Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
A High Wind in Jamaica cover art

A High Wind in Jamaica

By: Richard Hughes
Narrated by: Michael Maloney
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £13.00

Buy Now for £13.00

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

A Dance to the Music of Time: First Movement cover art
The Sea Wolf cover art
The Slave Dancer cover art
Captain Blood cover art
My Antonia cover art
The Green Odyssey cover art
South of Darkness cover art
Magonia cover art
Heart of Darkness: A Signature Performance by Kenneth Branagh cover art
Treasure Island cover art
Peter Simple cover art
Journey to the Center of the Earth: A Signature Performance by Tim Curry cover art
A Children's Bible cover art
Treasure Island cover art
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (AmazonClassics Edition) cover art
Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens & Peter and Wendy cover art

Summary

Set in the 19th century against a backdrop of island life and the vast surrounding seas, A High Wind in Jamaica is the gripping story of the Bas-Thornton children, whose parents send them back to England following a hurricane in the postcolonial Caribbean they call home. Having set sail, the children quickly fall into the hands of pirates. As their voyage continues, things take an awful turn. Narrated largely from the perspective of the children, the supposed innocents are not the only victims of amoral behaviour, but sometimes the perpetrators. As their voyage continues, things take an awful turn. Narrated largely from the perspective of the children, the supposed innocents are not the only victims of amoral behaviour, but sometimes the perpetrators. Praised for its atypical and unsettling take on the truth of human nature, Richard Hughes’ classic, first published in 1929, has been called one of the greatest novels of the 20th century, and credited with paving the way for other masterworks such as William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. Praised for its atypical and unsettling take on the truth of human nature, Richard Hughes’ classic, first published in 1929, has been called one of the greatest novels of the 20th century, and credited with paving the way for other masterworks such as William Golding’s Lord of the Flies.

©2011 CSA Word (P)2011 CSA Word

What listeners say about A High Wind in Jamaica

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    20
  • 4 Stars
    12
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    6
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    22
  • 4 Stars
    10
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    16
  • 4 Stars
    10
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    4

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Astonishing listen. Hugely recommended.

Saw the film but had not ever read the book. Remembered the film as ‘interesting’. Really astonishing book. Thought provoking. Huge issues, psychological truths. Difficult truths. Beautifully read. Can’t recommend highly enough.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

To much casual racism

I suppose it was a good pirate story for kids way back. This is a book that might have been a good adventure story a long time ago. But nowadays the casual racism is only instructive at best and maybe good as an example. Not much fun reading though. I left the book half way.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

yuck

I downloaded this for a book club. It's extremely well written, engaging, and perfectly fine if you can enjoy a book littered with casual racism. But it's not for me.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Giles

Gripping story right to the end. Read so wonderfully that you forget the narrator and are absorbed in the narrative.

A must read/listen for children and adults alike.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Dated and dull

This wasn’t for me, far too dated and unbelievable. Not my cup of tea at all but other people at my Book Club enjoyed it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!