A High Wind in Jamaica (novel)

infobox Book |
name = A High Wind in Jamaica
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = Richard Hughes
illustrator =
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country = United Kingdom
language = English
series =
genre = Novel
publisher = Chatto and Windus
pub_date = 1929
english_pub_date =
media_type = Print (Hardcover)
pages = 283 pp
isbn = NA
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"A High Wind in Jamaica" is 1929 novel by Richard Hughes. It was made into a film in 1965.

Plot

The Bas-Thornton children are raised on a plantation in Jamaica during the late 19th century. A hurricane destroys their home and the family must leave the island. With other residents of the island, they leave on a ship that is immediately seized by pirates. The children are treated as adults in both respect and wrongs and commit crimes themselves of an adult nature. The pirate ship is seized by British authorities and the pirates are subsequently executed for the crimes they committed against the children. The murder they are convicted of and lynched for was actually committed by one of the children.

Critical reception

The book received much criticism for its content at the time of release. Many critics responded negatively to the behavior and treatment of the children as written by Hughes ranging from sexual abuse to murder.

Hughes was also lauded for confronting the Victorian romances of childhood through expressing the children without emotional reduction. The book is often given credit for influencing and paving the way for novels such as "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding.