# A High Wind in Jamaica — Chapters explained

> Chapter companions for A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes.

- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/i.md): The chapter introduces the Bas-Thornton children, particularly Emily, and their imaginative, unsupervised life on a decaying Jamaican plantation called Ferndale. It describes their games, their interactions with the loca
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/ii.md): On her tenth birthday, Emily explores a stream and discovers a hidden village of runaway slaves, which fills her with a sense of glory and adventure before she returns home to her family and birthday cake.
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/iii.md): After the earthquake, Emily and John revel in the sublime adventure. Emily dances, rides a pony into the sea, and feels she has survived the ultimate danger. The chapter then describes a visit to the Fernandez estate, Ex
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/iv.md): The Thornton children return home from Exeter, with Emily still absorbed by the earthquake while John fixates on ponies. A violent thunderstorm and hurricane devastate the estate, destroying huts, killing Sam, and ultima
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/i.md): The Thornton family prepares to send their children to England after a devastating hurricane destroys their home in Jamaica. The children, Emily, John, and the younger ones, are placed aboard a ship captained by the idea
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/ii.md): On the journey back to Ferndale, Frederic and Mrs. Thornton are silent, each feeling a mix of jealousy and sympathy from their shared parental emotions. Mrs. Thornton recalls Emily's last words about having an 'earthquak
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/iii.md): The Thorntons receive letters from Emily and John written from the Grand Cayman, followed by a devastating letter from Captain Marpole reporting that the Clorinda was captured by pirates and the children were murdered.
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/i.md): The Clorinda sails from Montego Bay to the Caymans and then toward the Isle of Pines and Cape San Antonio. The children enjoy the freedom of the ship, climbing rigging and playing. The sailors get the old monkey Jacko dr
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/ii.md): Pirates capture the barque, taking the children hostage and looting the ship. Captain Marpole is threatened and eventually forced to reveal the location of his freight-money. The children are transferred to the pirate sc
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/iii.md): After capturing the barque, the pirates and children share an awkward supper on the schooner, marked by shyness and formality due to the language barrier. Captain Jonsen and the mate dispose of identifiable belongings fr
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/iv.md): The children are given blankets and placed in the schooner's fore-hold to sleep. They struggle with discomfort, fear, and the unfamiliar environment, bickering and seeking comfort from each other. Margaret breaks down cr
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/iv.md): The children continue their life aboard the pirate ship, adapting to the routines and dynamics of the crew. Emily grows closer to Captain Jonsen, who shows her a strange kindness, while the other children remain wary. Th
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/i.md): The children wake aboard the Clorinda to find it docked at Santa Lucia, a decaying Cuban port. They go ashore, explore the town, and witness an auction of the ship's cargo. The auction is chaotic, with the captain and ma
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/ii.md): The children attend a magistrate's dinner and a nativity play, where John falls to his death. His absence is never mentioned again.
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/iii.md): The children's main adversary on the schooner is the big white pig, which constantly displaces them from their resting spots. During a calm spell off the Mangrove Keys, the crew goes ashore for water and returns with a s
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/v.md): The children experience a squall at sea, during which the pig, fowl coops, shirts, and grindstone are lost. Captain Jonsen rebukes them for tobogganing on the wet deck, shattering their idyllic perception of life aboard.
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/vi.md): The children continue their life aboard the pirate ship, adapting to the strange new environment. Emily remains detached and observant, while the pirates grow increasingly uncertain about what to do with their young capt
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/i.md): Emily experiences a profound moment of self-realization while aboard the schooner, suddenly becoming aware of her own identity and the implications of being a discrete person. She contemplates her existence, her family, 
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/ii.md): Emily reflects on the strange events following her biting of Captain Jonsen's thumb, particularly Margaret's bizarre behavior and growing distance from the other children. She observes Margaret's shift from fear to attac
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/iii.md): In the Parliament of Beds, the children finally voice the question of whether their captors are pirates. Emily dismisses the idea, but Rachel insists Margaret said so. Emily cleverly reinterprets 'pirates' as 'pilots' an
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/i.md): The chapter introduces the inner lives of the children, contrasting Rachel's clear moral certainty and domestic instincts with Laura's complex, pre-verbal consciousness. It describes Laura's devotion to the pirate captai
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/ii.md): Emily and Captain Jonsen reconcile after the thumb-biting incident, but tensions rise when Emily is injured by a falling marlinespike. Jonsen cares for her, and she falls asleep happy. Later, a Dutch captain is captured 
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/i.md): After the murder of the Dutch captain by Margaret, the pirates are shocked and fearful of pursuit. They tighten discipline, abstain from rum, and set course for Santa Lucia. The children, initially contemptuous of Margar
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/ii.md): Emily, recovering from her leg wound, spends much time alone in the cabin, grappling with existential dread and the weight of her past actions. She oscillates between childish play and moments of acute self-awareness, qu
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/iii.md): Captain Jonsen grows increasingly frustrated with the children's disruptive behavior aboard the ship. Emily tries to get his attention with silly faces, while Edward steals Jonsen's slipper, sparking a chaotic chase. Rac
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/iv.md): The children transform the ship's deck into an imaginary sea, with islands and boats, while the sailors find their antics unsettling. Emily asserts dominance as the new leader, threatening Rachel with a piece of iron whe
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/v.md): Captain Jonsen spots a suspicious sail on the horizon, likely a man-of-war, and tries to enlist Emily's help by appealing to her affection, but she remains distracted and playful, unable to grasp the seriousness of the s
- [IX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/ix.md): The children continue their life aboard the pirate ship, adapting to the routines and relationships with the crew. Emily grows closer to Captain Jonsen, who shows her a strange kindness, while the other children remain w
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/i.md): Captain Jonsen, tormented by the fear of an unseen man-of-war, spends a sleepless night on deck, climbing the rigging and scanning the darkness. He descends to the hold where the children sleep, observes Laura, and is wa
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/ii.md): Captain Jonsen, alarmed by the children's deteriorating condition and the risks of being caught with them, decides to alter course and disguise the schooner as the 'Lizzie Green' to intercept a steamer and send the child
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/iii.md): Emily and the other children are transferred from the pirate schooner to a steamer, where they are to be sent home to England. Emily experiences a complex emotional and physical awakening, feeling a deep revulsion toward
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/iv.md): After successfully returning the children to the steamer, Captain Jonsen and his crew feel a sense of relief and liberation. The schooner becomes a masculine space again, and the sailors celebrate with drunken revelry. J
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/i.md): On the steamer to England, Emily grows physically and socially, becoming popular among the passengers. She forms a close bond with Miss Dawson but refuses to discuss her pirate experiences, instead absorbing details abou
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/ii.md): The Bas-Thornton family, having sold Ferndale after the hurricane, returns to England. The children arrive by steamer and train in a thick London fog, where Mrs. Thornton meets them at the station. Amid the chaotic reuni
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/iii.md): The children spend spring in Hammersmith Terrace, adjusting to London life while the pirates are imprisoned in Newgate. They struggle to reconcile their own memories with the heroic narratives adults impose on their orde
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/iv.md): The children are brought to Mr. Mathias's chambers in London for a formal interview about their capture by pirates. The adults attempt to extract a coherent account, but the children's responses are fragmented, playful, 
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/v.md): Thornton and Mathias discuss the legal difficulties of convicting the pirates for murder, as the children have provided no clear evidence about the deaths of John and Captain Vandervoort. Mathias plans to put Emily on th
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/vi.md): Emily enjoys outings with Mr. Mathias, who tries to question her about Captain Vandervoort's death but learns nothing. After returning home, she is violently sick. Her father watches her with a mixture of pity and fear. 
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/vii.md): The trial concludes swiftly, with the judge condemning the pirates to death. Some crew members are reprieved and transported. The night before the execution, Jonsen attempts suicide by cutting his throat but is bandaged 
- [VIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/viii.md): Emily begins her new life at a school in Blackheath, where her parents leave her with the head mistress. She is introduced to the other girls, who are kind and innocent, and the narrator reflects on how Emily blends in w
- [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/endnotes.md): The endnotes provide citations and clarifications for references made throughout the book, including a note distinguishing the tiger-shark of the South Seas from other species.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters