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Daphne: A Novel

3.18 of 5 stars 3.18 · rating details · 518 ratings · 131 reviews

“Deftly drawn. An accomplished retelling…The reader need not be a devotée of Branwell Brontë or Daphne du Maurier or even the Gothic genre to take pleasure in this novel; the butterflies are brightly colored and the display well-lit.”—Washington Post

Folding biographical details of its real-life heroine, Daphne de Maurier, into a page-turning plot, Daphne is a deftly craft...more

Paperback, 416 pages

Published August 4th 2009 by Bloomsbury USA (first published January 1st 2008)

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Feb 01, 2009 Karen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Since Daphne duMaurier is one of my favorite writers, I was very excited to get my hands on this novel about her. The plot tells three connected stories: Daphne's as she researches the life of the alcoholic, doomed Branwell Bronte; A.J. Symington, a Branwell-esque librarian who fell into disgrace after stealing several manuscripts from the Bronte Parsonage and Musueum; and a modern-day scholar whose marriage to an older man is threatened by the lingering presence of his ex-wife, Rachel, as the s...more Since Daphne duMaurier is one of my favorite writers, I was very excited to get my hands on this novel about her. The plot tells three connected stories: Daphne's as she researches the life of the alcoholic, doomed Branwell Bronte; A.J. Symington, a Branwell-esque librarian who fell into disgrace after stealing several manuscripts from the Bronte Parsonage and Musueum; and a modern-day scholar whose marriage to an older man is threatened by the lingering presence of his ex-wife, Rachel, as the scholar researches the correspondence between Daphne and Symington, hoping to unearth a literary scandal and mystery.

I read this at a leisurley pace, drawn into Picardie's prose. She has written a beautiful representation of Daphne duMaurier and I enjoyed these sections of the book the most. The reader sees Daphne battling a family legacy of depression, the threat to her marriage by an affair at the same time her husband suffers a mental and physical breakdown, the destruction of various family members, and also Daphne's own brief breakdown as she is overcome by paranoid delusions. I did not know, or had forgotten, that the duMaurier's were related to the boys who were adopted by J.M. Barrie and became the fictionalized Lost Boys of Peter Pan. The effect of that fictionalization on their adult lives was also beautifully constructed in Picardie's novel.

In some ways I feel like very little happened in the book, that there wasn't really any mystery, at least not for the reader since the reader knows from almost the start that Symington has indeed stolen manuscripts. (The modern day scholar doesn't know what the reader knows so it is a mystery to her.) The fate of a priceless volume of Emily Bronte's handwritten poetry is the crux of the mystery, its ultimate fate finally revealed in the last chapter. I found that I cared much more about the characters and their various obsessions/disintegrations of mind than the literary mystery. Since the book is mostly about them, I was satisfied, but other readers might be disappointed if they're looking for true mystery. I also found the modern day scholar's story a mite disappointing. Echoes of Rebecca plague the scholar's life, and I expected more from that arm of the story. That plot line's conclusion seemed to peter out, and in many ways I found her presence in the story distracting. I also wanted more from the ex-wife Rachel's character. However the sections about Daphne were excellent, and the tragic/pathetic downfall of Symington was well worth the read. All in all, I enjoyed this read and would recommend it to all fans of Daphne duMaurier.(less)

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Nov 19, 2008 Nancy Cours rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Brit Lit nerds

I picked this new book up, because my favorite novel of all time is the famous "Rebecca," known to some Brit Litters as the bastard half-sister of the Bronte girls' "Jane Eyre" and "Wuthering Heights." Actually completing this book tells me I'm either one of two things: A Brit Lit proficient, (considering I even bothered to finish this surprisingly intense book to begin with), or a horrible Brit Lit student who doesn't know 2% of what she actually thought she knew about her favorite novels. My m...more I picked this new book up, because my favorite novel of all time is the famous "Rebecca," known to some Brit Litters as the bastard half-sister of the Bronte girls' "Jane Eyre" and "Wuthering Heights." Actually completing this book tells me I'm either one of two things: A Brit Lit proficient, (considering I even bothered to finish this surprisingly intense book to begin with), or a horrible Brit Lit student who doesn't know 2% of what she actually thought she knew about her favorite novels. My money's on the latter.

"Daphne" is based on the true story of Daphne Du Maurier, the title character and author of "Rebecca." Author Picardie intertwines the story of Daphne, in her post-Rebecca success, and Alex Symington, a floundering, depressed librarian "helping" (but actually stifling) Daphne's next obsession and literary project: a biography on the lost and underappreciated Bronte brother, Branwell.

The two stories are woven together using their original letters and Picardie's impressive literary and historical UK research, which is fascinating. But the book is actually glued together by Picardie's story of a contemporary young woman, much like the second Mrs. DeWinter in "Rebecca," who is, in turn, obsessing about Daphne and her works.

For a contemporary novel, I really appreciated how many layers of meaning, overlapping of themes and tidbits of info I never knew about any of these authors I learned in school and are still on my shelf.

For example, no one ever taught me the Du Maurier family was infinitely close to Jim Barrie, author of "Peter Pan and Wendy," who was inspired by Daphne's cousins, the Llewelyn-Davies children (Peter, Michael, Jack...). Ultimately, a good friend (and cousin) of Daphne, the original Peter throws himself in front of a train as an adult. If you're not good with reading about depressed, emotionally tortured people (writers), don't read this book!

That said, while this will not be a success in the U.S., I would not be surprised if it's successful in the U.K. I had to use Wikipedia several times to remind myself who the heck some of these characters were in all the Bronte/Barrie/DuMaurier books. Stuff those Brits probably have known since they were all 4 years old. :)
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Apr 04, 2012 Chris rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, lit-denmark-sweden-norway, kindle, historical-fiction-1700-1900

Who doesn't love a juicy literary mystery? What happened to that poem? Who slept with whom? And really, why does she write about incest? Is it a ghost? And what's with him? It's no surprise that many books have been written about any literary mystery.

This book is somewhat like Possession, but not as good. Picardie uses three characters - [author:Daphne du Maurier|2001717. Symington, and a grad student to explore the Brontes and who the Bronte brother was, you know that bloke who died.

Told partly...more

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Mar 07, 2012 Rachel Crooks rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When I was little, I remember this recurring thing on Sesame Street where a girl would walk down a room with a bunch of doors, and then each time she would open a different door, and there would be a different world of possibilities, all starting with the letter D, or R, (or whatever letter of the day). I felt a little like that girl reading this book, only the door I opened was the Daphne door, and in the Daphne world were all of these literary characters: Daphne herself, Rebecca, Charlotte, E...more

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Dec 25, 2009 Sarah rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: brontephilia

Similar setup to A.S. Byatt's Possession: modern day scholars obsessed with dead authors, literary mystery of the past to unravel, lots of correspondence, forgotten manuscripts, life imitates fiction. There's an additional layer to this book--there are the present-day characters, then Daphne du Maurier and J.A. Symington in the middle ground, and finally Branwell Brontë in the most distant past.

I enjoyed much of the back-and-forth between du Maurier and Symington. What sunk the book for me was t...more

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Sep 20, 2009 Jodi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Wow talk about coincidences! I read a novel of the Brontes early this summer plus Rebecca and oddly it all tied together in this book. To explain the plot will be tough because it is a bit convoluted. It begins with Daphne du Maurier in 1957 researching for a book she intends to write about Branwell Bronte. Then it switches to the present day about a young women researching for her PhD about Daphne's work on Branwell. Toss in a plot line with similarities to Rebecca, the true relationship of Dap...more

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Jul 03, 2011 Marguerite Kaye rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Like most of the people who've reviewed this book, I've been obsessed with Rebecca since I first read it, aged 16. I'm a huge fan of books which interleve past and present stories (AS Byatt's Possession is one of my all-time favourite books),and Daphne did this really well. The sections with Du Maurier at Menabbily were the most haunting and worked best for me, and I loved the complexity of the parallel strands, the stories within stories even within the real Du Maurier's life - the metaphor of...more

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Sep 29, 2012 Adrien rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, library-book

Lovely book that reminds me why I love reading, but still not quite a five star novel, or even a four star. I greatly enjoyed the unnamed narrator sections, and Daphne's sections made me more curious about her. I do have The Infernal World of Branwell Bronte floating around somewhere, and I'm more curious about it now. All in all a good read, though ultimately it felt vaguely....lacking. Still wholly recommended.

Quotes I liked:

"I must say, there's nothing like being lectured on Henry James by o...more

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Sep 28, 2009 Hannah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: houses-as-characters, gothics

A beautifully written book that weaves the thoughts and actions of three distinct characters into one cohesive tale of the search for meaning, acceptance and understanding.

The book follows the life of the writer Daphne duMaurier and the historian/librarian Alex Symington from 1957-1960, as well as the life of an unnamed female student doing research for her doctorate in the present day. Each chapter focuses on one of these characters, and is told through their "voice" or via letters.

In each case...more A beautifully written book that weaves the thoughts and actions of three distinct characters into one cohesive tale of the search for meaning, acceptance and understanding.

The book follows the life of the writer Daphne duMaurier and the historian/librarian Alex Symington from 1957-1960, as well as the life of an unnamed female student doing research for her doctorate in the present day. Each chapter focuses on one of these characters, and is told through their "voice" or via letters.

In each case, the mysterious life and writings of Bramwell Bronte is woven throughout each of these lives, as in their own way these three characters search for clues to his possible contribution to the great Bronte sisters works of "Wuthering Heights" and "Jane Eyre". In addition, the haunting works of Daphne duMaurier such as "Rebecca" and "My Cousin Rachel", are also an ever present feature, especially in the life of our unnamed thesis student, who greatly resembles the unnamed Mrs. deWinter of "Rebecca" fame in attitude.

According to the author, this book is based on real life events in the life of duMaurier, and the author had the assistance of her family, friends and associates in fleshing out her character. I know very little about duMaurier's life, so I can't judge the accuracy of this claim, but if so, then Daphne was a brillant but tortured creative soul, as so many great talents are. Through Picardie's tale, I can certainly catch a glimpse of why duMaurier wrote the stories she did, and I have a much greater appreciation for her works.

Picardie has a wonderful writing style, and some passages are so beautiful that I found myself rereading them again and again. I thought she did a good job maintaining the "voice" of the three characters, and I liked the seemless flow of the book from one voice to the next.

In the end, I admit that I gave the book 3 stars instead of higher on a purely subjective basis: it was ultimately a depressing story, and one that I don't think I could read again--at least not in my current stage of life. But it's well worth the read, and I'd recommend it for anyone who enjoys a literary mystery, or who likes the writings of duMaurier or the Bronte sisters.
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Aug 31, 2009 Maren rated it 3 of 5 stars

I had been on a bit of a Daphne Du Maurier reading binge earlier this year after discovering Rebecca I read The Infernal World of Branwell Bronte and her short stories and so I was dubious about what a modern author might do in a fictionalized account of her life and her writing the biography of Branwell Bronte, the lesser-known brother of the famous literary sisters.

I am happy to say I was pleasantly surprised. Daphne is an intriguing page-turner and is full of fascinating and well-researched...more I had been on a bit of a Daphne Du Maurier reading binge earlier this year after discovering Rebecca I read The Infernal World of Branwell Bronte and her short stories and so I was dubious about what a modern author might do in a fictionalized account of her life and her writing the biography of Branwell Bronte, the lesser-known brother of the famous literary sisters.

I am happy to say I was pleasantly surprised. Daphne is an intriguing page-turner and is full of fascinating and well-researched information about Du Maurier and the Brontes as well as J. M. Barrie and the Llewellyn-Davies boys who inspired Peter Pan and were Daphne DuMaurier’s cousins. DuMaurier’s grandfather George Du Maurier was a literary figure and author of Trilby and friend of Henry James. Her father Gerald Du Maurier was an actor who first portrayed both Captain Hook and Mr. Darling in the stage production of Peter Pan.

While this nest of literary and family interconnections could be confusing Picardie spins a convincing plot that does not require knowledge the families or their writings. In fact, a key plot point was a bit spoiled for me because I knew about the actual historical figures.

The book takes the form of alternate chapters that switch between three perspectives: Daphne DuMaurier, her correspondent, an unreliable former Bronte librarian, John Alexander Symington, and a young female academic who is increasingly losing herself in the writings of DuMaurier and her interest in Branwell Bronte.

At first I found the modern academic a bit annoying and too much of an homage to Rebecca and an echo of many other literary mystery books and plays (The Hours, Arcadia, Possession) but I found myself interested in her by the end.

The true stories of the real individuals are fascinating enough to merit interest in their own right and I suspect more than one reader will seek out historical materials after they finish the book. Literary and sexual jealousy, paranoia, and depression work their way through all three story lines and at her best Picardie evokes some lovely echoes across the three story lines.

The end felt a little precipitous and left some lingering questions but on the whole Picardie navigates confusing histories with some aplomb and creates ample dramatic interest. It was engaging enough I read it in just a few days and I suspect fans of the Du Maurier, the Brontes, or the Gothic genre will find plenty to keep them entertained. Daphne was an enjoyable history, mystery and homage to Daphne Du Maurier.

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Feb 20, 2011 Natasha rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Although I'm giving this book 4 stars, (and wish I could give it 3.5), I definitely think it is a worthwhile read for anyone who is a Daphne du Maurier fan, in addition to a Bronte fan! It had tons of relatively new information about both families. I thought the parts of the story from Daphne's perspective really gave insight to her state of mind as an author, and they were pretty great. I tend to be a plot-driven reader, so things about this book bothered me and it felt tedious at times, especi...more

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Jan 15, 2013 Christina rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a historical reimagining of a real figure done right--rigorously researched and based on actual events. I don't know what kicked me off on this Daphne du Maurier sort-of-fan-fiction phase, but it's been fun to "learn" (I use that term loosely) about her.

That said, this book wasn't totally successful for me. The narrative is told in three different perspectives: Daphne, Symington (another real historical figure), and Jane, a fictional modern day researcher. The Symington chapters dragged...more

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Aug 21, 2011 Amanda rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: gothic

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Though, I don't think anyone could really appreciate this novel if they don't possess a strong affection for Daphne Du Marier's Rebecca. For, this novel really captured the tone of Rebecca and a reader that isn't familiar with the story of Rebecca wouldn't be able to draw many inferences from the plot of this novel in connection with Daphne's original masterpiece, which, for me made this book so compelling. Based on true events, the plot of this book demonstrates...more

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Feb 03, 2009 Dee rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I found the style hard to enjoy. I believe the author was attempting to write in DuMaurier's style -- however, all that anxious obsessive interior thought made me tired.

The plot was sort of Slice of Life. And it was interesting to learn about DuMaurier's life -- her father's work in the theater, his affair with Gertrude Lawrence, the close family ties with Uncle Jim Barrie -- and his adopted children -- two of whom committed suicide.

She shows DuMaurier having a paranoid break -- and being almos...more

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Feb 21, 2013 Karli rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nook

One of my goals this year is to finally read Rebecca and I thought this book may help me with that goal. Daphne is a great book for a book nerd/graduate student in English - the story winds duMaurier's attempt to research and write The Infernal World of Branwell Bronte with the story of a young PhD candidate's attempt to write her dissertation on Daphne du Maurier. The narration goes from Daphne to Symington to Jane from chapter to chapter, with Daphne's story dominating. The writing is fairly g...more

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Sep 25, 2009 Hannah rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: engels, historisch

I loved the few books by Daphne Du Maurier that I've read so far, and the few things I knew about the author's life (from the tv movie "Daphne", which is great by the way) made me want to learn more. So this book should have been just right for me. And it was, from time to time. As I suspected, there were fascinating things to learn about Daphne's life in Menabilly and London, about her husband and her family etcetera. I also liked the storyline about the student, set in our own time. Even the S...more

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Jan 13, 2013 Gael added it · review of another edition

Ugh. Didn't do what it said on the tin. "A tantalizing literary mystery", "a potent, pulse-quickening read". I think those reviewers read a different book to the one I gave up on. I got to p112.

This is a very pedestrian romance which uses a simplistic method of repetition and unimaginative symmetry to tell a dull story. An insipid narrator's marriage follows similar patterns to those of Daphne du Maurier, and the novel Rebecca, alongside a vaguely academic plot about writers attempting to rescue...more

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Nov 07, 2011 Jane rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An interesting book running two parallel stories alongside one another. The chapters run in cycles of three, with the first of these focussing on du Maurier's life and obsession or fascination with Branwell Bronte. The second is given over to J Alex Symington who du Maurier engages in correspondence to both fact find and purchase some Bronte manuscripts. The last of the three is set in present day London, the young student trying to write her thesis for her PHD.

There are some interesting facts a...more

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Nov 17, 2009 Mimi Johnson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Moody Atmosphere

I purchased this book at a lovely little independent bookstore right outside the train station at Kew Gardens. I agree with many of the reviewers here that the story was often unevenly told. But what I found fascinating was the excellent evocation of a moody darkness created by the author-very much so reminiscent of the Bronte novels.

The author captures deftly the desire many writers have (here, all three protagonists) to bring to life a forgotten or misunderstood literary figur...more

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Nov 16, 2011 Farin rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Daphne was a bit of a surprise and a bit of a letdown for me. Like most people, I picked it up because I'm a fan of Rebecca and was excited to read a historical fiction piece on its author. It's entirely my fault that I didn't reading the abstract before I checked it out of my library, because if I had I would have known that the story was less about Rebecca and more about Daphne's twilight years as she struggled through a turbulent marriage and an equally turbulent biography of Branwell Bronte....more

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Dec 01, 2008 Maura rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The opening pages are great - the mood is set wonderfully. Everything is brooding and mysterious, much like many of Du Maurier's books. But the mood never really changes. There's no lightness to contrast with the dark; the book just seems to grow heavier and darker. The parallel story of the woman researching Daphne was promising at first; she seems to be filling the role of the narrator in Rebecca, but that story never really builds up enough steam, so by the end of the book, everything just so...more

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Sep 17, 2011 Leah Beecher rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A little disappointed in this one. I am a Daphne Du Maurier fan. This book had a good premise. It's told from the view point of three people, and all of them have an obsessive nature to all things literary. There are a lot of references to Rebecca, both outright and hinted at. (If you did not read and enjoy Rebecca, you would be lost reading this one). There is a literary mystery involving the famous Brontes, and a very interesting connection to James Barrie, the author of Peter Pan. (Du Maurier...more

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Nov 04, 2009 Barb rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2009, du-maurier

Literary references were constant throughout Justine Picardie's 'Daphne'. This book really felt like it was leading me to more books.

Some of the books the author mentions include; 'Rebecca', 'The Birds', 'My Cousin Rachel' all by Daphne du Maurier, 'Trilby' by George du Maurier, 'Wuthering Heights' by Emily Bronte, 'The Infernal Branwell Bronte' by Daphne du Maurier, 'The Woman in White' by Wilkie Collins, 'Peter Pan' by JM Barrie, 'Jane Eyre' by Charlotte Bronte and 'The Tenant of Wildfell Hal...more Literary references were constant throughout Justine Picardie's 'Daphne'. This book really felt like it was leading me to more books.

Some of the books the author mentions include; 'Rebecca', 'The Birds', 'My Cousin Rachel' all by Daphne du Maurier, 'Trilby' by George du Maurier, 'Wuthering Heights' by Emily Bronte, 'The Infernal Branwell Bronte' by Daphne du Maurier, 'The Woman in White' by Wilkie Collins, 'Peter Pan' by JM Barrie, 'Jane Eyre' by Charlotte Bronte and 'The Tenant of Wildfell Hall' by Anne Bronte.

Picardie's novel narrates three stories which all weave together. We find Daphne du Maurier in 1957 as she struggles with the mental breakdown of her husband. Through Daphne's research for a biography about Branwell Bronte she connects us with J.A. Symington who is a Bronte scholar and collector. The contemporary narrator is a newlywed working on her PhD and researching the connections between du Maurier, Symington and their research on the Brontes. Staggering the narration gives the reader an increased sense of disorder and chaos much like the narrator's lives. Each one struggles with things in their life that are out of control.

Mental Illness factors heavily into the historical portion of the novel and I often wondered about diagnoses for the du Maurier family. Did Daphne suffer with Bipolar Disorder? What would things have been like for her and her family if there had been greater knowledge about mental illness and addiction? J.A. Symington seems to have lived with some sort of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or perhaps Compulsive Hoarding Disorder. There is a thread of obsession that connects all three narrators.

I enjoyed this novel especially the historical portions. I didn't care for the contemporary thread quite as much as I enjoyed reading about Daphne du Maurier and Alex Symington. But I thought the author was very, very clever in her word choices, there are people wearing trilby hats and our contemporary narrator never gives us her name, but her husband's first wife is named Rachel. There were many little clever tweaks and references that made this interesting book that much more enjoyable.

I learned a lot about Daphne du Maurier and ultimately this book left me wanting to read more about her and her family. Daphne du Maurier's father was very close friends with JM Barrie, the creator of 'Peter Pan'. In fact her parents met while acting in one of Barrie's plays. Daphne's first cousins, George, Jack, Peter, Michael and Nico Llewelyn-Davies were the inspiration behind 'Peter Pan'. The Llewelyn-Davies children were orphaned when their mother died in 1910 and Barrie later adopted them. Her Grandfather George was a famous author and wrote 'Trilby' which a hat was named for.

The books that I found and added to my list to read after finishing this one are 'Captivated: J.M. Barrie, The Du Mauriers & The Dark Side of Never Never Land' by Piers Dudgeon. And a memoir by one of Daphne's daughters 'Daphne du Maurier' by Flavia Leng. As well as 'J.M. Barrie and the Lost Boys: The real story behind Peter Pan' by Andrew Birkin which has lots of photographs by JM Barrie, and 'Enchanted Cornwall: Her Pictorial Memoir' by Daphne du Maurier, Piers Dudgeon which has beautiful photographs.

I would recommend this to fans of Daphne du Maurier. I think you will enjoy it more if you have read these du Maurier novels; 'Rebecca', 'My Cousin Rachel', 'The King's General' as well as Charlotte Bronte's 'Jane Eyre' and Emily Bronte's 'Wuthering Heights'.(less)

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Apr 29, 2013 Jeanne Grunert rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Not for me. I agree with Sarah A' review. The book switches between Daphne DuMaurier in 1957 and a modern day protagonist. The modern day woman is a poor allusion to the heroine of Rebecca. I thought the allusion was so clumsily handled it was borderline bad. She was also a weak, sniveling and hand-wringing kind of heroine, which I do not like. The 1957 portions of the book were a better book and I wish the author had just told THAT story and not gone back to the present day narrator. The 1957 "...more

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Sep 25, 2010 Jean rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was an interesting and unusual novel covering several strands: the narrator's research into Daphne du Maurier's work; Daphne du Maurier researching the Brontes in order to write a biography of Branwell Bronte; and Symington, the disgraced Bronte expert. I found it interesting how the author interwove fictional fact with the narrator's own story, showing similarities between all the characters of her novel. It has encouraged me to reread my collection of du Maurier novels, and to look at Bra...more

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Oct 11, 2011 Maggie Donaldson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I wouldn't have chosen ths to read if it hadn't have been for the bookclub I belong to - and I'm glad I did! On paper, it doesn't sound too promising - a weaving of a story about Daphne du Maurier's research into her biography of Branwell Bronte, interwoven with the life of a younf woman fifty years later researching Du Maurier for a PHD. But it was a skillful study of relationships, denial, betrayal, plagiarism and much more, and very atmospheric. I have never read du Maurier but this book has...more

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Jun 12, 2012 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a beautifully crafted novel, flicking between a fictional world set in the present day, back in time to Daphne Du Maurier's life, when she was writing her factual book about Bramwell Bronte. I adored the parts from Daphne's point of view and it's obvious the author has a great love of her work. In fact for me it could have dispensed with the modern-day parts and just had the entire book from Daphne's viewpoint. Well worth a read, even if the ending was rather flat, which was enough for m...more

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Apr 30, 2013 Kirsty rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: purchased-2012, read-2013, best-of-2013, treasured-characters, treasures

Gosh, this is a good novel. I really struggled to put it down at times. Below are a series of thoughts I had whilst reading.

- I love Daphne du Maurier and I love the Brontes, so this seemed like rather an obvious choice of novel for me to read. I'm ecstatic to say that it didn't disappoint me at all.
- I really liked the use of the different perspectives throughout, both first and third person. The correspondence between Daphne and Symington was a very nice touch too.
- Picardie created a wonderfu...more

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Sep 23, 2012 Linda K K rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Fascinating look into the author DuMaurier of Rebecca fame and her quest to discover the unwritten tale of Branwell Bronte, brother of the more celebrated group of sister writers.

Her research prompts her to take up correspondence with Mr. Symington, former head of the Bronte library and also a lover of Branwell and the unknown. Unfortunately, Mr. Symington is so ardent in his quest for all things Bronte, that he is accused of stealing some of the documents and is dimissed from his position. Daph...more

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Jul 10, 2012 Michelle rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

This novel is based around a young woman (unnamed, without family, and recently married to an older man) who is trying to come up with a literature Ph.D. thesis. Her husband, also a literary academic is pushing her towards areas that interest him (the Brontes) while she would much rather delve into her favorite author, Daphne du Maurier, the author of Rebecca. Her marriage is becoming estranged and she wonders about her husband's first wife, a famous poet, who has based one of her more famous po...more

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Quotes from Daphne: A Novel

“People are often dismissive of librarians and libraries - as if the words are synonymous with boredom or timidity. But isn't that where the best stories are kept? Hidden away on the library bookshelves, lost and forgotten, waiting, waiting, until someone like me comes along, and wants to borrow them?” — 6 people liked it

“And yes, I confess, when I looked at him, I thought of Heathcliff and Mr Rochester and Maxim de Winter... and how could I not, when I had been waiting for them to step out of the pages of the books I loved; when I knew them so well, read them inside out and into myself?” — 1 person liked it

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6146916-daphne?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1312053394l/6146916.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6146916-daphne?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Daphne: A Novel by Justine Picardie[/url]

Daphne: A Novel

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