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Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
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Rebecca (original 1938; edition 2002)

by Daphne du Maurier

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations / Mentions
20,605608208 (4.21)3 / 1760
The novel begins in Monte Carlo, where our heroine is swept off her feet by the dashing widower Maxim de Winter and his sudden proposal of marriage. Orphaned and working as a lady's maid, she can barely believe her luck. It is only when they arrive at his massive country estate that she realizes how large a shadow his late wife will cast over their lives--presenting her with a lingering evil that threatens to destroy their marriage from beyond the grave.… (more)
Member:wynne245
Title:Rebecca
Authors:Daphne du Maurier
Info:Perfection Learning (2002), Hardcover
Collections:Your library
Rating:
Tags:None

Work Information

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (1938)

  1. 406
    Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (chrisharpe, fannyprice, ladybug74, HollyMS, lottpoet)
    chrisharpe: There are some similarities between these two books: a young woman marries an older widower and moves to his mansion, where the marriage is challenged by the unearthly presence of the first wife.
    fannyprice: These two books reminded me a lot of each other but Rebecca was more modern and somewhat less preachy.
    HollyMS: Since Rebecca was published, observers have noticed that it has parallels to Jane Eyre. Both are dark stories about young women who marry wealthy Englishmen.
    lottpoet: I can see the bones of Jane Eyre in Rebecca
  2. 222
    My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier (HollyMS, EllieH)
    HollyMS: Daphne Du Maurier's My Cousin Rachel has a similar theme as Rebecca.
  3. 131
    Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier (katie4098)
  4. 143
    The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (citygirl)
  5. 110
    The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (starfishian)
  6. 90
    Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon (kiwiflowa, lahochstetler)
  7. 91
    The Scapegoat by Daphne Du Maurier (lois1)
  8. 70
    Lorna Doone by R. D. Blackmore (Sylak)
    Sylak: Another saga set against a hauntingly beautiful landscape - but this time its in Exmoor.
  9. 92
    We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (teelgee)
  10. 50
    Thornyhold by Mary Stewart (whymaggiemay)
    whymaggiemay: Although I believe that du Maurier was the better writer, Thornyhold and many others by Mary Stewart give the same suspenseful feeling.
  11. 61
    The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton (DaraBrooke)
  12. 40
    Freedom and Necessity by Steven Brust (bjappleg8)
    bjappleg8: first person narrative; ambiguous supernatural elements; slow unravelling of a mystery in a historical British setting
  13. 51
    Don't Look Now by Daphne Du Maurier (Z-Ryan, cometahalley)
  14. 84
    Mistress of Mellyn by Victoria Holt (kraaivrouw, FutureMrsJoshGroban, Headinherbooks_27)
  15. 30
    Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart (Headinherbooks_27)
  16. 20
    Vera by Elizabeth Von Arnim (bell7)
  17. 20
    The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (msemmag)
    msemmag: Unreliable narrators, troubled women, dark psychological horror
  18. 42
    A Sucessora by Carolina Nabuco (HollyMS, Anonymous user)
    HollyMS: When Rebecca came out, there were accusations that Daphne du Maurier had plagiarized A sucessora (The Sucessor) by Brazilian author Carolina Nabuco. Read it and decide for yourself.
  19. 21
    Vanishing Cornwall by Daphne du Maurier (Z-Ryan)
  20. 10
    Yes, My Darling Daughter by Margaret Leroy (WildMaggie)

(see all 41 recommendations)

1930s (6)
To Read (75)
My TBR (1)
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English (583)  Spanish (6)  French (5)  Italian (4)  German (3)  Swedish (2)  Portuguese (Brazil) (1)  Portuguese (Portugal) (1)  Norwegian (1)  All languages (606)
Showing 1-5 of 583 (next | show all)
A plain, introverted wallflower thinks herself inferior to her husband's late first wife whose reputation and presence seems to haunt her every waking moment and their house itself and finally exclaims, " . . . It's always Rebecca, Rebecca, Rebecca."

Anyone of my generation is going to immediately flash to Jan Brady complaining about her perfect older sister and dramatically whining, "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!" Unfortunately, without Carol and Mike to provide guidance, our heroine's problems aren't resolved in 22 minutes, and we have to follow her along for several hundred pages as things just get worse and worse.

Long before the Brady vibe kicked in, this book felt like off-kilter homage to Jane Eyre, another marriage with a third wheel looming over everything.

Overall, I found myself pulled along through Rebecca by the style of the prose, but it did prove a bit boring for long segments and overlong in general. A lot of plot developments feel like they'd play better on a soap opera than between the covers of a book, but they effectively hooked me and kept me going even as I got a little impatient with the pacing.

For me, the biggest problem is the twenty-year age gap in the marriage, which the husband sums up in the skeeviest way possible with this bon mot: "It's a pity you have to grow up."

In the end I couldn't really like any of the flawed people in the book, but I rather enjoyed watching their turmoil unfold. ( )
  villemezbrown | Mar 25, 2024 |
Recommendation from mum in law. Enjoyed reading this book more than I had expected. Engaging and well written. Having finished the book I immediately watched the Hitchcock film with Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine, which was disappointing by contrast. ( )
  simbaandjessie | Mar 23, 2024 |
I enjoyed this more than I thought I was going to for the first half of the novel. I was getting desperately tired of the weak, insecure, silly schoolgirl of a narrator. What kept me going was the vivid, sometimes insightful daydreams of the narrator. At least when she wasn’t wallowing in her paranoia and insecurity. For instance, when she’s visiting Maxim’s grandmother:
Maxim’s grandmother suffered her in patience. She closed her eyes as though she too were tired. She looked more like Maxim than ever. I knew how she must have looked when she was young, tall, and handsome, going round to the stables at Manderley with sugar in her pockets, holding her trailing skirt out of the mud. I pictured the nipped-in waist, the high collar, I heard her ordering the carriage for two o’clock. That was all finished now for her, all gone. Her husband had been dead for forty years, her son for fifteen. She had to live in this bright, red-gabled house with the nurse until it was time for her to die. I thought how little we know about the feelings of old people.

The last quarter or so of the novel had me turning pages to find to what was going to happen, but it read very much like an Alfred Hitchcock thriller, and I much preferred the more introspective sections. The ending sent me back to reread the beginning, made so much more poignant the second time around. But, wow, I need to read a feminist analysis of this book. And how about that Mrs. Danvers, right? ( )
  Charon07 | Mar 9, 2024 |
I expected this book to plod along like Jane Eyre, but I was pleasantly surprised. The Narrator was a bit weak and vapid to start with but really grows as the plot gets more interesting, and I was surprised by a few turns. I also really liked the synopsis at the end. ( )
  Linyarai | Mar 6, 2024 |
I think this is the only book I’ve ever read where the murder victim was a house.
It is very well done, with a nameless protagonist who feels overshadowed by her husband’s first wife.
The atmosphere is sufficiently chilling, with hints of ghosts and a malevolent housekeeper.

I find it a bit shocking that some people feel it is romantic. Du Maurier knew what she was doing in trying to create a sympathetic murderer, she only hints at most of Rebecca’s depravity, but includes sleeping with her cousin on the grounds of her husband’s home in an attempt, I believe, to justify the murder. The fact that he went right out and found a nice, young pliable replacement is glossed over.

The story owes a lot to Jane Eyre.So much so that one wonders if Du Maurier read Jane Eyre and started wondering what would have happened if Mr. Rochester had killed his first wife instead of keeping her in the attic.

Anyway, an enjoyable read deserving its place as a classic.
.
( )
  cspiwak | Mar 6, 2024 |
Showing 1-5 of 583 (next | show all)

» Add other authors (50 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
du Maurier, Daphneprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Beauman, SallyIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Burnett, VirgilCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Clark, Emma ChichesterIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Dietsch, J.N.C. vanTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hoffman, H. LawrenceCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Kortemeier, S.Cover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Massey, AnnaNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Metcalf, JordanCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Scalero, AlessandraTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Schab, Karin vonÜbersetzersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Stibolt, HelenTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Vasara, HelviTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.
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'You see,' she said, snapping the top, and walking down the stairs, 'you are so very different from Rebecca.'
We came to Manderley in early May, arriving, so Maxim said, with the first swallows and the bluebells. It would be the best moment, before the full flush of summer, and in the valley the azaleas would be prodigal of scent and the blood-red rhododendrons in bloom.
Forget it, Mrs. de Winter, forget it, as he has done, thank heaven, and the rest of us. We none of us want to bring back the past, Maxim least of all. And it's up to you, you know, to lead us away from it. Not to take us back there again.
If only there could be an invention that bottled up a memory, like scent. And it never faded, and it never got stale. And then, when one wanted it, the bottle could be uncorked, and it would be like living the moment all over again.
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Wikipedia in English (1)

The novel begins in Monte Carlo, where our heroine is swept off her feet by the dashing widower Maxim de Winter and his sudden proposal of marriage. Orphaned and working as a lady's maid, she can barely believe her luck. It is only when they arrive at his massive country estate that she realizes how large a shadow his late wife will cast over their lives--presenting her with a lingering evil that threatens to destroy their marriage from beyond the grave.

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Book description
"Last night I dreamed I went to Manderley again..."

So the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter remembered the chilling events that led her down the turning drive past the beeches, white and naked, to the isolated gray stone manse on the windswept Cornish coast. Working as a lady's companion, she learns her place. Her future looks bleak until, on a trip to the South of France, she meets Max de Winter, a handsome widower whose sudden proprosal of marriage takes her by surprise. She accepts, but whisked from glamorous Monte Carlo to the ominous and brooding Manderley, the new Mrs de Winter finds Max a changed man. 

With a husband she barely knew, the young bride arrived at this immense estate, only to be inexorably drawn into the life of the first Mrs. de Winter, the beautiful Rebecca, dead but never forgotten... her suite of rooms never touched, her clothes ready to be worn, her servant -- the sinister Mrs. Danvers -- still loyal. And as an eerie presentiment of evil tightened around her heart, the second Mrs. de Winter began her search for the real fate of Rebecca... for the secrets of Manderley.
Haiku summary
Nameless narrator

marries wealthy widower;

haunting Rebecca.

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