What is the author's tone in Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier?

The exposition uses formal words in place of slang and has a stiff quality that one might expect to find in a Jane Austen novel, though not the same tone. The dialogue is more formal than the exposition, using words and grammar common to the setting of the novel. The author chooses her words carefully, using words not only common to the setting but also to the education level and economic status of the characters in question.