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Rebecca

4.15 of 5 stars 4.15 · rating details · 143,252 ratings · 7,643 reviews

"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again..."

Ancient, beautiful Manderley, between the rose garden and the sea, is the county's showpiece. Rebecca made it so - even a year after her death, Rebecca's influence still rules there. How can Maxim de Winter's shy new bride ever fill her place or escape her vital shadow?

A shadow that grows longer and darker as the brief summ...more

Paperback, 397 pages

Published January 2nd 1992 by Arrow (first published 1938)

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Jul 31, 2011 Lora rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of classics from the early - mid 20th century

Recommended to Lora by: Arlene, Wendy, my love for all things Gothic and romantic

Shelves: favorites, classics, lib-read, surprised-me, wishlist, 1001-r

Rebecca is a classic tale that weaves mystery, secrets, and romance into an intricate and stunning twine. It tells the story of a young girl who is swept off her feet by a much older man with money and possessions aplenty — and even more heartache in his recent past.
Since his wife's tragic death eight months ago, Maxim de Winter has been doing everything he can to forget the horrific part of his past that has left him feeling bereft of happiness and aloof from others.
But even with this kind of...more

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Jun 18, 2007 Kelly rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of gothic lit.

Shelves: favorites, fiction, brit-lit, always-on-my-mind, victorian-wannabes, goth-goth-baby, owned, 20th-century-early-to-mid, theonewithacrushontheprofessor, mawwiageiswhatbringsustogethertoday, grand-opera

This is it. THE delicious, curl up next to the fire under a blanket with tea book. THE windowsill on a rainy day with your pet book. THE stay up all night book. A chill goes down your spine (but in a good way!) while reading it. It is a masterpiece of gothic literature, the inheritor of the tradition of novels like Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. I'd call it the 20th Century Jane Eyre, actually, with a modernist twist. It is written so that the characters and events come to seem quite believabl...more

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Dec 19, 2008 Elizabeth rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: in-by-of-england, mystery, reviewed

Whatever Daphne Du Maurier owes to the Brontes for Rebecca, Stephenie Myers owes twice that to Du Maurier for Twilight. I was surprised how many times I thought of Twilight while reading this book. We all know that Myers drew a lot from Wuthering Heights but this is a much more tangled web. Not only do both Rebecca and Twilight have those elements of dark, gothic love, but they also have the simpering, neurotic, needy young first-person narrator that can only come from a misreading of Jane Eyre....more

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Jan 22, 2013 Jeffrey Keeten rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

”Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again".

This is one of the more famous lines in literature certainly it belongs in the same conversation as Call me Ishmael. Even to people who have never read the book or seen the excellent movie by Alfred Hitchcock might have a glimmer of recognition at the mention of a place called Manderley. Daphne du Maurier leased a place called Menabilly which became the basis for the fictional Manderley. Aren’t we glad she changed the name? Just say Manderley a few...more

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Sep 20, 2010 Valerie marked it as unfinished · review of another edition

Shelves: classic

It was quite a painful book and not really in a good way. The protagonist is so insecure. How can someone walk around feeling so...desperate, depressed, and doubtful about everything? It was depressing. I could not finish it.

It's not necessarily a bad book; I just couldn't stand how uncomfortable she felt all the time. It's like those people who had to do presentations in class that looked so flustered you felt bad for them and watching them was just out right painful. That was like this book f...more

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Erin No problem, she grows up after that and takes control, hopefully becoming g more interesting to you!
Jan 31, 2013 08:16am

Abigail Big spoiler alert here. BIG. Big, big, big. Do not read this comment if you want to read the book. Seriously, don't.

Ok, she's annoyingly spineless, th...more Big spoiler alert here. BIG. Big, big, big. Do not read this comment if you want to read the book. Seriously, don't.

Ok, she's annoyingly spineless, that's true, but did you pause to consider the gap in age and class, etc? She never expected such a life, and she's only, what? 21, I think? She keeps longing to be 36 after all. Have a little compassion. She's in way over her head here.

Remember, I said spoiler...stop reading NOW if you don't want the book ruined for you!

But the thing that gets me is...isn't anyone at all bothered by the fact that M turns out to be a murderer? Hello? Just how would this have played if the book came out today? Seriously? We're supposed to be all right with that? So the first wife was a one-dimensional evil woman, who has no one reliable to stick up for her. Turns out everyone but that wack-job Danvers and her own alcoholic lover couldn't stand her. She was bad news, eh? Deserved to be gunned down. Moreover, as M relates the tale if that fateful evening he says--and THIS is what really gives me the chills--'I had forgotten how much blood there is when you kill someone.' Eeeeeew. OK, do we not run screaming away from him now, turn state's evidence and enter the witness protection program? Come on ladies, what WOULD you do?

But in spite of this, I actually really liked the book. Because it didn't come out today or even recently. It came out over 100 years ago. And it's just so deliciously fun! The woman could write. She was a treasure. And who hasn't felt the ghost of past lovers lingering in a fresh and otherwise unlighted relationship? She just made a hyperbole of that sentiment. A delightful one. She gives us everything we all secretly wish at one point or another: that our beloved's previous loves would turn out to be the devil incarnate. Of course that wouldn't end up reflecting too well on our beloved (and ultimately our own selves), but fortunately, we usually get over this and grow up, which, it appears, our heroine was in fact on the verge of doing herself.

But I'm still wondering what happened to the dog and the accountant. Any of you suppose they made it out alright? Gotta get my hands on that epilogue...(less)
Apr 09, 2013 10:05pm

Mar 12, 2013 Elizabeth rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Elizabeth by: Maureen

Shelves: reviewed, 2013, hem-steppers-and-bodice-rippers, in-by-of-england, mystery, the-secret-garden, overshare

Sometimes I pick up a book intuitively. I don't know why but it is the book I want to read right now, even if I'm supposed to save it for a group read or there are a half a dozen books stacked up by the bed or I've read it several times already. Sometimes, my conscious mind doesn't know why I'm reading it at all and then it just clicks. Oh, I see now. That's why... This happened this time with Rebecca. To tell you why though, I'm afraid I'm going to cross into spoiler territory, and this is not...more Sometimes I pick up a book intuitively. I don't know why but it is the book I want to read right now, even if I'm supposed to save it for a group read or there are a half a dozen books stacked up by the bed or I've read it several times already. Sometimes, my conscious mind doesn't know why I'm reading it at all and then it just clicks. Oh, I see now. That's why... This happened this time with Rebecca. To tell you why though, I'm afraid I'm going to cross into spoiler territory, and this is not a book that you want spoiled...

(view spoiler)[
Especially if you've watched the film version (and again in the BBC adaptation) of Rebecca, you're struck by the twisted, lesbian subtext of the story. Everything about Rebecca is twisted: the drive approaching the house, the paths to the Happy Valley and the beach, the shadows thrown by the flowers in the garden, the stairwell leading off to each wing, and the behavior of the characters. I'm not singling out any one thing more than another. It is supposed to be twisted. This subtext, though, is particularly strong and dark. Why? There's speculation about that because of the author's own sexual preferences and also because of the layers it adds to the mystery. If everyone is supposed to have been in love with with Rebecca why wouldn't that mean the women, too?

It comes at you again and again in this book. There's Mrs. Danvers and her unnatural devotion; going beyond the healthy grieving for a loved one into madness (keeping her room intact, bringing ruin to the new Mrs. de Winter with the fancy dress ball, and more). There's also the other part of it. There's the statement, made more than once, that Rebecca should have been born a boy. We have it only from Mrs. Danvers that Rebecca had told her this, and that Rebecca's father had said it, and that Mrs. Danvers herself believed it. But it is reinforced throughout the story. Her strength, her wild spirit, her sexual appetite (and her ability to separate sex from love/relationships), and her ruthlessness. She was calculating and cold, like a robber baron. The image of a capitalist building his kingdom and using everyone around him to help him climb to the top.

So what happens to Rebecca? Well, what happened to all "unnatural" women in the thirties? I don't think I've ever read a book about a lesbian (or even just a sexually ambiguous woman) that ends well published before sometime in the nineteen seventies. I haven't done an exhaustive study but, really, the happy ending is hard to come by. But Rebecca doesn't just die here. Two things happen. The first (in order of when we learn it in the book) is that she's killed by her husband because he cannot stand her abuse and manipulation anymore. The second is because she was dying anyway, of some advanced woman's cancer (uterine, ovarian, cervical, it isn't stated clearly). Rebecca's crimes, for which Maxim kills her though, are that she's having sex with whomever she pleases, and often doing it under his nose, with his friends, and at his precious house. She cuckolds him. She has pushed him to where he is finally willing to endure the "embarrassment" of a divorce but what finally puts him over the edge is that she tells him she's going to have some other man's child and she plans to raise it as Maxim's. (A bluff, of course; she's dying of cancer).

How can I love this book? How is any good feminist to look on this entire tale as anything other the worst of stereotypes? The epitome of confused self-hatred from the author? A classic tale of the harsh misogyny of our culture? The sexual rebel, the strong woman is destroyed; her murderer is justified; and the "perfect," young, modest, timid replacement is shown to be the heroine of the story. On one level, I don't think I have any excuse; it's the Twilight of the thirties. On another level, the tragedy in this story is on par with Othello, which is actually referenced in the book, only it isn't Maxim who is the tragic hero but Rebecca.

I found out six weeks ago that I have to have my uterus removed. Even though I never wanted children, I was suddenly faced with the reality that I never can (and I probably never could). And so I couldn't help asking myself that question that every women asks herself at some point (regardless of how confident, successful, happy), what defines me as a woman. Is Rebecca so "unnatural" because she didn't fit the mold of women in her society? And was that because of her sexual freedom or was it because she rebelled from being a mother (even the gauche and sporty Beatrice Lacy had a boy-child)? And to complicate the question, we learn that Rebecca hadn't fit the mold because biologically she couldn't. She was incapable of having children because of the cancer. She was pre-defined as unnatural, not simply raised that way by the twisted Mrs. Danvers.

Do we believe the conjecture from the evidence at the end of the story that Rebecca wanted to be killed because she didn't want the lingering death and as part of that, that she wanted to die because she was conceding that she was unnatural, that she wasn't really a woman, because she could not have children, that she should have been a boy, that she wanted to die like a man, quickly, violently, and not lingering in bed. I ache for her. I can't help it. I see Maxim's point of view, because we get it from him, via a most sympathetic narrator (the new Mrs. de Winter) but what we see between the lines of Rebecca is heartbreaking too. In there, with this difficult, wild woman, is all the howling at the moon that we first felt when Cathy did it in Wuthering Heights. This is the eternal struggle against the bounds of society that women have embraced and fought against for so long. Rebecca was smart enough to manipulate them to her own advantage for a long time but her own womanhood caught up with her. It was impossible for her to avoid the biology of her true nature in the end.

I wouldn't have noticed the tragedy in Rebecca's story if I hadn't read it right now. I've always felt the most sympathy for the new Mrs. de Winter, the unnamed girl who eventually learns what it means to be a woman. I hadn't realized the other side of how she learns it until now. I hadn't realized how Rebecca must die and why she must, to show us the tangled roots along the path, the worms in the soil, the damp setting into the cottage and rotting the china, and all those other domestic pieces we associate with the good wife.

I think I've got to take it back. This is a feminist book. It is a screaming, crying piece of art, which shows the bindings clearly, bleakly, and darkly. It isn't comforting. It is angry and violent despite the gentle voice of the narrator. She doesn't see the sacrifices of her predecessor, but there they are. We see them. We know.
(hide spoiler)](less)

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May 26, 2011 Jason rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: for-kindle, 2011, reviewed, thrill-me-chill-me-fulfill-me

This book has immediately become one of my favorites. Manderley stands out like a main character in this novel with sights, sounds, and smells so richly described. The unnamed narrator often finds herself daydreaming, imagining hypothetical situations playing themselves out in her head, which is really intriguing. But mostly, it is the crafting of suspense throughout the story that is most impressive—it was as though I were hanging on every word until the very last sentence. A masterful novel in...more

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Sep 09, 2007 Madeline rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: the-list, all-time-favorites

"I dreamt I went to Manderley again."
Rebecca is the story of a young woman (her first name is never given) who marries wealthy Maxim de Winter, mostly to escape her life as a companion to a rich American woman. She moves with her new husband to his estate, Manderly, where she learns about her husband's previous wife, Rebecca. Although Rebecca drowned in the ocean near the house over a year ago, the house is still full of her prescence. Her old room is cleaned daily, and is left exactly the way i...more

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Feb 14, 2011 Libby rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2008-misses, mysteriousness

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Rebecca has been floating around in my consciousness for a long time, almost as if I'd already read it, years ago and with only a distant memory of its pages. But, I hadn't ever read it, despite my ability to quote its famous first line or my unexplainable knowledge of its Bronte-esque plot. Would that I had read it long ago, say in the seventh or eighth grade, when I was 13. I know that it's the kind of novel I would have loved then, and that it would have stayed with me all these years. Unlike...more Rebecca has been floating around in my consciousness for a long time, almost as if I'd already read it, years ago and with only a distant memory of its pages. But, I hadn't ever read it, despite my ability to quote its famous first line or my unexplainable knowledge of its Bronte-esque plot. Would that I had read it long ago, say in the seventh or eighth grade, when I was 13. I know that it's the kind of novel I would have loved then, and that it would have stayed with me all these years. Unlike Jane Eyre, however, I'm not sure it would have held up to repeated readings.

I thought this would be the perfect novel to bring on our trip to Italy, for what could be a better read on lazy days in an old stone farmhouse than this slightly gothic, neurotic tale of obsession and memory? And I was tickled when, in Siena, I saw a woman lying on the campo reading Rebecca. In the end, although I found the book very interesting from a sort of writerly/intellectual perspective (sorry!), I was disappointed in it overall as a piece of literature.

I think what I found most interesting about the novel is how great swathes of it are preoccupied not with anything that's actually happening, but with the narrator's imaginings of what might or what could happen. Du Maurier constantly undermines the unfolding action to dally in the realm of anxiety and cerebration, which is perfect for a book that fixes on a character--Rebecca--who is dead and absent when the novel starts.

Fittingly, it's not just Rebecca who is absent, our unnamed narrator is also, in a sense, an absent center. She remains unnamed throughout, and we know far more about Rebecca's history by book's close than we do about hers. It's really fascinating and intriguing how the book echoes and doubles and enacts the idea of obsession by having a living person be the shadow (and let us remember that ghosts are often called 'shades') of a dead person, a present character be absent and an absent character be present. I mean, the book is called "Rebecca" after all, not "Manderley" or "Mrs. De Winter" or what have you.

The novel is very opaque; it is willing to let you know only so much, which I liked, actually. The novel begins far in the future of the events it narrates, with our narrator looking back, and so there is a strange passivity about the whole thing--clearly the main characters escape the clutches of the plot relatively unscathed, so again, the book redirects the reader's attention from more traditional concerns about what happens to the murkier realms of atmosphere and ideation. In fact, the biggest surprise is Manderley's destruction at novel's end, which is far more painful than I would have expected, and perfect for a novel that in many ways deals in memory and imagination: Mr. and Mrs. De Winter can never go home again.

Anyhoo, like I said, I found all of this interesting intellectually, but I found the book itself to be rather tedious and awkward. The pacing is bulky and skewed nonsensically, the characterizations flat and slight, and the revelations are fairly broadcast from the beginning. Also, the two main characters, our mousy narrator, and the bland, Ashley Oakes sweatin' Mr. De Winter, are insufferable. Even after Rebecca's evil nature has been unmasked, you can't help but root for her and her sociopathic machinations.(less)

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Nov 27, 2008 Arlene Sanders rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: book-reviews

HERE IS MY HEART...

REBECCA is my favorite book of all time -- bar none.

The opening line is famous, but I didn’t know that the first time I read it (I was about 14). I just remember that the magic began with that first line:

Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderly again....

The girl is young, clumsy, exquisitely sensitive. Impoverished and alone after her father’s death, she was employed by a wealthy and boorish social climber, Mrs. Van Hopper, and made her living as the older woman’s companion.

Ma...more

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Oct 06, 2012 Nandakishore Varma rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classic, gothic

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Rebecca is a classic of Gothic fiction: when one sets out to review a classic, it is always a bit dicey, as though some blasphemous act is being committed (even if the review is favourable). However, I feel that I must share my feelings about this magnificent work: so I plunge in, setting my apprehensions aside.

Rebecca is an exquisitely crafted novel: from one of the most famous opening lines in the world of fiction("Last night I dreamed we went to Manderley again")to the very end, there is hard...more

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Oct 14, 2011 Kim rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: buddy-reads-with-jemidar, audiobook, re-read, all-time-favourites

I first read this novel approximately forty years ago, when I was a teenager. I have an enduring memory of walking around my home, nose firmly in the book, unable to put it down. Yesterday, listening to the concluding chapters of the audiobook, I had the same experience. I could not stop listening until it was over.

When I was a teenager, what captivated me most about Rebecca was the plot: the relationship between the unnamed narrator and Maxim de Winter, the machinations of Mrs Danvers, the mys...more I first read this novel approximately forty years ago, when I was a teenager. I have an enduring memory of walking around my home, nose firmly in the book, unable to put it down. Yesterday, listening to the concluding chapters of the audiobook, I had the same experience. I could not stop listening until it was over.

When I was a teenager, what captivated me most about Rebecca was the plot: the relationship between the unnamed narrator and Maxim de Winter, the machinations of Mrs Danvers, the mystery of the character after whom the novel is named.

This time around, the plot held no surprises (even though the passage of time had led me to forget many of its details). What held me spellbound instead was the skill of the author in creating the atmosphere of the novel. There's the use of language. Du Maurier repeatedly evokes colour (for example, the red of the rhododendrons at Manderley), smell (such as the scent of azaleas) and sound (the sea, birds, rain and storms). The descriptive language is rich and beautiful. There's the evocation of Manderley: not the first time a house has figured almost as a character in a novel, but rarely has this been achieved with such mastery.

There's the device of not naming the narrator. As I understand it, du Maurier claimed that the narrator - the second Mrs de Winter - was not named because she could not think of something suitable to call her. However it came about, this was a stroke of genius. Having a name means having an identity and - at least in her own mind - the narrator had none. She was, both to herself and to other characters, "not-Rebecca".

There's not-Rebecca herself. Her shyness and insecurities are a given. What I find more interesting about her is her ability to create and and re-create events in her imagination. She sees not what is, but what might be and what might have been. It's fitting that du Maurier gave her an interest in drawing and painting, because she does not just process a thought, she creates an image, a painting, a film about it in her mind. The narrator's imagination is central to the sometimes dreamy, sometimes nightmarish quality of the novel.

I could go on, particularly about characterisation, but I don't want to get into spoiler territory. It suffices to say that in my estimation Rebecca has gone from a novel of my teenage years which I really liked, to a novel which I find amazing on many levels.

The audiobook edition was very capably narrated by the late Anna Massey, who once played Mrs Danvers in a film adaptation. Needless to say, her Mrs Danvers was excellent, as was her creation of the other characters.

I wish that I hadn't waited so long to re-discover Rebecca. I will want to read it again. I will also want to read more du Maurier.
(less)

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Jun 29, 2012 Hannah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-reads, classics, favorites, gothics, houses-as-characters, re-read

After 5+ re-reads since my distant teen years, this book still has the power to mesmerize me.

Definitely one of the best character studies I've ever read, and after having recently read a biography of du Maurier, I am convinced that she poured much of her own personality and insecurities into the unnamed second Mrs. de Winter. There's no denying the poignant truth of her observations on inadequacy and powerlessness. It's so realistic it hurts to read it at times throughout the story.

Another trium...more

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Jan 24, 2013 Aubrey rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-06-12, 1000-guardian, 3-star, reviewed, reality-check

3.5/5
If I had read this book a mere three years ago, I would most likely have really liked it, perhaps even loved it. A twenty-one year old female making her way through the world as carefully as possible, unwilling to take control over her own fate for the smallest instant, too caught up in her internalized world of shame and embarrassment to care for much else. And then, suddenly, romance, a highly improbably match, and away she is whisked into a flurry of beauty and riches and, most important...more 3.5/5
If I had read this book a mere three years ago, I would most likely have really liked it, perhaps even loved it. A twenty-one year old female making her way through the world as carefully as possible, unwilling to take control over her own fate for the smallest instant, too caught up in her internalized world of shame and embarrassment to care for much else. And then, suddenly, romance, a highly improbably match, and away she is whisked into a flurry of beauty and riches and, most importantly, intrigue. A mystery that propels her to break out of her shell, stand up for herself, and strive to claim the love of her life for her own.
Yes. Well. That's all very well and good. Except that's not what I look for in a book nowadays. It's true that this chain of events showed character development, but it all seemed rather silly and overdone. And everyone else stood in and fulfilled their singular roles, with barely any deviations from their character traits. No wonder everyone was obsessed with Rebecca. Out of them all, she alone possessed a personality that was as rich and mysteriously complex as a persons should be.
In addition to this, I don't usually read mysteries very often because with them, it's all about the plot. For a reader whose favorite pieces of literature exemplify themselves through prose and meaningful themes, and who has learned to not value plot all too highly in order to enjoy the more unusual novel. Needless to say, I was hoping to find a mystery that delved into more than just figuring out the unknown factors swirling around an insubstantial menace. It did have some measure of beautiful prose and powerful themes, but unfortunately for it, I had recently finished up a novel of Woolf, and am currently in the midst of Proust. In comparison, this book didn't stand a chance.
So, it was ultimately the wrong book for the wrong person at the wrong time. But, I do have a question regarding Rebecca. (view spoiler) I have to wonder if the character had been viewed in such a horrible and evil light, if the she had been turned to a he. For if you do that, the story sounds typical, almost. A life lived fully, even, if the character was a man. Funny how that works, isn't it.(less)

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Nov 04, 2010 Jo rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: my-favourites, of-epic-proportions, hometown-glories-uk

"Sometimes I wonder if she comes back here to Manderley and watches you and Mr de Winter together..."

Holy moly. Where to start?
Well, it's probably best to point out that Rebecca is the best book to read on a dark, murky dismal day in a room with a roaring open fire and a sheepskin rug with pictures of long dead relatives lining the walls. However, due to unforseen circumstances (I was..um.. unable to move to a secluded mansion in the South with open roaring fire and pics of dead family members)...more

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Apr 02, 2012 Hazel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: literary-fiction, childhood-favourite

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Contempt is the weapon of the weak and a defense against one's own despised and unwanted feelings. -Alice Miller, psychologist and author (1923-2010)

I saw this quotation at Wordsmith.org today. And I must be feeling really low, because, for the first time, du Maurier's narrator seems to me like a nasty, cowardly, under-handed, sneaking, snivelling, social-climbing little rat. She's not in love with Maxim; she knows nothing about him. She's in love with the image of Manderley...more A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Contempt is the weapon of the weak and a defense against one's own despised and unwanted feelings. -Alice Miller, psychologist and author (1923-2010)

I saw this quotation at Wordsmith.org today. And I must be feeling really low, because, for the first time, du Maurier's narrator seems to me like a nasty, cowardly, under-handed, sneaking, snivelling, social-climbing little rat. She's not in love with Maxim; she knows nothing about him. She's in love with the image of Manderley, and with the idea of being 'Mrs de Winter of Manderley', playing lady of the manor to the local peasants. If someone else had written this, she'd be a great villain; a blackmailer, a poisoner, or at least a writer of poison-pen letters.

I've read this several times before and I suddenly feel very sympathetic to Mrs Danvers.

A few days later and I've managed to finish it. I considered the suggestion about du Maurier's view of her narrator and noted a few things. First, the unnamed narrator lives inside her own head and sees everyone she encounters as figures in her fantasy world. Second, her fantasies are usually both narcissistic and persecutory. A waiter deliberately serves her a cut of meat that was rejected by another diner. Neighbours scrutinise her and disparage her clothing and her conversation.

I did not want to see her again. I did not want to see any of them again. They only came to call at Manderley because they were curious and prying. They liked to criticise my looks, my manners, my figure, they liked to watch how Maxim and I behaved to each other, whether we seemed fond of one another, so that they could go back afterwards and discuss us, saying, 'Very different from the old days.' They came because they wanted to compare me to Rebecca...I would not return these calls anymore, I decided. I should tell Maxim so. I did not mind if they thought me rude and ungracious. It would give them more to criticise, more to discuss. They would say I was ill-bred. 'I'm not surprised,' they would say; 'after all, who was she?' 'My dear, don't you know? He picked her up in Monte Carlo or somewhere; she hadn't a penny. She was a companion to some old woman.' More laughter, more lifting of the eyrbrows. 'Nonsense, not really? How extraordinary men are. Maxim, of all people,, who was so fastidious. How could he, after Rebecca?'

It's interesting that once the body's been discovered and the story turns away from the narrator's intense self-interest, it becomes rather more mundane. The revelations about the marital relationship, the scenes in the coroner's court, the trip to London to search for witnesses; all could be from any melodrama. Even Rebecca becomes just a victim rather than a vixen.(less)

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Mar 04, 2013 Duchess Nicole rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dead-tree-books, genre-classics, e-pcs, don-t-know-why-i-loved-it, genre-mystery-suspense, highly-rated, read-in-2013, self-contained

Dark, Gothic, mysterious...you can say all of this about Rebecca, but I have to say that none of these really does the book justice.

Yes, it's got some dark to it. It's a story of the second wife...the young and naive bride of the rich, powerful Maximus deWinter. A tragic hero whose first wife died a bit less than a year ago. Maxim seems in turns devastated, angry, and confused about Rebecca. And in turn, our heroine...whom we never do learn the name of...what's up with that? My GR friend Cathy...more

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Nov 11, 2012 April rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, bbc-s-the-big-read, summer-challenge-2009, classics, mystery

One of my top ten favorite opening lines is now, ‘Last night I dreamt of Manderley again” – these sparse words set a tone where I just know the language is going to be beautiful. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier is a tale of gothic romance, without the creepster Heathcliff.
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Sep 22, 2012 Florence MacIntosh rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-mystery, 2012, classics, suspense, favs-current, lit-brits, reviewed

The author’s dark twist of mystery & suspense adds depth & substance to what is really just a rehash of the classic Cinderella story. I was immediately hooked by the opening line "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again" then swept into one of the most enchanting descriptive passages I’ve ever read, a dream-walk through the manor’s overgrown and abandoned garden. “The beeches with white, naked limbs leant close to one another; their branches intermingled in a strange embrace. A lil...more

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Jul 06, 2010 Luann rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, classics, 2010, adult

Why do I find it so much harder to write a review for a book that I really loved than for a book I really didn't? I also have a harder time writing a review for a book that is very well known and has had a lot written about it over the years. What could I have to say that would in any way add to what others have said? Especially when I just keep wanting to say things like "I loved this book!" "It's awesome, amazing, mysterious, and frustrating!" "Everybody should read this book!" and "Why didn't...more

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Apr 15, 2011 Regine rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bucket-list-books, owned

I was actually pretty skeptical going into this book. I've heard so many people compare this to Jane Eyreand I didn't believe that anyone could ever do justice to it.I read past the famous opening line:

Last Night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.

I was hooked.

I admire du Maurier. She had the balls to take elements from such an iconic piece of literature--gothic mansion, young bride, Byronic hero,-- and she makes it her own. Let's start with our unnamed narrator, the second Mrs.Max de Winter; n...more

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May 10, 2010 Tatiana rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: lovers of classics

Recommended to Tatiana by: Hannahr, Ryan

Shelves: 1001, classics, 2010, favorites, mysteries-thrillers-horror

Books like Rebecca remind me from time to time what quality literature really is. Sometimes I forget, buried under stacks of entertaining but often poorly written popular fiction.

At first, Rebecca is very reminiscent of another favorite book of mine - Jane Eyre. The main character is a young, innocent, poor girl who falls in love with a rich older man. The happiness is so near, but the shadow of the man's first wife stands in the way of it. A family secret, a haunted mansion, a deranged servant...more

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Feb 15, 2008 Beth rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Apparently this book is famous. The cover of my particular edition brags that it’s “the unsurpassed modern masterpiece of romantic suspense; … one of the bestselling novels of all time” and it’s even been made into a Hitchcock film that it seems everyone’s seen but me. I, however, was unfamiliar with the story. After reading through the first couple chapters, I was hooked on this book. I’d curl up under the covers and read a few pages before bedtime, all the while composing phrases in my mind fo...more

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Jun 16, 2007 Alison rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: If you haven't read this book, curl up by the fire with a hot cup of tea and get started right away!

I love this book. It's not entirely perfect, but still deserving of five stars (which, for the record, just means "it's amazing").

What's so good about it? The beautiful descriptive writing, the nightmarish, dream tinted atmosphere, the complexity of the life at Manderly involving the well-planned out and delicious sounding meals (and teas, and the ball), the routine and order of the servants, the cars, the descriptions of each sight and smell of the flowers and the sea. The characters are intere...more

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May 29, 2009 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kindred-characters

As I'm sure I've mentioned, I watched the movie before reading the book, but that's my own stupid fault.

Never have weather and flowers been utilized so effectively in a novel! Though the format is a bit conventional, the writing is pitch perfect: the setting, the pacing, the oh-so satisfyingly archetypal characters. I completely relate to the narrator and not just because of her obsession with glamorous dead people. She perceives the world in much the same way I do, has an acute sensitivity to s...more

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Apr 19, 2008 Jessica rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Warning - this review reveals plot details!

First things first - the copy that I ordered from Amazon has the look of one of those cheap $6 books you can get at the grocery store. It was only $7.99, and the front cover of the book is picture of red silk with the name, "Rebecca" in gold scripted font, so I guess it is one of those inexpensive grocery store books. I was all set for a good smut novel, as it totally had the look...I was having flashbacks to VC Andrews!

In terms of the actual book, I r...more

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Nov 06, 2007 whichwaydidshego? rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Everyone

Shelves: topshelf, classics, favorites, bbcthebigread100

Having enjoyed the Hitchcock film fashioned after it, I picked up this book one day last year & became completely enraptured by it. It is a terse, gripping tale that holds you transfixed until the end. Just as Willa Cather could cause the land itself to seem a character, Daphne du Maurier's title character is a dead woman who manages to seem more alive than the actual living characters by continually effecting lives long after her death. Similarly, the Manderley estate itself plays a signifi...more

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Jan 24, 2013 Athira rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: love-to-read-it-again, books-i-own

The secrets of Manderley......
The beauty of Manderley.........
The fears of Manderley...............

The word 'Manderley' itself caught my attention when I first read the opening lines of Rebecca in one of the reviews in Goodreads. I was so 'possessed' by the word. 'Manderley' there is a certain charm in the sound of it. This book was in my college library but I wanted it as my own. So I bought 'Rebecca'and started reading.

Manderley, the view of the mansion, the lingering smell of flowers, the so...more

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Apr 29, 2012 Viola rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The tagline of this book, “the classic tale of romantic suspense”, is rather misleading. False advertisement, if you will. It’s not a romance novel. Perhaps, some readers see it that way, but I most certainly do not. Yes, there is a love interest, but there isn’t much romance. It’s really a mysterious and intense ghost story without a ghost, as told through the eyes of a psychologically flawed young woman.

I am told that the opening line of this novel is quite famous. “Last night I dreamt I went...more The tagline of this book, “the classic tale of romantic suspense”, is rather misleading. False advertisement, if you will. It’s not a romance novel. Perhaps, some readers see it that way, but I most certainly do not. Yes, there is a love interest, but there isn’t much romance. It’s really a mysterious and intense ghost story without a ghost, as told through the eyes of a psychologically flawed young woman.

I am told that the opening line of this novel is quite famous. “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” Maybe that line ropes in some readers, but not me. I found the first couple of chapters confusing and disorienting. Perhaps that is the author’s intention -- to disorient the reader before placing her in a surreal time and place. I don’t know. But, after five chapters, I found my footing and really got into the book.

At the beginning of the story, the narrator accompanies an older American woman who is traveling in Monte Carlo. There, the narrator meets a gentleman, who eventually asks her to marry him. She accepts and then moves into Manderley, the home haunted by the ghost of the gentleman’s late wife. Except that there isn’t really a ghost, and that makes the book even creepier.

Du Maurier masterfully creates an intensely eerie atmosphere full of mystery that verges on horror. The driveway to Manderley isn’t just a driveway, it’s a serpent. The grounds of Manderley don’t just have some flowers, they are rhododendrons of a slaughterous red. Mrs. Danvers isn’t introduced simply as the head of the household staff. She is “someone tall and gaunt, dressed in deep black, whose prominent cheek-bones and great, hollow eyes gave her a skull’s face, parchment-white, set on a skeleton’s frame.”

The words simmer slowly in your mind and insidiously place you in the mind of the highly anxious and frightened narrator. The characterization is spot on. Our young female narrator begins as a typical youth, anxious to please, uncertain, and self-conscious – traits that are somewhat relatable. But then, du Maurier inches the characterization outside the realm of normal so slowly that you almost don’t notice it until you’ve been inside the head of a psychologically disturbed woman for the past hundred pages.

I highly recommend this well-written novel. The mystery and tension are layered so thickly that reading about a ringing telephone actually made me jump just as much as in a horror movie. Crafting that level of intensity is no easy feat, and du Maurier has done so masterfully.(less)

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Apr 04, 2013 Ash rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: movie, gothic-horror, 200bbc, 1001, 1000guardian, 2013-read, kindle-ipad, library

This is a great novel, written extremely well. Daphne is definitely one of the best writers I have ever read. Having said that, I think it is a great gothic fiction - haunting, romantic - one of the best in that genre.. But I didn't find the story very mysterious. I was a teeny weeny bit disappointed that everything I had predicted actually happened at the end. 75% of the book was fantastic, but the last 25% didn't actually impress me that much. Mrs. Danvers' character did scare me!
I really want...more

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Goodreads Choice ...: Rebecca Starts October 1st	17	22	23 hours, 14 min ago
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About Daphne du Maurier

If Daphne du Maurier had written only Rebecca, she would still be one of the great shapers of popular culture and the modern imagination. Few writers have created more magical and mysterious places than Jamaica Inn and Manderley, buildings invested with a rich character that gives them a memorable life of their own.

In many ways the life of Daphne du Maurier resembles that of a fairy tale. Born int...more If Daphne du Maurier had written only Rebecca, she would still be one of the great shapers of popular culture and the modern imagination. Few writers have created more magical and mysterious places than Jamaica Inn and Manderley, buildings invested with a rich character that gives them a memorable life of their own.

In many ways the life of Daphne du Maurier resembles that of a fairy tale. Born into a family with a rich artistic and historical background, the daughter of a famous actor-manager, she was indulged as a child and grew up enjoying enormous freedom from financial and parental restraint. She spent her youth sailing boats, travelling on the Continent with friends, and writing stories. A prestigious publishing house accepted her first novel when she was in her early twenties, and its publication brought her not only fame but the attentions of a handsome soldier, Major (later Lieutenant-General Sir) Frederick Browning, who married her.

Her subsequent novels became bestsellers, earning her enormous wealth and fame. While Alfred Hitchcock's film based upon her novel proceeded to make her one of the best-known authors in the world, she enjoyed the life of a fairy princess in a mansion in Cornwall called Menabilly, which served as the model for Manderley in Rebecca.

Daphne du Maurier was obsessed with the past. She intensively researched the lives of Francis and Anthony Bacon, the history of Cornwall, the Regency period, and nineteenth-century France and England, Above all, however, she was obsessed with her own family history, which she chronicled in Gerald: a Portrait, a biography of her father; The du Mauriers, a study of her family which focused on her grandfather, George du Maurier, the novelist and illustrator for Punch; The Glassblowers, a novel based upon the lives of her du Maurier ancestors; and Growing Pains, an autobiography that ignores nearly 50 years of her life in favour of the joyful and more romantic period of her youth. Daphne du Maurier can best be understood in terms of her remarkable and paradoxical family, the ghosts which haunted her life and fiction.

While contemporary writers were dealing critically with such subjects as the war, alienation, religion, poverty, Marxism, psychology and art, and experimenting with new techniques such as the stream of consciousness, du Maurier produced 'old-fashioned' novels with straightforward narratives that appealed to a popular audience's love or fantasy, adventure, sexuality and mystery. At an early age, she recognised that her readership was comprised principally of women, and she cultivated their loyal following through several decades by embodying their desires and dreams in her novels and short stories.

In some of her novels, however, she went beyond the technique of the formulaic romance to achieve a powerful psychological realism reflecting her intense feelings about her father, and to a lesser degree, her mother. This vision, which underlies Julius, Rebecca and The Parasites, is that of an author overwhelmed by the memory of her father's commanding presence. In Julius and The Parasites, for example, she introduces the image or a domineering but deadly father and the daring subject of incest.

In Rebecca, on the other hand, du Maurier fuses psychological realism with a sophisticated version of the Cinderella story. The nameless heroine has been saved from a life of drudgery by marrying a handsome, wealthy aristocrat, but unlike the Prince in Cinderella, Maxim de Winter is old enough to be the narrator's father. The narrator thus must do battle with The Other Woman - the dead Rebecca and her witch-like surrogate, Mrs Danvers - to win the love of her husband and father-figure. The fantasy of this novel is fulfilled when Maxim confesses to the narrator that he never loved Rebecca; indeed, he hated her, a confession that allows the narrator to emerge triumphantly from the Oedipal triangle.

http://www.dumaurier.org/obituary.html (less)

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Quotes from Rebecca

“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.” — 551 people liked it

“Happiness is not a possession to be prized, it is a quality of thought, a state of mind.” — 449 people liked it

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