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cation famous. Bolventor is the name of the little village, ten miles northeast of Bodmin, in which Jamaica Inn is found. Du Maurier's novel was set in 1815, when the inn assuredly looked harsh and forbidding. Except for the picnic tables gaily strewn in the front courtyard in fine weather, it would look so still.
It is, in any case, a perfect spot for Halloweening. Inside, the taproom is low ceilinged and bears a brass plaque on the floor noting the spot where du Maurier's fictional Joss Merlyn died. (Note, if you will, the author's use of the world Merlyn--Merlin--more or less proving she knew the Arthurian history of the place and cadged a bit of it for her own fable's use.) Still, if she wanted to use the Arthurian setting, she meant to turn it to darker hues than the Arthur might have sanctioned. She noted that Bolventor was a "wild and lonely spot" and that the "wolf-faced Joss Merlyn" stalked about, while "respectable folk whip the horses past." Although Jamaica Inn was a coaching inn, drivers avoided it because "its name was evil, and no man knew what horrors its dark shutters hid."
Visitors don't have to worry about horrors these days, unless they happen in on a Bingo Night during the summer season.
Ordinarily, though, the taproom is warm, friendly, and quiet except for the conversations going on at the smallish tables of darkened wood. In the shoulder seasons, it's even quieter, but even in July, it is seldom so packed that a table doesn't open for newcomers fairly fast. Daytimes, it's different; in fine weather, tourists by ones and twos and busloads pack the outdoor picnic tables. And no wonder. Today, the Jamaica Inn sits just off the major southeast England highway, the A30.
Jamaica Inn also boasts a gift shop (of course) and the Smuggler's Museum. The latter offers displays of smuggling artifacts, smuggling having
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