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My Cousin Rachel

3.85 of 5 stars 3.85 · rating details · 6,402 ratings · 629 reviews

My Cousin Rachel is the gripping story of a Victorian young man whose placid life in the English countryside is turned inside-out by an older woman. The young man is Philip Ashley, the novel's narrator. Orphaned at an early age, he's been raised by his bachelor uncle Ambrose, who falls in love and marries while traveling in Florence, then dies there in suspicious circumsta...more

Paperback, 335 pages

Published May 1st 2003 by Virago Press Ltd (first published January 1st 1951)

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Oct 28, 2008 Misfit rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Did she or didn’t she? That is the question that will keep readers on the edge of their seat until the final twists on the very last pages. Phillip Ashley was orphaned at a young age and raised in 19C Cornwall by his older cousin Ambrose. Health issues force Ambrose to spend time in warmer climates and he meets and marries a distant cousin Rachel, the widowed Countess Sangaletti. A cryptic note arrives from Ambrose hinting at being poisoned and Phillip heads to Florence to find Ambrose dead of a...more

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Apr 04, 2013 Maureen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009, favourites, novels

daphne du maurier haunts me. not only do her books reverberate with ghosts (of the past, imagination, emotion to name a few) but her writing stays with you, your mind being tormented by the tales she's told you. even as i read this book, i found myself comparing it to rebecca. i would deeply love to compare those two books here, especially their haunted aspects but i love the book enough not to want to possibly ruin that adventure for anybody who may read these remarks. suffice to say that i fou...more

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Jun 20, 2008 Carine rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This novel could easily have been a short story or a novella, and the story suffers from being stretched out too much. The narrator is annoying - props to du Maurier for writing believably in a man's voice, but because the narrator's thoughtless and you always have reason to doubt Rachel's motives, you're not really invested in any one character.

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Jan 21, 2012 Kim rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: buddy-reads-with-jemidar

To think that just a few short months ago, I was under the impression that Daphne du Maurier only wrote one novel worth reading, the splendid Rebecca. I could not have been more wrong.

My Cousin Rachel is a wonderful read. A psychological thriller, the novel is set in 19th Century Cornwall and in Florence. The narrator, Philip Ashley, falls in love with – or rather, becomes obsessed with - his cousin’s widow, Rachel, who may or may not be a murderess. The development and consequences of Philip’s...more

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Mar 11, 2012 Kat rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: uk-lit, 2012, mystery-thriller, favorite-author

My Cousin Rachel is beautifully written, and if i was rating on beauty of the written word alone, it fully deserves 5 stars.

The great question of this story was "did she do it, or did she not?". Now that I am done reading it, I am left with an even more difficult question "would I have liked it more had I not read Rebecca first?". I think it's so unfair that I would even consider giving this novel 3 stars, but I honestly did. I looked through my reading list at all the things I have given three...more

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Jan 30, 2011 Jeanette rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: all-fiction, europe-and-british-isles, miss-trees, four-star-fiction

There is a mystery at the heart of this story, but it's mostly about unrequited puppy love in the extreme. I spent almost the entire book thinking don't do it, Philip, don't do it!, but he's a lovesick fool, and hardheaded to boot. I felt so sorry for Louise Kendall throughout the story. She's such a dear girl and loyal friend, and too decent to butt in when she ought to. I don't really know how to feel about Rachel. If I had a younger man gaga over me like that, I can't say I wouldn't take adva...more

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Aug 15, 2012 Jenni rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, favorites

Wow. Suspenseful, thrilling, very hard to put down. I really enjoyed reading this book, and I'll be recommending this book to quite a few friends. I'm not yet sure if I enjoyed My Cousin Rachel or Rebecca better... but then again, I read Rebecca quite awhile ago.

I felt like I was living inside the story, and found it hard to have to put the book down.

(view spoiler)

Update: Yep, I do prefer My Cousin Rachel to Rebecca. :)

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May 14, 2012 Nisareen rated it 5 of 5 stars

I found this psychological thriller set in 19th century Cornwall, to be an engaging page turner, easy to read in comparison with Du Maurier’s previous novels and hard to put down. It’s narrated by Phillip Ashley, who has been raised by his cousin Ambrose since he was a child. Phillip is surprised when during a brief stay in Florence, Ambrose marries a widow by the name of Rachel. Phillip’s surprise turns to grief when he learns that after an illness, Ambrose has died. As no new will was made, Ph...more I found this psychological thriller set in 19th century Cornwall, to be an engaging page turner, easy to read in comparison with Du Maurier’s previous novels and hard to put down. It’s narrated by Phillip Ashley, who has been raised by his cousin Ambrose since he was a child. Phillip is surprised when during a brief stay in Florence, Ambrose marries a widow by the name of Rachel. Phillip’s surprise turns to grief when he learns that after an illness, Ambrose has died. As no new will was made, Phillip inherits everything. Having received cryptic notes by Ambrose prior to his death which implicate Rachel, Phillip is stunned when she turns up in Cornwall. Phillip faces a dilemma when he finds himself falling in love with her. Is she the innocent woman who nursed his failing, delusional uncle, or is she a scheming temptress who drove his uncle to his death and is now after Philip’s fortune?

Rachel is your typical enigmatic woman with a mysterious past and I found myself questioning throughout the novel “Did she?” or Didn’t she? I was teased and strung along till the end however, as just as I felt I’d figured out the answer, another twist would place the story in an entirely different light. While Rachel’s character and actions are open to question and interpretation, so I felt was Philip’s reliability as a narrator. Overall I felt frustrated and saddened at the lack of communication and false assumptions made between the two characters because they failed to speak forthrightly or ask the right questions.

Was Rachel guilty or not? DuMaurier leaves the ultimate answer to the reader's interpretation. Even Daphne du Maurier herself was unsure, saying she "simply did not know". Admittedly some of her actions were suspect but I’m inclined to believe that Rachel genuinely loved Ambrose and her attraction to Phillip and reluctance to leave Cornwall was because of Phillip’s likeness to her late husband. This is something Phillip failed to understand until it was too late. At the beginning he admits, “I should have known then, that it was not I she saw, but Ambrose. Not Phillip, but a phantom. She should have gone then.”(less)

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Aug 31, 2011 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: modern-lit, gothic, suspense, uber-optimistic, historical, zz-2011, hoopy-good-reads, reviewed, keepers-gothic-stuff, unreliable-narrator-lurve

This is an excellent example of mid-century Quality Writing; it reads quickly (DuMaurier's style goes down like chocolate milk -- a wash of image & word choice that makes you wonder if you're reading too fast) & creates a wonderfully unreliable narrator. Like The Turn of the Screw & its ghost-or-not-ghost question, DuMaurier leaves the ultimate answer to the reader's interpretation. Is Rachel guilty or not? The debate is open. (view spoiler)

That...more This is an excellent example of mid-century Quality Writing; it reads quickly (DuMaurier's style goes down like chocolate milk -- a wash of image & word choice that makes you wonder if you're reading too fast) & creates a wonderfully unreliable narrator. Like The Turn of the Screw & its ghost-or-not-ghost question, DuMaurier leaves the ultimate answer to the reader's interpretation. Is Rachel guilty or not? The debate is open. (view spoiler)

That said, what struck me most is the way DuMaurier plays with gothic gender roles. Not only is she writing from a masculine p.o.v., but Philip takes on the role traditionally assumed by a woman. He's an orphan raised by a kindly male relation, & even into adulthood he worships Cousin Ambrose, who, in the grand tradition of gothic adopters, is both mother & father to his ward. Philip blossoms in the shadow of Ambrose's philosophy & appreciation of solitude -- consequently, he's spoiled, inexperienced, & anti-social. Despite the ready offerings of future wives (including his closest childhood friend), he swears marriage isn't for him. Instead he prefers an isolated lifestyle, vowing never to bind himself to a woman -- or even fall in love. And yes, he's a virgin.

(Admit it. You're intrigued.)

Like all fictional innocents, Philip's peaceful universe is soon upset by the villainous(?) love interest -- a mysterious widow to his beloved cousin. Did she poison Ambrose? Is she a promiscuous half-Italian harlot? Is she breaking down Philip's barriers only to rob him blind? Our sheltered hero doesn't know, but soon finds himself in love. Unlike Philip's gothic female counterparts, however, marriage (or what he perceives as marriage) isn't the saving grace. His devotion to Rachel doesn't lead him to a HEA. Instead he ends up a shell of himself -- and he still can't define Rachel's guilt (or lack thereof). Whereas a gothic heroine heals rifts with her passion for the (possibly dangerous) hero, Philip's passion for the (possibly dangerous) Rachel destroys his happiness.

Or maybe not. Philip is an unreliable narrator who swings between resentment, affection, & obsession. Taking those moods into account, the reader has to wonder if Rachel could love him after her previous marriages. Does she see Philip as child or adult? Does she ever truly differentiate him from Ambrose? And regardless of Ambrose's fate -- which may or may not have been suspicious -- why should Rachel's sexual experience & prior relationships brand her a villainess?

...Ah, this book has the potential for intense literary debate. :)(less)

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Aug 13, 2009 Barb rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2009, favs-of-2009

This is the second novel I've read by Daphne Du Maurier. I read 'Rebecca' earlier this year and I thoroughly enjoyed both books. There is a quality about these two stories that is hard to describe. DuMaurier is able to create a nearly timeless feel to her stories and both gave me the feeling of distant familiarity. I wondered if I had seen the movies so long ago that I couldn't remember anything at all specific, but yet had a vague sense of what would happen.

The story is about Philip and Ambrose...more This is the second novel I've read by Daphne Du Maurier. I read 'Rebecca' earlier this year and I thoroughly enjoyed both books. There is a quality about these two stories that is hard to describe. DuMaurier is able to create a nearly timeless feel to her stories and both gave me the feeling of distant familiarity. I wondered if I had seen the movies so long ago that I couldn't remember anything at all specific, but yet had a vague sense of what would happen.

The story is about Philip and Ambrose Ashley, confirmed and dedicated to bachelorhood. They are cousins, Ambrose is Philip's guardian and the only parent Philip can remember. They share a tender admiration and devotion to one another that is rare among men.

Due to his health, Ambrose is required to winter abroad in a warmer climate. Philip is rather surprised when he learns that Ambrose has married a distant cousin of theirs who lives in Florence. He grows concerned when he receives a letter from Ambrose begging Philip to come to Italy because he fears his new bride maybe his undoing.

Philip rushes to Florence but sadly is too late, his cousin Ambrose is dead and his new bride is gone. Philip is convinced that she is the person responsible for Ambrose's death. When he meets Ambrose's wife weeks later he slowly sets aside his convictions and gradually falls deeply in love with her. As his passion grows stronger he makes impulsive decisions that will change the course of events and the way he feels about his cousin Rachel.

There is a balance and symmetry within this story that makes it that much more interesting. We learn how Ambrose was affected by his first and only love relationship, how his personality changed because of his feeling for his wife and then we see the same emotions and changes in Philip.

While the reader learns nearly all of the story from the book jacket
it is still none the less a taut and engaging story that has you wondering and changing your opinion several times before the book is done.

Daphne Du Maurier has the ability to make words flow over you like water in a stream, she is so smooth, her work is pure pleasure to read with never a word out of place. Here's an example; 'The moon, so nearly full, hovered with swollen cheek above the bay and wore about his face the look of a wizard man who shared my secret.'

I highly recommend this one.
(less)

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Jun 13, 2008 Laura rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: english-lit

One of du Maurier’s most popular novels, it nonetheless left me a bit irritated. Young Philip has been reared by his beloved cousin Ambrose, who, to Philip’s chagrin, ups and marries some widow while he’s spending the winter in Florence. He then stays in Florence to settle the widow’s “affairs”, gets sick, and dies. Imagine Philip’s surprise when the widow turns up in England and he find himself falling in love with her himself! Is she the innocent woman who nursed his failing, delusional uncle,...more

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Jun 26, 2008 Fabio rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It took me 2 days to finish My Cousin Rachel - ok, I was home with the flu, but still couldn't put it down...with my great surprise I found it nearly as good as Rebecca, with which it shares many elements: the vast and ancient property near the sea, the presence of someone passed by, paranoia, untold secrets...
Daphne Du Maurier is a master in building suspense and depicting in depth the characters, their emotions and weaknesses. Her style is also so essential and linear that there's not a single...more

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Dec 22, 2008 Karen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Old-fashioned, gothicish, suspensesque, romanticated fun. I tend to like books with unreliable narrators, and this is a fine example.

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Nov 10, 2012 Anke rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I read this because I liked Rebecca, and because it will be at the Gate Theatre in Dublin soon and I might go and see it. Maybe this would have seemed better if I hadn't read Rebecca first? It kept feeling like a less interesting variation on Rebecca. It was interesting at the start, but I found most of the middle part a very slow read to a point where I considered abandoning it for another book.

The narrator, Philip Ashley, is 24 years old and has grown up pretty much without any contact with a...more

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Nov 07, 2012 Melissa rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Our narrator, Philip is a young man of 24 who was raised by his bachelor cousin Ambrose. While traveling in Italy Ambrose meets, falls for and marries a woman named Rachel. Philip begins to receive strange letters from his cousin suggesting that his new wife might be up to something, but dies before we know one way or another. Rachel then moves to England and while visiting Philip he falls for her.

Suspicion still abounds, but now the stakes are raised as Philip nears the age where he will have...more

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Apr 18, 2012 Greg rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Some would say Du Maurier's My Cousin Rachel is like the younger sister to "Rebecca". Its true for the fact that they have similar mood, atmosphere, settings, and both have passive enigmatic women with unknown pasts that are slowly unwoven like a ball of frayed taut yarn. However, it's in the male characters where the two books differ. Maxim from 'Rebecca' knows many things the reader doesn't realize or know and this is where the novel seeds a lot of its twists and turns from (his secrets). Whi...more

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Sep 23, 2011 Jinny Case rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If you are looking for a romance/mystery a tad more intelligent than the average best seller fare than this is your book. If you are looking for a fast-paced thriller, this may seem a bit slow. A young Englishman suddenly loses his cousin and guardian. He is left newly wealthy despite the man's recent marriage. Bereft, Philip imagines any number of horrific things about the character of his cousin's wife. He is sure she had a part to play in the death of his father-figure but, when his cousin's...more

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Jun 30, 2011 Evanston Public Library added it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Although Daphne Du Maurier is best-known for her 1938 book Rebecca (made into an Oscar-winning film by Alfred Hitchcock), her later novel My Cousin Rachel is just as compelling. I was drawn into its spell from the opening line: "They used to hang men at Fort Turnings in the old days. Not anymore though." Taking place in Cornwall in the 19th century, the novel captures the perfect tone of mystery, romance, and intrigue.

Narrator Philip Ashley relates the story of his cousin Ambrose whose poor hea...more

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Apr 11, 2011 Rosanne Lortz rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

“There are some women, Philip, good women, very possibly, who through no fault of their own impel disaster. Whatever they touch turns to tragedy.”

My Cousin Rachel, by Daphne Du Maurier, is the story of one such woman and the disaster she wreaks in the lives of two men. Philip Ashley is orphaned at a young age and his cousin Ambrose, twenty years his senior, brings him up as his ward and his heir. At forty-three years of age, it seems unlikely that Ambrose will ever marry. But when his doctors s...more “There are some women, Philip, good women, very possibly, who through no fault of their own impel disaster. Whatever they touch turns to tragedy.”

My Cousin Rachel, by Daphne Du Maurier, is the story of one such woman and the disaster she wreaks in the lives of two men. Philip Ashley is orphaned at a young age and his cousin Ambrose, twenty years his senior, brings him up as his ward and his heir. At forty-three years of age, it seems unlikely that Ambrose will ever marry. But when his doctors send him to Italy to improve his health, Ambrose makes the acquaintance of a distant relative of his, a young widow named Rachel. Thrown together by their mutual passion for gardening, Ambrose becomes enamored with Rachel. Philip learns in a letter that his cousin and mentor has married and will not be returning home to England for some time.

Jealous of Ambrose’s new relationship, Philip sulks at home on the estate, his mind painting pictures of Rachel as a harpy, a monster, or worse. Ambrose’s letters become fewer and farther between till all of a sudden a startling epistle arrives. Ambrose’s distorted handwriting informs Philip that he is sick, perhaps unto death, and contains veiled intimations that his wife Rachel might be the one responsible for his sickness. Philip races to Florence but comes too late. Ambrose is dead, Rachel is gone, and no one can enlighten him as to her whereabouts. He returns home a sad man, but still the heir to Ambrose’s estate and fortune.

Weeks later the mysterious Rachel shows up in England to bring back her deceased husband’s personal effects. Philip, influenced by the paranoia in Ambrose’s last letter, has grown to hate the very thought of her. He is surprised to discover that she is merely an ordinary–and very likeable–woman. He invites her to stay for a while at the estate to meet the tenants and see the home that Ambrose loved so much. As the weeks go by, his liking for Rachel grows and grows. Scraps of unfinished letters by Ambrose surface directly accusing his wife of poisoning him, but by now Philip is too infatuated to pay them any attention. He is no longer interested in investigating whether Rachel murdered her husband, until the question finally arises: does she intend to do the same thing again?

I’ve been progressing at a snail’s pace through most of my books these days, a chapter here and there whenever I can fit it in. This book, however, only took me two days to complete. Written in the same suspenseful voice as Du Maurier’s masterpiece Rebecca, the book keeps you enthralled till the very end. The characters and settings are well described and memorable, and Ambrose Ashley’s line, “Rachel, my torment,” will echo with you long after you have closed the cover.(less)

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Apr 03, 2011 Catherine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: bookcrossing

Summary of Avid Readers reading group discussion, written for Earlsdon Literary Magazine

Phillip has been brought up in an all-male household by his uncle Ambrose. When Ambrose goes travelling, marries and dies before he can return, Phillip's world is transformed. His cousin Rachel, Ambrose's widow, despised in the abstract, proves irresistible in the flesh. Phillip has the disconcerting experience of falling in love for the first time with someone whom he suspects has murdered the person previou...more Summary of Avid Readers reading group discussion, written for Earlsdon Literary Magazine

Phillip has been brought up in an all-male household by his uncle Ambrose. When Ambrose goes travelling, marries and dies before he can return, Phillip's world is transformed. His cousin Rachel, Ambrose's widow, despised in the abstract, proves irresistible in the flesh. Phillip has the disconcerting experience of falling in love for the first time with someone whom he suspects has murdered the person previously most dear to him.

And that is the mystery at the centre of this novel: is Rachel a villain, or a maligned woman doing what she needs to survive? We were unanimous in admiring the way du Maurier manipulates the reader's opinions. Phillip is rich, rural and immature. His lack of experience alone makes him an unreliable narrator, but he, and therefore we, gradually discover things about Rachel's life that sway our feelings first one way then the other. Even at the end of the story there is no clear answer and we were fairly evenly split between those who believed Rachel responsible for Ambrose's death, and those who thought her innocent.

However, it was not just this ambivalence which meant we all enjoyed this novel, those who were re-reading as well as those coming to it for the first time. Amongst other things we appreciated was the warmth and detail of the descriptions of the Cornish estate, its people, its animals and the relationships between them. The world is closed, almost feudal in its traditionalism, and so provides a stable background to the drama played out amongst the central characters who are so credible in their inability to understand each other.

One member of the group found Phillip's infatuation with Rachel too sudden and complete, almost a forgetting of his previously beloved uncle but, that aside, the only thing some members of the group did not enjoy was the introduction. While this isn't part of the story, or even du Maurier's work, it sparked a very interesting discussion on possible themes and readings that is almost impossible to summarise without giving away some of the elements of the novel that make it so enjoyable. Perhaps the most intriguing was the thought that this is a tale of what happens to both men and women in the absence of the other. This somewhat gothic novel therefore works on many levels and is recommended it if you have yet to explore the work of this author.(less)

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Mar 22, 2011 Agatha rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Another good gothic, just like Rebecca. Did she, or didn’t she? Kill Ambrose, that is. Ambrose and Philip are cousins, and Ambrose, being much older, is actually Philip’s guardian. When Ambrose goes to Italy and falls in love with the mysterious (distant) cousin Rachel, Philip feels jealous, but soon jealousy turns to alarm as Ambrose’s letters begin to warn of imminent danger and fear, saying that Rachel’s going to kill him. Philip travels to Italy only to find Ambrose dead and Rachel disappear...more

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Jul 27, 2010 Rasket added it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2010

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I'm starting to see a du Maurier theme...The protagonist's downfall is their similarity to another character in the novel - it's a foreshadowing of what their own character will progress to. Another theme I'm seeing in du Maurier's books is that the protagonists all get what they wanted (or at least thought they wanted) in the end of the book, but are they really happy?

In My Cousin Rachel, Phillip's similarities to Ambrose led him to fall in love with Rachel and almost suffer the same fate that...more

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Jul 17, 2010 Chocolaa rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: the-worst-ever

هالرواية هي أتعس ما قرأت على الإطلاق...أذكر إني اشتريتها وأنا في الثانوي وأشتريتها بلا تخطيط...يعني بصراحة وقتها انا كنت اقرأ بلا تخطيط...يمكن عجبني العنوان مثلاً...ويمكن لقيتها رخيصة واستخسرت اني ما اشتريها

والله ما أذكر وشي الي خلاني اشتريها واقراها...بس كانت ولا تزال أتعس واسوء ما قرأت

القصة هي لشاب يتيم...يربيه ولد عمه إلي أكبر منه...يحن عليه ويعامله معاملة مميزة جداً...وهو يصير متعلق في ولد عمه بدرجة كبيرة...وطبعاً ولد عمه غني وهو الوريث الوحيد له

لما يكبر ولد عمه يمرض ويقرر له الاطباء انه لاز...more هالرواية هي أتعس ما قرأت على الإطلاق...أذكر إني اشتريتها وأنا في الثانوي وأشتريتها بلا تخطيط...يعني بصراحة وقتها انا كنت اقرأ بلا تخطيط...يمكن عجبني العنوان مثلاً...ويمكن لقيتها رخيصة واستخسرت اني ما اشتريها

والله ما أذكر وشي الي خلاني اشتريها واقراها...بس كانت ولا تزال أتعس واسوء ما قرأت

القصة هي لشاب يتيم...يربيه ولد عمه إلي أكبر منه...يحن عليه ويعامله معاملة مميزة جداً...وهو يصير متعلق في ولد عمه بدرجة كبيرة...وطبعاً ولد عمه غني وهو الوريث الوحيد له

لما يكبر ولد عمه يمرض ويقرر له الاطباء انه لازم يسافر في فترة الشتا لإيطاليا...و هناك يتزوج ولد عمه ويموت...ويصير انه لازم زوجته تسكن مع الوريث الصغير (مو صغير وايد يعني يمكن 21 سنة عمره) المهم ...هو في البداية يكرهها ويغار منها ويحقد عليها

بس بعدين لما توصل البيت يصير منجذب لها...وهي في نفس الوقت تحاول تغويه...وفعلاً يحبها...بس بعدين يصير يشك في إنه لها علاقة في موت ولد عمه وثم يتأكد من ذلك...و تنتنهي القصة بأنه يكون سبب في موتها

يعني بإختصار كرهت الرواية جداً وتركت عندي احساس قبيح لما قريتها...حتى الحين وانا اكتب الرفيو واتذكر الاحداث ...حسيت بنفس الشعور وزياده عليه حسيت بخجل إني قريتها...وهالشعور ما يشبهني أبداً لأني ما اخجل من اي شي اقراه...بس الرواية هاذي...الرواية هاذي وبس

يعني بإختصار هالنوع من الكتب ...الواحد يحتاج لديتوكس قرائي بعد ما ينتهي من قرايته...نرجع و نقول ...رايي أنا ...رايي أنا وبس

الله لا يكتبها على حد ثاني ...آمين

:S(less)

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Apr 12, 2010 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Du Maurier is nothing if not atmospheric. My Cousin Rachel, like its predecessor, Rebecca, takes place on an enormous estate, and spans England and continental Europe, but its mood is claustrophobia inducing. The reader is trapped inside the mind of the first-person narrator, 24 year old Philip Ashley, whose youth, inexperience, impulsiveness, and selfishness all serve to keep his point of view very narrow indeed. Then, too, Philip is an ineffective communicator, and is trapped by what he fails...more

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Dec 18, 2009 Hester rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: can-i-freshen-your-drink-guvner, from-book-to-screen, my-beloved-daphne

I think gold digging is the world's second oldest profession, My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier just proves my point. Set back in the olden days, this is the story of Philip Ashley. He was orphaned as an infant and his cousin Ambrose raised him to be like him. A man's man, a confirmed bachelor. Neither Ambrose nor Philip feel the need for women in their house or running their estate. Ambrose feels this so much his house is run by men. Philip narrates this story of love jealously and revenge....more I think gold digging is the world's second oldest profession, My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier just proves my point. Set back in the olden days, this is the story of Philip Ashley. He was orphaned as an infant and his cousin Ambrose raised him to be like him. A man's man, a confirmed bachelor. Neither Ambrose nor Philip feel the need for women in their house or running their estate. Ambrose feels this so much his house is run by men. Philip narrates this story of love jealously and revenge.
Ambrose in failing health leaves his beloved land and estate in the winter to travel to warmer climates. This year he chose Italy, and he meets a long lost relation of theirs, cousin Rachel. In a series of letters written to Philip, Ambrose describes how is taken with the witty intelligent Rachel. He says that she is not like other women and isn't bothersome at all, he quickly marries her much to Philip's chagrin. Philip has already decided to hate this woman, not because she will become the rightful heir in his will if anything should ever happen to him, but because she has taken away his beloved cousin Ambrose.
Later very troubling letters arrive to him from Ambrose saying that he has mysteriously fallen ill and that Rachel watches him constantly and urging Philip to arrive to Florence immediately. When Philip finally arrives to the villa where Rachel and Ambrose live, it is too late. Ambrose is dead, right then and there Philip vows revenge on the evil harpy that is his cousin Rachel. Shortly after returning home he gets word from his godfather that Rachel has arrived for a visit and would like to meet with him. He agrees only to destroy her, but when she arrives she is not the evil wench he expected. Instead she is a beautiful women of dignity and manners. The longer she stays the deeper in love he falls with her.

So worried that she will leave him to go back to Florence he devises a plan and three weeks before his twenty fifth birthday when he officially inherits it all he finds Ambrose's unsigned will and decides to give everything, the money the land and the family jewels to her. So grateful is she with receiving the jewelry she makes love to him. The next day when she learns she is now the owner of it all she becomes cold to Philip, in his anger over a misunderstanding about her agreeing to marry him Philip tries to strangle her. Shortly after this he becomes mysterious ill, just the way Ambrose did.

So is Rachel a cold blooded and calculating murderer? Or is it all just a coincidence that Philip becomes gravely ill and she nurses him back to health? And does her various knowledge of plants and all the harm and good they can do point to her guilt? While its left up the reader to decide, I say yes, she is a killer and that money is the only way to her heart.(less)

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May 20, 2012 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, guardian-1000

A brilliantly gripping (I read this in one day, after picking it up to see what it was like) psychological thriller that's as full of brooding menace as her more famous works, this tells the story of Philip Ashley, orphaned and raised by his beloved older cousin Ambrose. Whilst abroad for the winter, Ambrose falls in love with and marries their cousin Rachel, who has had a slightly chequered past. Philip's jealousy of Rachel turns to animosity when he receives panicked letters from Ambrose, full...more

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Apr 17, 2012 CookieDemon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

(This review is for the Virago Modern Classics DESIGNER edition and also appears on Amazon.co.uk)

**Fantastic story, beautiful cover but a real shame about the multiple printing defects!**

Rebecca is one of my favourite books, so I was keen to see if this one would hold the same allure for me. Like the former, ‘My Cousin Rachel’ is a mystery-romance novel set in Cornwall and is old-fashioned story-telling at its best, laced with the type of intrigue that will have a reader hooked. These elements k...more (This review is for the Virago Modern Classics DESIGNER edition and also appears on Amazon.co.uk)

**Fantastic story, beautiful cover but a real shame about the multiple printing defects!**

Rebecca is one of my favourite books, so I was keen to see if this one would hold the same allure for me. Like the former, ‘My Cousin Rachel’ is a mystery-romance novel set in Cornwall and is old-fashioned story-telling at its best, laced with the type of intrigue that will have a reader hooked. These elements kept me reading this book well into the night, along with the fantastically evocative atmosphere, great characters and the underlying tension and suspense that Du Maurier has created.

If you enjoy stories with unreliable narrators then this book will have you gripped. Told from the perspective of Phillip Ashley who has been raised by his bachelor Uncle Ambrose since he was a boy, he is all set to be his heir one day but is surprised when Ambrose marries a distant cousin of his unexpectedly whilst spending the summer in Florence- Phillip’s Cousin Rachel. Phillip is even more startled when he receives correspondence from Ambrose a few months later, suggesting that his new wife is not all she seems, and concerned, heads to Florence to find out what is going on. Upon reaching Florence, Phillip is devastated to find that his uncle has actually died a few weeks prior, seemingly of a brain tumour. With Ambrose’s’ widow now missing, Phillip returns to England to claim his new estate- and is then perplexed by the mysterious arrival of Cousin Rachel to his home...

This was an excellent story full of jealousy, deceit and suspense which is gradually built upon through the narrative. I must confess that at times I winced at Phillip’s stupidity and I adored Italian lawyer Rainaldi’s sly, sneaky digs at him. The humour in this book is subtle, but was most welcome and added new facets to the characters personalities, which made a nice change from all the thickly layered jealousy and suspicion that did become a bit too deep at times. Just what is it about Cousin Rachel that makes all these men lose their heads?! Go on, and find out for yourself.

As an aside, if this edition was not a Virago ‘Designer’ modern classic then I would not think the print quality was even worth commenting on. However, it is and as a result I feel that I must draw attention to the multiple printing errors and defects contained in the copy I received- all coincidentally towards the end of the book. There were four *blank* pages between the rest of the text for some bizarre reason starting at around page 200 and something... surely this should have been picked up during the printing process? Also, one page was actually halved and crinkle edged (the text continued on regardless) and another page had something stuck on it and the text had proceeded, regardless. I am assuming this was merely a one-off with the edition that I received and happened sometime during the printing and binding process, as other VMC Designer editions I have received have been absolutely faultless. However, as a consequence of this, I will be requesting a replacement from Amazon as it did tarnish the novel for me and it is not what I expected from such a luxurious looking book, frankly. I feel it is only right to draw other reader’s attention to it, should the same thing occur with your copies.

Overall: fabulous story (of course- I have given it four stars after all), wonderfully gorgeous cover (A for effort)- but please be careful what else may be lurking within your copy!
(less)

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Sep 09, 2010 Faith Justice rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: given-away

I've read several of Du Maurier's books and this is one of the weaker ones. It's a classical psychological thriller and asks the question "did she do it?" in the earliest pages. The narrator never answers the question, but provides enough clues for the reader to make up their own minds. The writing is crisp and descriptive, I just couldn't get into the characters. "Did she do it?" I don't think so, but the next reader may decide she did.

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I featured this book as part of an article published...more

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Oct 15, 2009 Regina rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Published in the early 1950s, this book has the feel of a great black and white drama from the same period. (In fact, I had heard of the movie starring Olivia de Havilland and as I was reading the book, I mentally cast her into the role of the conniving Rachel.) ‘My Cousin Rachel’ is one of those fun reads that will keep you engaged and guessing for several nights.

Du Maurier fully develops complex and interesting characters. Rachel is a terrific example; we don’t really know if she poisoned her...more

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Jun 06, 2009 Debbie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical, romance

This tragic historical romance is set in England during, I think, the mid-1800s. The excellent world-building and use of symbolism created a brooding, mysterious atmosphere. The characters were realistic and sympathetic. The pacing was a bit slow compared to modern novels, but I didn't find the novel dull.

The author very effectively uses characters' body language to convey the truth of what's happening even when the viewpoint character, Phillip, incorrectly understands what's going on. I contin...more

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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.

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“The point is, life has to be endured, and lived. But how to live it is the problem.” — 25 people liked it

“He was like someone sleeping who woke suddenly and found the world...all the beauty of it, and the sadness too. The hunger and the thirst. Everything he had never thought about or known was there before him, and magnified into one person who by chance, or fate--call it what you will--happened to be me.” — 25 people liked it

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