Classics · DarkAfter a hurricane destroys their Jamaican home, seven children set out for England on a ship seized by pirates
A High Wind in Jamaica
Children sailing from Jamaica to England find themselves among pirates
The story is set in Jamaica in the late nineteenth century, after slaves were emancipated in the British Empire in 1834, and later at sea, in Cuba and in London. After a hurricane destroys their Jamaican home, seven children, among them John, Emily, Edward, Rachel and Laura Bas-Thornton, set out for England on a merchant ship. Pirates seize the ship, and the children become part of the pirate crew's world. Chatto and Windus published the UK edition in September 1929, and the complete novel first appeared in the U.S. on March 13, 1929, as The Innocent Voyage.
More about this book
Who
The Bas-Thornton children, the Fernandez children and the pirate Captain Jonsen.
World
Jamaica in the late nineteenth century, then a ship, Cuba and London.
What makes it different
The idea came from an unpublished 1822 memoir by Jeanette Calder about children captured by pirates off Cuba. It was Hughes's first novel and won the Prix Femina Vie-Heureuse in 1932.
Feel
Cool and unsettling.
Page count and cover shown for: Selected edition
Further reading
- A High Wind in JamaicaWikipedia