Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussions of domestic violence, murder, rape, ableism, and addiction to alcohol.

Mary Yellan rides through the countryside in a carriage along with a few other passengers. It is a dismal, rainy day, and the carriage jolts along the rutted road. Mary had kept up her courage during her mother’s long illness and death, but she begins to lose heart in the weather and unfamiliar country. The Yellan family farm had been stricken by a blight that came upon the region; livestock died of sickness and crops began to fail. Mrs. Yellan’s health failed, too, and she had a stroke. According to the doctor, her strength had given out due to the years of strain and burden of loss since Mr. Yellan died. Mrs. Yellan implored Mary to live with her aunt and uncle, Patience and Joshua. Mary remembered Patience, a lovely, lively woman. Mrs. Yellan never met Joshua. After Mrs. Yellan’s death, Mary had to sell the house, farm, and most of her possessions.

Mary received a letter from Aunt Patience. Patience welcomes Mary’s company but warns her that she and Joshua have moved far from Bodmin. Joshua is the owner of Jamaica Inn.