFTA and Emmy award-winning ''Downton Abbey'' he also Co-starred as Colonel Fielding in the Film ‘� ...

as Magistrate Bassat * Danny Miller as William *Scarlett Archer as Beth *Andy Gillies as Cakey *David Beck as Twin 1 *Daniel Beck as Twin 2 *Charlie Wade as Flashy Dealer

Episodes

Reception

The transmission of the first episode brought about a major debate on social media sites about the sound quality and inaudible dialogue, culminating in over 2,000 complaints being received by the end of the series. Terry Ramsey of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' wrote that "Daphne du Maurier's story is a classic, but this hard-to-watch (and hear) version is unlikely to have had people gripped." David Stephenson of ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

'' agreed, describing it as a "disappointing BBC drama with mumbling dialogue and absent plot."

later addressed his reaction to the mumbling controversy in an interview after his BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series for '' Southcliffe''.

References

External links

* * * {{Philippa Lowthorpe Fiction set in 1821 2010s British drama television series 2014 British television series debuts 2014 British television series endings BBC television dramas English-language television shows Television shows based on British novels Television series set in the 1820s Television shows set in Cornwall BBC television miniseries Adaptations of works by Daphne du Maurier 2010s British television miniseries