Daphne du Maurier, Haunted Heiress (Personal Takes)
by Nina Auerbach
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"Nina Auerbach examines the writer of depth and recklessness now largely known only as the author of Rebecca."--Jacket. "Auerbach's Daphne Du Maurier is the author of sixteen other novels, along with biographies, articles, plays, memoirs, and short stories. Where other readers have become absorbed by Rebecca, Auerbach finds greater fascination in novels such as The Scapegoat, Hungry Hill, and My Cousin Rachel, books whose protagonists are troubled, even murderous, men succumbing to the show more haunting of previous generations. Du Maurier herself was haunted by her father and grandfather. Living under the shadow of her famous father, Gerald, actor and manager of Wyndham's Theater and creator of the role of Captain Hook in Peter Pan, and of her grandfather George, the popular illustrator and best-selling novelist of Trilby, du Maurier was the torchbearer of a stellar male line. Her own phrase for her secret self, "the boy in the box," hints at her sexual ambivalence and her alienation from the prescribed roles for women of her day."--BOOK JACKET. "This is a du Maurier whose sharp-edged fiction, with its brutal and often perverse family relationships, has been softened in such movies as Rebecca, Jamaica Inn, The Birds, and Don't Look Now, all based on her work."--Jacket. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Daphne du Maurier: Haunted Heiress (Personal Takes)
by Nina Auerbach
2000
University Penn. Press
3.8 / 5.0
Nina Auerbach's obsession with Daphne du Maurier began while she was a kid, at camp, reading scary books under the covers late at night, with a flashlight.This is a fun, and engaging biography. Nina's admiration for Daphne is apparent and gives the book a fresh insight. This books openly discusses her relationships with other women, and is central to her character; not brushed off, or excused, as so many biographers have done. Daphne's father, Gerald, was openly homophobic and outspoken about it. His attitudes and bigotry influenced her choices throughout her life, and led to her bouts of depression and anxiety. Daphne wrote a show more biography about her father that I think would be interesting to read.
This biography, although it is just basic, is probably much more honest in its portrayal of Daphne than most. I so closely identity with Daphne, in so many ways.
Good, basic bio and well worth the read. show less
by Nina Auerbach
2000
University Penn. Press
3.8 / 5.0
Nina Auerbach's obsession with Daphne du Maurier began while she was a kid, at camp, reading scary books under the covers late at night, with a flashlight.This is a fun, and engaging biography. Nina's admiration for Daphne is apparent and gives the book a fresh insight. This books openly discusses her relationships with other women, and is central to her character; not brushed off, or excused, as so many biographers have done. Daphne's father, Gerald, was openly homophobic and outspoken about it. His attitudes and bigotry influenced her choices throughout her life, and led to her bouts of depression and anxiety. Daphne wrote a show more biography about her father that I think would be interesting to read.
This biography, although it is just basic, is probably much more honest in its portrayal of Daphne than most. I so closely identity with Daphne, in so many ways.
Good, basic bio and well worth the read. show less
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Author Information
10+ Works 6,194 Members
Nina Auerbach is John Welsh Centennial Professor of History and Literature at the University of Pennsylvania
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 2000
- People/Characters
- Daphne du Maurier
- Dedication
- For Carolyn Heilbrun
- Original language
- English US
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 23
- Popularity
- 1,144,863
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.43)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 2
