A High Wind in Jamaica
Description
A masterpiece of concentrated narrative following the misadventures of a group of children after they are captured by pirates.
Topics
Children, pirates, innocence, moral ambiguity, psychological development
Detailed Description
Originally published as 'The Innocent Voyage' in the United States, 'A High Wind in Jamaica' is Richard Hughes' masterful 1929 novel that subverts traditional adventure narratives by exploring the moral complexity and psychological development of children in extreme circumstances. Set in the mid-19th century, the novel follows the Bas-Thornton children who, after surviving a devastating hurricane in Jamaica, are sent to England for safety but are captured by pirates en route. Rather than portraying the children as helpless victims, Hughes reveals how they adapt to and ultimately transform their captors' world, blurring conventional lines between innocence and experience, vulnerability and power. The novel's unsettling exploration of childhood morality and its unflinching portrayal of violence have established it as a groundbreaking work that continues to challenge readers' perceptions of childhood.
Keywords
A High Wind in Jamaica, Richard Hughes, The Innocent Voyage, pirate novel, children in literature, psychological fiction, moral ambiguity, childhood innocence, British fiction, maritime adventure, Caribbean literature, post-colonial fiction, 1920s literature, modernist fiction, literary fiction, NYRB Classics, coming-of-age story, psychological development, Emily Bas-Thornton, Captain Jonsen, Jamaica colonial history, childhood psychology, moral bildungsroman, literary modernism, twentieth century literature, hurricane literature, ethical complexity, colonial childhood, British colonialism, maritime fiction, Richard Arthur Warren Hughes
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