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My Cousin Rachel

Daphne du Maurier

Start date: February 1, 2020

Finish date: February 29, 2020

Why we're reading this: February 2020 Revisit the Shelf

Prior reads:
July 2017 New School selection
[close] February 2020 Revisit the Shelf

Prior reads:
July 2017 New School selection

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May 04, 2017 Kelly_Hunsaker_reads ... rated it it was amazing

Shelves: classics, mysteries-thrillers, favorites

Doubts, suspicions and ambiguity abound!

This is the first book I have read by Daphne du Maurier, and it will not be the last! It is a wonderful, old-school romantic mystery. Her attention to character development is superb. Both Phillip and Rachel are dark, mysterious, and often unlikable characters. They are often jealous, and sometimes greedy. They are smart and they are also stupid. They are very real, and that makes them compelling.

The author also deftly builds tension, and allows the myster ...more

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Jun 20, 2017 Jennifer rated it it was amazing

My Cousin Rachel felt fairly straight-forward, to me, until it ended, after which I started to see if from a totally different angle, kind of like one of those illusion drawings in which one can see the young girl or the old woman but only one or the other until it switches. Now I can see the whole story from the point of view of an intelligent, witty, self-possessed woman who is trying to make her way in a time when women were not supposed to be these things or independent of men. I keep thinki ...more

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Oct 09, 2021 BurgendyA rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

My Cousin Rachel was a terrific story. This was the 2nd novel of Daphne du Maurier and I admit that it has her beautiful & haunting writing style. In the plot of My Cousin Rachel where the tale centers around Philip Ashley the young man who was an orphan brought up by his older cousin Ambrose. He loved Ambrose so much as a Father and Ambrose love his young cousin too. He has promised Phillip ever since his youth that all of his property & riches will be his once Ambrose passes. So, when Phillip My Cousin Rachel was a terrific story. This was the 2nd novel of Daphne du Maurier and I admit that it has her beautiful & haunting writing style. In the plot of My Cousin Rachel where the tale centers around Philip Ashley the young man who was an orphan brought up by his older cousin Ambrose. He loved Ambrose so much as a Father and Ambrose love his young cousin too. He has promised Phillip ever since his youth that all of his property & riches will be his once Ambrose passes. So, when Phillip was surprised when he receives letters from his cousin saying that he fell in love with Rachel a half English & half Italian widow named and within weeks they got married. Even though this news shocked Philip at first, but later came a few other letters from Ambrose complaining about Rachel, her spending & even accusing her of poisoning him. These foul accusations infuriate Philip and he goes to Florance, Italy. After arriving there Philip finds out that his Cousin Ambrose died two weeks ago over a tumor in the brain. This sad news angers Philip more and decides to get to know his Cousin Rachel for his revenge because he was believed in Ambrose's letters, but when Philip gets to meets Rachel his tone & motives change, and is totally smitten by her. Now I will stop here before I spoil the plot further before anyone decides to read it.

This novel was excellent and thrilling that it was a fast read for me because the tale kept me wanting to know more. The ending was a great twist that it even it was dark, but it definitely put a smile on my face. I would recommend anyone to read My Cousin Rachel. Too bad that it seems underrated thought since not so many people that I know have never heard of it. Luckily my neighbor recommend & sparked my interest to read the book. I even seen the 1952 film adaptation with Olivia de Havilland & Richard Burton I really didn't like the movie. Don't get me wrong it was awesome to see these legendary stars performing it, but Hollywood hardly stays true to the novels. As for the 2017 film version I haven't see yet, but will get a chance too. I give the novel two thumbs up and top five stars. ...more

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Nov 20, 2021 Alisha Marie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own-that-i-ve-read, gothic, favorites, classics, gorgeous-writing, five-star-books, read-in-2021

When I read Rebecca a few years ago, I found it slightly overhyped. But My Cousin Rachel? This one is under-hyped. I absolutely LOVED this book. I loved reading about the morally grey characters and loved the character of Rachel. And I'm of the opinion that she absolutely DID NOT. Your mileage of course may vary. I cannot wait to read more of Daphne Du Maurier, but I have a sneaking suspicion that My Cousin Rachel will remain my favorite. ...more

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