HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

Loading...

Rebecca (1938)

by Daphne du Maurier

Other authors: See the other authors section.

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations / Mentions
19,820588214 (4.21)3 / 1725
With these words, the reader is ushered into an isolated gray stone mansion on the windswept Cornish coast, as the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter recalls the chilling events that transpired as she began her new life as the young bride of a husband she barely knew. For in every corner of every room were phantoms of a time dead but not forgotten - a past devotedly preserved by the sinister housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers: a suite immaculate and untouched, clothing laid out and ready to be worn, but not by any of the great house's current occupants. With an eerie presentiment of evil tightening her heart, the second Mrs. de Winter walked in the shadow of her mysterious predecessor, determined to uncover the darkest secrets and shattering truths about Maxim's first wife - the late and hauntingly beautiful Rebecca.… (more)
  1. 386
    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. 92
    We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (teelgee)
  9. 70
    Lorna Doone by R. D. Blackmore (Sylak)
    Sylak: Another saga set against a hauntingly beautiful landscape - but this time its in Exmoor.
  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. 51
    Don't Look Now and Other Stories [10 stories, Folio Society] by Daphne Du Maurier (Z-Ryan, cometahalley)
  13. 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
  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 Armin (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. 10
    Yes, My Darling Daughter by Margaret Leroy (WildMaggie)
  20. 10
    Alena by Rachel Pastan (TheLittlePhrase)

(see all 40 recommendations)

1930s (6)
To Read (75)
My TBR (2)
Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

» See also 1725 mentions

English (561)  Spanish (6)  French (4)  Italian (3)  German (3)  Swedish (2)  Portuguese (Brazil) (1)  Portuguese (Portugal) (1)  Norwegian (1)  All languages (582)
Showing 1-5 of 561 (next | show all)
I enjoyed the movie and it kind of spoiled the plot for me. However, a few things still stand out to me. There is no name associated with second Mrs. de Winter, she is nameless and blend. The looming character of Rebecca is not as dominant but shadowy like. The readers are allowed to piece together her character from various sources as what we like. Mrs. Danver is another enigma that is vague and also in the shadow. ( )
  Baochuan | Sep 29, 2023 |
Who knew my life was missing a steamy, gothic Victorian suspense novel? ( )
  cbwalsh | Sep 13, 2023 |
Via audiobook, was underwhelmed ( )
  schoenbc70 | Sep 2, 2023 |
Written in 1938, this is a “classic” that I had never even heard about until recently on a Facebook reading group. I am surprised how much I enjoyed this novel, even though a little slow taking off. Rebecca was Maxim de Winter’s 1st wife, and “Mrs. De Winter’s” his 2nd wife. She never received an official name in the novel. Maxim was 42 years old and owned the famous manor, the Manderley, a beautiful postcard home on the lake in London, and Mrs. De Winter’s (2nd wife) was 21 years old and worked for pennies for an old hag, learning to be a “companion”, when they met and married. She was still so young and very dreamy about romance and love and constantly ran things through her mind on how things will, or should, turn out…but they never did. I found myself relating to her on a lot of this...that's exactly how my mind works. Making up scenarios about this or that until I'm just about paranoid and coo-coo.

But oddly enough, Maxim was very aloof and stand-offish with her from the very beginning, and once she arrived at the manor as the new misses, she found that Rebecca seemed to be running the household even from her death, which everyone was reluctant to talk about. They loved her so much and constantly compared her to Rebecca who had such an outgoing and shining personality; whereas she was shy and a bit anti-social, and a bit plain. She became paranoid because she didn’t really know how to run a manor, so she basically sneaked around the place, trying to hide out from the butlers and maids. When company would drive up and Maxim happened to be away, she would run and hide so she wouldn't have to visit with them alone. But, as time went on, some truths regarding Rebecca started to come out and there were questions around her death. It turned out Rebecca was not the sweet little darling that she was made out to be.

MOVIE: 'Rebecca' is soon to be a remake of the 1940's movie directed by Alfred Hitchcock, which starred Laurence Olivier as Maxim and Joan Fontaine as"Mrs. de Winter". According to Vanity Fair online, November 15, 2018, Netfix is currently working on the remake, which will star the good-looking Armie Hammer as Maxim, although I'm not so sure he would be considered old enough as there was a 21 years difference in their ages, and Lily James as "Mrs. de Winters"....can't wait!! ( )
  MissysBookshelf | Aug 27, 2023 |
This is about all the suspense I can handle! ( )
  rebwaring | Aug 14, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 561 (next | show all)
"Rebecca is a lowbrow story with a middlebrow finish,” announced The Times Literary Supplement when Daphne du Maurier’s bestselling novel was first issued in 1938. Critic V.S. Pritchett was even more dismissive in his review, announcing that Rebecca "would be here today, gone tomorrow." The novel did generate positive coverage in Good Housekeeping and Ladies Home Journal, but that kind of praise did more harm than good in elite literary circles.... [the] novel has slowly climbed the path from lowbrow to highbrow in the eight decades since its initial publication, and is now more likely encountered on a college syllabus than at a supermarket checkout counter. You will now find Rebecca on the assigned reading lists of classes on gender politics, British fiction, Gothic style and other academic subjects.... Rebecca ranks among the most acute literary explorations of jealousy.... In truth, plot plays only a small part in the lasting success of this novel. The story itself is simple, and even the supposedly surprising twists are often telegraphed long in advance. What sets Rebecca apart from its peers is its author’s mastery of tone and mood, emotion and psychology.
 

» 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

Is contained in

Is retold in

Has the (non-series) sequel

Has the adaptation

Is abridged in

Was inspired by

Inspired

Has as a student's study guide

Awards

Distinctions

Notable Lists

You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Awards and honors
Epigraph
Dedication
First words
Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.
Quotations
'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.
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (1)

With these words, the reader is ushered into an isolated gray stone mansion on the windswept Cornish coast, as the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter recalls the chilling events that transpired as she began her new life as the young bride of a husband she barely knew. For in every corner of every room were phantoms of a time dead but not forgotten - a past devotedly preserved by the sinister housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers: a suite immaculate and untouched, clothing laid out and ready to be worn, but not by any of the great house's current occupants. With an eerie presentiment of evil tightening her heart, the second Mrs. de Winter walked in the shadow of her mysterious predecessor, determined to uncover the darkest secrets and shattering truths about Maxim's first wife - the late and hauntingly beautiful Rebecca.

No library descriptions found.

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.

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (4.21)
0.5 2
1 49
1.5 7
2 130
2.5 40
3 659
3.5 172
4 1785
4.5 295
5 2242

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 194,967,946 books! | Top bar: Always visible