Frenchman's Creek (original 1941; edition 2009)

My girlfriend insisted that I read a Daphen Du Maurier novel. She suggested [Rebecca], however I came upon [Frenchman's Creek] at the library book sale for 10 cents; can't pass up a bargain like that. Firstly, I was in love with the words. They were beautiful and they flowed ever so elegantly. The plot was simple and somewhat predictable; however, interesting enough to keep my reading. This was a good book and I will probably read another of her novels in the future. ( )

After reading and falling in love with [b:Rebecca|12873|Rebecca|Daphne du Maurier|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1298414903s/12873.jpg|46663] when I was a teenager, I started but failed to finish [b:My Cousin Rachel|50239|My Cousin Rachel|Daphne du Maurier|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170367871s/50239.jpg|623258] and [b:Jamaica Inn|50244|Jamaica Inn|Daphne du Maurier|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170367873s/50244.jpg|430524]. I gave up on them because they weren't like Rebecca. I then gave up on du Maurier, having decided that she had only written one good novel. That was a long time ago. I recently listened to an audiobook of Rebecca as a buddy read with my friend Jemidar. We both liked the book just as much as we had when we first read it. That experience prompted a buddy read of this novel.

Frenchman's Creek has a simple plot and a lineal structure. The heroine, Dona St Columb, a wealthy young married woman in Restoration England, is bored and dissatisfied with her marriage and with London life. She seeks refuge on the family's Cornwall estate and becomes involved with a dashing French pirate who has been stealing from the local gentry. They fall in love and share adventures. So on its surface, the book is a straightforward swashbuckling historical romance.

However, the novel can also be read in another way; that is, as a tale about the desire to escape which strikes almost every woman who has ever felt stifled by family ties and societal expetations. In this way, the novel works as an extended daydream, in which the reader can explore, through the heroine, what a completely different life might look like. The novel deals with the choices to be made between freedom and duty and between self and others.

The dreamlike quality of the book is emphasised by the use of language. Du Maurier's evocation of Cornwall and her description of the natural environment - the bird life, the sea, the sky, the weather - are breathtaking. While the novel is set during the Restoration, du Maurier makes no attempt to use period language or other devices to recreate the time period. The lack of such detail is not a problem. If anything, it makes the action simultaneously more vivid and more like a fantasy. I wondered whether du Maurier chose to set the novel during the Restoration for no other reason than that it gave her the possibility of introducing pirates into the story.

Frenchman's Creek has its flaws. Even given that it is not supposed to be realistic, there are some plot points - for example, the ease with which Dona persuades her husband to leave with the children which stretch credulity. Moreover, the resolution - even though it felt right within the context of the novel - could have been somewhat better explained.

Overall, I enjoyed reading the novel much more than I thought I would. It will not appeal to everyone, but I am very glad to have spent a few days in its world. What a pleasure it has been to realise that du Maurier did in fact write other books worth reading!






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Pirates!! ( )

Frenchman’s Creek is a book I wanted to read last year. I even got it out of the library, very excited to have it in my hands, and then I never read it. It went back to the library unopened. A few weeks ago I decided to put it on hold and decided this would be the time I read it, and I did. And it was wonderful. It’s full of cold, rainy Cornwall days, French pirates, romance, and pillaging. What more could I want?

Lady Dona St. Columb is not one for high society although she is a fixture in London society. Always the most daring and outspoken one in the room, and mostly by choice, she tires of it all and take off for her husband’s country estate on the coast of Cornwall with only her children and a few servants in tow. She arrives at the dreary closed up home happy to finally be alone and out of London. She can’t stand the neighbors and does her best to make a few scenes to amuse herself but they reluctantly pester her to write to her husband and ask him to take care of the pirate who is raiding the coast. Not at all wanting to see her husband, she doesn’t bother with telling him the news but she does find she’s interested in finding out more about this pirate.

This book is certainly more romantic than the other du Maurier books I’ve read. Dona, a very selfish woman by all accounts, and even though she claims to care for her children, is happy to run off for days without seeing them. It’s all about her and what she wants. What she wants is the French pirate and that’s what she gets. I can’t say I blame her. I too pictured a lovely French pirate as well, but overall, Dona’s not an endearing person and not all that likable for her actions. Did I mention her leaving her children for days on end and she doesn’t even think about them while she’s gone. Oh, and she’s claiming this entire time that she’s a good parent. And, you guessed it; she’s also having an affair. If you didn’t guess that, my apologies, I didn’t mean to ruin that for you. Wipe that last sentence from your memory. But I came to like her anyway and especially at the end which I won’t be sharing.

The strong personalities in du Maurier’s books are amusing, entertaining, and full of passion of one kind or another --- think Rebecca, Rachel, and add Dona to that list --- and that’s what I like that about her characters. I don’t always like her characters but do like the surprises her sometimes selfish, mean, and cruel female characters can bring about.

Frenchman’s Creek has only made me want to read more of her books. My library has Jamaica Inn and that might be the next one on my list of du Maurier books to tackle. This one was a real pleasure.

Re-read in 2012. Perfect pirate, perfect man. ( )