Now, even less wellknown in most circles is that du. From manderley in rebecca to navron in frenchmans creek, houses are more than just a background or setting for du mauriers plot. Her mother was a maternal niece of journalist, author, and lecturer william comyns beaumont. Rebecca is, overly, very autobiographical of daphne du maurier s life. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of rebecca by daphne du maurier.
A bestseller, there were 2,829,3 copies of rebecca sold between its publication in 1938 and 1965, and the book has never gone out of print. Get all the key plot points of daphne du mauriers rebecca on one page. Aug 17, 20 daphne du maurier always said her novel rebecca was a study in jealousy seventyfive years after daphne du maurier published rebecca, her son tells christian house how the authors own. Dead some months, the most potent person at manderley is rebecca, kept alive by the demon who is mrs. Rebecca is, overly, very autobiographical of daphne du mauriers life. Daphne du mauriers most famous novel often finds itself bracketed as romance, which is rather like shelving anna karenina in the chicklit section. A concise biography of daphne du maurier plus historical and literary context for rebecca.
There are also many significant events in the novel resembling important moments throughout daphne s life. Welcome to the litcharts study guide on daphne du mauriers rebecca. With lily james, armie hammer, keeley hawes, kristin scott thomas. The novel is narrated by an unnamed woman recalling past events in her life. Sparknotes is here for you weve got everything you need to ace or teach. Many will surely be accusing hollywood of having no imagination whatsoever, ignoring the fact that movie remakes have been around for as long as movies have been around. Du maurier described the plot as a sinister tale about a woman who marries a widower. Both these books celebrate their 60th anniversary in 2020.
Individual memories blur together, and its not always easy for us to tell if the narrator is experiencing the present or only recalling the past. Seventyfive years after daphne du maurier published rebecca, her son tells christian house how the authors own torrid life inspired this. Read a plot overview of the entire book or a chapter by chapter summary and analysis. The characters everyday routines show daphnes social views on the stereotyped british civilian. Though its an excellent book, it bugged me a lot because the heroine, who is the narrator does not have a name all we know is that she has a lovely and unusual name in the story until she gets married, and you do not know her age, you are told that she is young and. This story uses a familiar plot line however daphne du maurier as always saves a few twists that really heighten the experience. Rebeccas structure daphne du maurier essay 545 words. Daphne du maurier always said her novel rebecca was a study in jealousy seventyfive years after daphne du maurier published rebecca, her son tells christian house how the authors own.
Rebecca by daphne du maurier, daphne du maurier, paperback. Rebecca study guide contains a biography of daphne du maurier, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full. The story then flashes back, to when the narrator stayed at the hotel cote dazur in monte carlo with. It is an international bestseller that has never gone out of print. Widely considered a classic, it is a psychological thriller about a. Daphne du maurier always said her novel rebecca was a. Continue your study of rebecca with these useful links. Du maurier left her two daughters with their nanny in england and accompanied him to egypt.
This novel even blurs the lines between villain and victim, disrupting any simplified ideas we have about good and. Rebecca, a novel written by daphne du maurier illustrates this point. Rebecca was a novel written by daphne du maurier and published in 1938. Rebecca is pretty dark and heady stuff a love story perhaps, but only in the twisted and haunted fashion that dracula and wuthering heights can be described as love stories. Daphne du mauriers rebecca, made into a 1940 academy awardwinning movie directed by alfred hitchcock, is getting the movieremake treatment. Rebecca is a gothic novel by english author dame daphne du maurier. Apr 19, 2008 suspicion within daphne du mauriers own marriage fuelled the tense, macabre plot of rebecca, says matthew dennison in 1937, daphne du maurier signed a threebook deal with victor gollancz. Rebecca is a novel by english author daphne du maurier. Daphne du mauriers rebecca taught me how to love literature. This study guide and infographic for daphne du mauriers rebecca offer summary and analysis on themes, symbols, and other literary devices found in the text. Rebecca, gothic suspense novel by daphne du maurier, published in 1938. While working as the companion to a rich american woman on holiday in monte carlo, the unnamed narrator, a naive young woman in her early 20s.
For the time being, the narrators past dominates her lifeshe cant escape it. May 15, 20 the characters everyday routines show daphne s social views on the stereotyped british civilian. Echoing du mauriers masterwork, rebecca, my cousin rachel is a romantic thriller. The elaborate atmosphere displayed throughout rebecca can closely be. She is an animal, a devil, a snake, vicious, damnable, rotten. Daphne du maurier, famous author of rebecca, jamaica inn. Rebecca is a novel by daphne du maurier that was first published in 1938. Feb 23, 2018 in the du maurier family slang a sexually attractive person was a menace, and rebecca unites both the words meanings. Created by the original team behind sparknotes, litcharts are the worlds best literature guides.
I found it interesting that the protagonist remains nameless the only hint we are given is that she has a very lovely and unusual name 24. Daphne du maurier herself said it was about my feelings of jealousy re my husband and jan ricardo, ricardo being an exgirlfriend of brownings. But it is masterfully plotted and written and definitely makes me want to read more by du maurier. In the beginning of the novel, the narrator is the. Just finished reading rebecca by daphne du maurier and. N is jealous from the moment she sees rebeccas handwriting. Listen the summary of the novel rebecca by daphne du maurier. What du maurier understood is that the heart of the romantic.
I honestly didnt suspect anything because i was so focused on the narrators interpretation of the situation and never thought it wasnt as she suspected. Born in london in 1907 to a wellknown actor and granddaughter of a noted illustrator she won fame for her exceptional jobs of fiction. This novel even blurs the lines between villain and victim, disrupting any simplified ideas we have about good and evil, and truth and. We read this for a book club meeting and it certainly raised a lot of discussion. This woman, our narrator, is dreaming of returning to a place called manderley, but she and the man shes with can never go back. Rebecca is an intensely erotic novel, but its eroticism is of a queasy kind. Houses are characters in their own right and their histories intertwine with the lives of their inhabitants, for good or for ill. As a young woman, the narrator worked for a rich, obnoxious old woman named mrs. Questioning and disruptive, lighthearted, nostalgic questions abound. Learn more about rebecca with a detailed plot summary and plot diagram. The novel takes place in a world very like the one in which the author grew upa world of privilege in early 1900s england. Du maurier admitted that her heroine has no name because she could never think of an appropriate onewhich in itself is a telling comment. Daphne du maurier was born in london, the middle of three daughters of prominent actormanager sir gerald du maurier and actress muriel beaumont.
Jul 06, 2017 the trouble with walking in venice, according to a character in du mauriers dont look now, is that it becomes compulsive. Sep 27, 2019 download rebecca pdf by daphne du maurier. Rebecca is the novel that made daphne du maurier famous and that remains her bestknown work. Just finished reading rebecca by daphne du maurier and really enjoyed it really really liked this book, but was wondering if anyone saw the plot twist coming about maxim and rebecca. Just over the next bridge, you say, and then the next one. Rebecca has been called a modern jane eyre, and there are. If you click a link in this post and make a purchase, i may earn a small commission.
Daphne du mauriers rebecca is crucial to the genre, for in it du maurier simplified and organized these six elements, refining the narrative, concentrating the mythic, and enriching the ambiguity of her tale. Johns language is precise, insightful and beautiful, and even though he is naive at times, it just makes him all the more appealing. Daphne du maurier always said her novel rebecca was a study. Max is still troubled by the death of his first wife, rebecca, in a boating accident the year before.
My cousin rachel is a novel by british author daphne du maurier, first published in the u. What du maurier understood is that the heart of the romantic gothic is the struggle between two women, one. Daphne du maurier s rebecca is crucial to the genre, for in it du maurier simplified and organized these six elements, refining the narrative, concentrating the mythic, and enriching the ambiguity of her tale. Rebecca study guide contains a biography of daphne du maurier, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. In the du maurier family slang a sexually attractive person was a menace, and rebecca unites both the words meanings. Published in 1938, daphne du mauriers rebecca was an immediate best seller that was adapted for film two years later. The trouble with walking in venice, according to a character in du mauriers dont look now, is that it becomes compulsive.
In the summer of 1937, daphne du mauriers husband was assigned as the commanding officer of the second battalion of the grenadier guards in alexandria, egypt. Throughout the engrossing story, the characters experience much and as a result, the characters undergo both temporary and lifealtering changes to their thoughts, beliefs and behavior. Perhaps because of homesickness, du maurier spent this time abroad working on a new novel, one inspired largely by her beloved cornwall. Rebecca by daphne du maurier summary and explanation duration. I enjoy daphne du mauriers firstperson narrative and contemporary novels set and published in the 1950s better than her period novels written in third person. Daphne du maurier s most famous novel often finds itself bracketed as romance, which is rather like shelving anna karenina in the chicklit section. In daphne du mauriers, rebecca, the numerous gothic themes can be viewed through setting, good vs. Rebecca by daphne du maurier and its film adaptations my.
She and max fall in love, marry, and return to manderley, his large country estate in cornwall. A level english literature the handmaids tale plot summary duration. This free synopsis covers all the crucial plot points of rebecca. Rebecca summary from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. Actually, the opposite of rebecca if a person can have an opposite youll see why in a minute. Also consider these litlovers talking points to help get a discussion started for rebecca. Daphne du maurier th may 1907 19th april 1989 was first and foremost a really excellent storyteller but she was also part of the remarkable du maurier dynasty a granddaughter, daughter, sister, military wife, mother and grandmother. Gleich bei seinem erscheinen wurde er, zu du mauriers eigener. Miss du maurier writes of her people with a lavish hand, and they come to life beneath her gestures. As a young woman, the narrator worked for a rich, obnoxious old.
Houses are of fundamental importance to the works of daphne du maurier. Rebecca is a 1938 gothic novel by english author dame daphne du maurier. There are also many significant events in the novel resembling important moments throughout daphnes life. It is wellknown that maxims widely adored wife rebecca, has recently drowned at sea and the local people of maxims home county are devastated. Suspicion within daphne du mauriers own marriage fuelled the tense, macabre plot of rebecca, says matthew dennison in 1937, daphne du maurier. Daphne du maurier biography will help you with any book or any question. Although she is classed as a romantic novelist, her stories have been described as moody and resonant with overtones of the paranormal. Rebecca was adapted by alfred hitchcock into a popular film 1940. Rebecca by daphne du maurier begins in the present, as the narrator recalls events of the past at manderley, an estate in the english countryside. Danvers dame judith anderson, the housekeeper, who begins driving the young wife to madness. The plot of daphne du mauriers gothic classic rebecca hinges on the fact that the unnamed narrator does not have and cannot easily get all the information about her new husbands exwife, the.
There she saw a portrait of a woman named rachel carew, and. Its set primarily on a large estate in cornwall, england, where du maurier drew reallife inspiration from antony house. Rebecca pdf is a gothic tale by english creator dame daphne du maurier. Rebecca has been called a modern jane eyre, and there are certainly striking similarities between the. A young newlywed arrives at her husbands imposing family estate on a windswept english coast and finds herself battling the shadow of his first wife, rebecca, whose legacy lives on in the house long after her death.
Rebecca by daphne du maurier delivers superb characters, haunting mysteries, and mounting tension to the last page. Widely considered a classic, it is a psychological thriller about a young woman who becomes obsessed with her husbands first wife. Jul 26, 2017 rebecca by daphne du maurier summary and explanation duration. Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers. Nov 19, 2019 daphne du mauriers rebecca is the haunting story of a young girl consumed by love and the struggle to find her identity.
Dear author du mauriers prose is so beautifully descriptive, one really can imagine manderly in all its glory. Jan 21, 2020 listen the summary of the novel rebecca by daphne du maurier. Daphne du maurier always said her novel rebecca was a study in. What an author of enchanting as well as enigma fiction was dame daphne du maurier.