Rebecca

by Daphne Du Maurier

Sally Beauman (Afterword)

NOW A MAJOR NETFLIX FILM starring Lily James, Armie Hammer, Kristin Scott Thomas and Lily Collins.

'The moment I finished this story, I turned to page one and started it over again' MALORIE BLACKMAN

'Excellent entertainment . . . du Maurier created a scale by which modern women can measure their feelings' STEPHEN KING

'Rebecca is a masterpiece in which du Maurier pulls off several spectacular high-wire acts that many great writers wouldn't attempt' JIM CRACE, GUARDIAN

On a trip to the South of France, the shy heroine of Rebecca falls in love with Maxim de Winter, a handsome widower. Although his proposal comes as a surprise, she happily agrees to marry him. But as they arrive at her husband's home, Manderley, a change comes over Maxim, and the young bride is filled with dread. Friendless in the isolated mansion, she realises that she barely knows him. In every corner of every room is the phantom of his beautiful first wife, Rebecca, and the new Mrs de Winter walks in her shadow.

Not since Jane Eyre has a heroine faced such difficulty with the other woman. An international bestseller that has never gone out of print, Rebecca is the haunting story of a young girl consumed by love and the struggle to find her identity.

'As a new generation of readers are introduced to the wicked housekeeper Mrs Danvers and learn Maxim de Winter's terrible secret, this chilling, suspenseful tale is as fresh and readable as it was when it was first written' DAILY TELEGRAPH

• ISBN10: 1844080382
• ISBN13: 9781844080380
• Publish Date: 30 January 2003 (first published December 1939)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 11 March 2022
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
• Imprint: Virago Press Ltd
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 448
• Language: English

Reviews

[thepunktheory]

Full review on my blog!

Book vs. Movie:
I’m often a little hesitant to read old(er) books as they have a tendency to not hold up. For example, Murder on the Orient Express was so rassist, I kept cringing with every other page. This novel was written a hot minute ago, so I feared it might fall to the same fate. However, it turned out that Rebecca is still highly relevant. Sure, it’s set in a different time, but it’s still works today.

One of the biggest things that stood out to me in that regard was the age gap between the two main characters. You know, you’d expect that maybe back in the day nobody cared that a rich older guy married someone barely legal. Well, it was addressed several times throughout the book how weird people found it and how much everybody frowned upon that. I actualy really appreciated how it was handled in the story and how well it was portraied in the movie. It also clearly shows the power imbalance between them and simply how different they are partially owning to their age gape. The casting on that part is impeccable, with both Fontaine and Olivier playing their roles to perfection.

There are many reasons in the book why their realtionship is off-kilter, some of those due to their personalities. For example, the new Mrs. de Winter is not just young. She’s extremely naive, shy, clumsy. Pretty much the opposite of sophiscated. She seems so fragile, just so unsure of everything, you alternately want to smack her for the way she acts and hug her. He’s not just older. He’s rich and grew up like that. He knows how to conduct himself, had been in the spotlight for most of his life. The two are polar opposites. Many little aspects keep piling up adding to the second Mrs. de Winter’s insecurities. I’m so glad that the movie kept extremely close to the book in that regard. As this was the strongest point of the story, this was a make or break kind of deal!

In general, Hitchcock stuck to the original plot and turned it into a beautiful adaptation. Believe me, there is a reason why this holds a 100% approval rating on RT and is generally regarded as a brilliant film. It’s honestly one of the best adaptations I have ever seen. They just nailed it: the cast, the scenery, the music, the everything. The story is crafted expertly and it comes with several interesting twists, you definitely didn’t see coming. You can tell a lot of thought went into it shaping it, so it’s good they only changed minimal aspects for the adaptation.

I am fully aware that not every story can easily be translated to the screen by keeping so closely to the source material, but in this case those two form a perfect symbiosis. Rumor has it that Hitchcock was a full-blown asshole at the set – I mean it is wildly known by now that he wasn’t a good person. Every time I watch the movie my heart goes out a bit to Fontaine over how she was treated at the set and I’m sad about that. Nevertheless, the final product the world got to see is outstanding, and Fontaine’s performance played an integral part in that.

[Leigha]

The newest Mrs. de Winter marries a man with a past in this terrible classic.

What fresh hell is this? For as long as I can remember, I have been excited about reading Rebecca. I always thought I would read it at the right time and the right place in my life, but I’ve discovered there would be no right time or place for it. It was plain idiotic. Why does the heroine have no name other than Mrs. de Winter? Why in blazes does the novel spend a tedious amount of time on conversations between the various characters about absolutely nothing, but then ends with a dramatic cliffhanger? Why the hell do Maxim and thy-new-wife-who-shall-never-be-named like each other let alone love each other? What in the hell was the point of it all? I was expecting a home run. I was expecting something unique and twisty, not monotonous conversations and a mind-numbing dive into a fragile woman’s psyche. I might have given it two stars as the narration was well done, but that ending enraged me to no end.

tl;dr Tedious details, a problematic relationship, and a terrible ending had me hating this book until the bitter end.

[maggiefan]

Actual rating: 3.5
This book really surprised me. I did not expect the plot to go in this direction. But overall it wasn't super original. I know, my thoughts on this book are confusing (like my thoughts on every book tbh), but i liked it and at the same time sometimes thought that this story had no point.

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

Woah.

I am honestly still just reeling from that unexpected ending. This book was NOTHING like I thought it was going to be and it far exceeded my expectations. I should also note – I did listen to the unabridged version. Definitely listen to the unabridged version! There are so many hints and clues. After reading the blurb, I really expected Rebecca to be a sort of sweeping, sappy romance. For a lot of the book, the reader is led to believe this is true. But then everything shifted and it was a murder mystery and there was plotting and so help me I loved it.

Daphne de Maurier’s writing is just right. There are a few flowery passages that were so relatable that I found myself reminiscent of L.M. Montgomery. For the most part, though, the writing is well balanced and the tone is perfect. She shifts effortlessly from romance to ghost story to thriller that I only noticed the shift in her voice retrospectively. There’s enough description to bring Manderly to life, but not so much that the reader is left skimming passages of architectural descriptions.

I’ve been wracking my brain, but I don’t think our narrator was ever named? Rebecca is named for the previous Mrs. de Winter, and Rebecca’s presence is so heavy on our narrator’s life that she seems to squash the individuality right out of her. Rebecca, the deceased first wife whom everyone loved and who was so perfect. I found it do be a clever literary device – the narrator’s self-esteem was so low that even her name carried no confidence. It didn’t matter because she didn’t matter because she was not Rebecca.

This is one of those books that strongly screams for discussion. Of the details, not the style and formatting. I want to know if anyone else was as much taken off guard by the ending as I was. And I want to know if anyone was as concerned as me with the narrator’s reaction to Maxim’s secret. For me, only the very best books strike that sort of need for conversation in my soul. It’s an impossibility of putting the book to bed, because I’m still thinking about it. This is a book I would have liked to have read in school… but I’m also that strange person who looks back fondly on a lot of academically required reading.

Rebecca would never have come on my radar if it wasn’t for Our Shared Shelf, Emma Watson’s book club. It is moments like these when I deeply appreciate when book clubs inspire me to add books outside of my comfort zone. Rebecca was a novel I couldn’t stop listening to, and am already eager to re-read. I recommend it with all my heart to anyone interested in gothic books, romance, morality stories, murder most foul… it’s just really good and I loved it.

[gmcgregor]

I've never read a book that feels as steeped in that feeling of being an imposter as Daphne DuMarier's Rebecca. Our heroine is a never-named middle-class young English woman, in her early 20s, who's earning her living as a traveling companion to an crude older woman. On a stop in Monaco, she meets Maxim deWinter, who her employer is all too happy to repeat gossip about and try to kiss up to: he's the owner of the famous and magnificent country estate of Manderly, and his beautiful, stylish wife Rebecca recently died tragically. The young lady and Maxim have a whirlwind courtship, and before she knows it, she's married and honeymooned and off to her new home and new life as the mistress of a great house.

But when they get to Manderly, things go quickly south. Being middle-class, she's barely been in a place like this, and hasn't the slightest idea how to make it her own. Her husband is suddenly distant and moody. Her only real friend is the spaniel dog that she takes her walks with. The head housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers, all but openly sneers at her and constantly reminds her that she's not anything like the charming and passionate Rebecca. And it's not just Mrs. Danvers...even the locals she goes to visit tell her over and over again how exciting things were when Rebecca was around, how beautiful she was, how delightful. The shy, quiet second Mrs. deWinter begins to despair of ever being good enough for the role she's been handed, and is talked into putting on a costume ball (like the ones Rebecca used to have!) that changes everything.

If you've ever heard about super fast marriages Back In The Day and wondered if people even really knew each other when they go married, Rebecca answers that question with a resounding no. A major part of the drama comes from the fact that the young wife can't understand why Maxim married her and is afraid to share her fears and feelings of inadequacy because, well, she barely knows him. She tortures herself by imagining that he's constantly comparing her to Rebecca, and she's sure she comes up short. She can't even hide from the imposter syndrome that's consuming her...the very place she lives reminds her of the ways in which she feels inadequate. This book is often billed as a gothic romance, and while the former is accurate, the latter isn't really, in my opinion: there's a marriage at the center of it, but not really a romance per se.

Instead, I'd call this a psychological suspense novel. We know from the beginning that the deWinters no longer live at Manderly, that something bad happened there. How exactly this happens unwinds over the course of the book, with the inner lives of the characters and their relationships with each other being driving the action. And the story is well-told and well-paced, but it's still a classic rather than a modern-day thriller, so while it's certainly gripping it's not really a page-turner that'll keep you up all night. And for me, that's preferable anyways. I really enjoyed reading it and plan to add more duMaurier to my list of books to read. I'd recommend Rebecca to just about anybody, it's a tightly crafted and engaging story that'll appeal to anyone who's ever felt like they were playacting at being a grown-up.

[sarahjay]

10 out of 5 stars

Romantic, mysterious and chilling. I loved this book from page one and couldn't put it down. Daphne Du Maurier is known for her elegant narrations, beautiful romances, and intriguing storytelling in general.
A timeless classic worthy of reading over and over again, 'Rebecca' is my favorite book Du Maurier has ever written.

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

"I dreamt I went to Manderley again."

Rebecca tells the story of woman who marries and becomes the next Mrs de Winter. This woman has to live in the shadows of the first Mrs de Winter; the late Rebecca. As the story twists and turns you sinister story of Rebecca and the home of Manderley begins to unfold. The evil Mrs. Danvers always lurking about, making Mrs de Winter’s life hell and constantly reminder her how great Rebecca was. Rebecca is a wonderful story, full of mystery and gothic themes. I highly recommend it.

I’m interested now to see how Hitchcock handled this story when he adapted it into a film.

[Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews]

"Do you think the dead come back and watch the living?"

This line is spoken by Mrs. Danvers and a very good question it is too.

Rebecca by Daphne de Maurier is the gothic novel of an unnamed girl. The story begins with this young girl as a paid companion to a Mrs. Van Hopper. Mrs. Van Hopper likes to hobnob with the rich and famous and after spotting Maxim de Winter, owner of the wonderful Manderly. (I should also mention that Mr. de Winter has recently lost his wife and just can't get over it). So like a tabloid with Miley Cyrus on the cover, she sets her eyes on the prize of befriending him.

Little does she know that a friendship and eventually love spark between he and the unnamed girl, who is soon after taken to Manderly and introduced as Mrs. de Winter. Her reception is rather cool, as the staff has yet to recover from Rebecca de Winter's death as well, especially Mrs. Danvers who runs the show.

The Second Mrs. de Winter has difficulty adjusting to her new role as Mistress of Manderly and being constantly compared to the first Mrs. de Winter does not help her self-esteem. The ever existing presence of Rebecca does not help matters either. After being consistently sabotaged by the Mrs. de Winter's devotee Mrs. Danvers send her into a melodramatic insanity. Then an unfortunate discovery is made at sea changing the course of regularity at the prized estate of Manderly.

This was a eyes glued open pageturner from the first sentence. Rebecca was exceptionally well written and I think no matter how many times it is read, Rebecca will always keep you spellbound. Mrs. Danvers is seriously creepy turning the home into a haunted house and sick memorial to her former mistress but yet somehow you still feel for her in a most disturbing way. Also, I think that the second Mrs. de Winter remaining anonymous added to the mystic of it's fictional surroundings. All around, Rebecca is a fantastic novel perfect for curling up by the fire and reading well into the night.