The Housekeeper

by Rose Tremain

In this enthralling novel—already in production as a major movie starring Anthony Hopkins, Helena Bonham Carter, Catriona Balph and Emma Laird— the award-winning author of Absolutely & Forever and The Road Home brilliantly reimagines Daphne du Maurier, and the origins of her timeless bestseller Rebecca. This daring and emotional tale of an illicit affair is narrated by a Mrs. Danowski, known as Danni, who is hired as housekeeper at Manderville Hall, Lord Grenville-Whithers’ mansion on the wild coast of Cornwall. A loyal and lonely woman troubled by childhood memories of alienation, Danni dreams of finding love. Those dreams are fulfilled when Daphne du Maurier arrives at Manderville Hall for lunch with Grenville-Whithers. Succumbing to her secret sexual desire for women, Daphne begins a love affair with Danni, meeting on the housekeeper’s days off in the secluded boathouse at Manderville Cove. For both women, this forbidden passion is both beautiful and terrifying. But of course such a love cannot last—and both Danni and Daphne must deal with the aftermath of their passion. While Danni struggles to find a new place in the world, Daphne reconfigures the experience into her most famous work, Rebecca, with surprising results.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Lesbian

352 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication September 17, 2026

About the author

Dame Rose Tremain is an acclaimed English novelist and short story writer, celebrated for her distinctive approach to historical fiction and her focus on characters who exist on the margins of society. Educated at the Sorbonne and the University of East Anglia, where she later taught creative writing and served as Chancellor, Tremain has produced a rich body of work spanning novels, short stories, plays, and memoir. Influenced by writers such as William Golding and Gabriel García Márquez, her narratives often blend psychological depth with lyrical prose.
Among her many honors, she has received the Whitbread Award for Music and Silence, the Orange Prize for The Road Home, and the National Jewish Book Award for The Gustav Sonata. She was shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Restoration and has been recognized multiple times by the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. In 2020, she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her services to literature. Tremain lives in Norfolk and continues to write, with her recent novel Absolutely and Forever shortlisted for the 2024 Walter Scott Prize.

Reviews

[Mia]

The Housekeeper is a haunting, masterful reimagining of Daphne du Maurier’s life, seen through the sharp eyes of her lover, a woman whose devotion curdles into the chilling Mrs. Danvers.
The narrative is an exploration of betrayal and hope, moving from the intimacy of the bedroom to the cold halls of Manderley. Tremain expertly captures the crushing weight of the era’s social expectations, serving as a reminder of the pervasive fear those who lived "differently" endured in silence.
For fans of du Maurier, this is an essential companion piece. It breathes new, darker life into the origins of literature’s most famous antagonist. If you treasure the gothic atmosphere of Rebecca, this evocative exploration of obsession is a must-read.

[Roman Clodia · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Birds! How terrifying if, one day, they thought we were prey and started to attack us. It might signal the end of us all.'

From the afterword, it seems that Tremain has been thinking continually about Mrs Danvers: first in a short story ('The Housekeeper' in The American Lover) then in a screenplay and, finally, now as a novel. I can't help wondering if this re-engagement has emptied out, rather than deepened, the engagement with Du Maurier and her fictional Mrs Danvers?

I was intrigued by the blurb and the idea of a novel which merges a reception of Rebecca with an engagement with Daphne du Maurier and her complicated sexuality. But, from the opening line, 'Last night I dreamed I saw Daphne again', spoken by the narrator, Lilianne Maria Danowski, the Polish Jewish housekeeper who, in the fiction, becomes transformed by Du Maurier into Mrs Danvers, we got off on the wrong foot: aping the iconic first line of Rebecca in this way felt way too obvious to me (as, indeed, did that scene of Daphne musing on the birds in the head quotation here).

As a reception of Rebecca, this certainly picks up on the queer eroticism of the original, as well as Du Maurier's affairs with women, something she identified as the 'boy' within her. But the psychology that makes the fictional author re-write Dani as a malign character didn't really work for me - and Rebecca has always contained a shadow-text that makes Mrs Danvers more the grieving widow for Rebecca than Max - the passionate beating heart of the text that can only end in emotional and physical conflagration.

I don't know: in the end, I think Rebecca is a hugely complicated and deceptive (in the best way!) text and this re-writing felt far simpler than I'd hoped. I felt that the wonderful concept at the heart of this re-writing didn't really come together and I wasn't wholly convinced by either the characters or the premise. Given the network of intertexts that already surround Rebecca, from its own reception of Jane Eyre to the companion-text of Wide Sargasso Sea which is a postcolonial and feminist insert into the Jane Eyre story, this re-visioning didn't stand up to its predecessors in the complex way I wanted.

Definitely still worth a read for fans of either Rebecca or Du Maurier. And, for anyone interested, here is my take on Rebecca.

Many thanks to Vintage for an ARC via NetGalley

[Ceecee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lilianne Maria Danowski, Mrs Danowski known as Mrs D or Danni, is the housekeeper at Manderville Hall in the employ of widower Lord Grenville-Whithers. One day the writer Daphne du Maurier visits the Hall seeking inspiration and research for her latest novel. She and Danni are very attracted to each other and begin a secret affair. However, their secret is a fragile thing and great care must be taken because judgement will be swift and unkind. Things take a turn for the worse when Mrs D discovers that her portrayal in Daphne’s new novel is of a malign, chilling and jealous figure. She decides to turn the tables on the author with a story of our own and thus The Housekeeper is born. Her life has been stolen and now she will set the record straight.

These are BIG boots to fill as like many Daphne du Maurier fans, Rebecca is one of my favourite novels of all time, indeed, it’s in my top five. However, this is Rose Tremain and in these capable, creative hands the legacy is safe. It feels authentic, believable and the storytelling is vivid with some aspects of the novel that are rooted in fact. It also conveys the late 1930’s to perfection, especially in what society believes and expects which adds to the feeling the novel evokes. As for Cornwall, its unique atmosphere comes through strongly, adding another dimension.

The author strikes a number of intriguing tones throughout the novel. There are highs and lows, light and shade, the joy and the heartache, the passion and its suppression, with the pain of jealousy and betrayal but overall, the feeling is one of sadness and melancholy, of weariness, resignation and loneliness. There’s also resilience for both women.

The portrayal of Mrs D as oppose to Mrs Danvers is a fascinating contrast and Daphne positively bounces off the pages. I can picture both with ease.

Overall, I’m totally caught up in this book, it’s a really good tribute and homage, capturing the spirit of the times, of Manderville and Manderley. If you’re a fan of Daphne du Maurier it’s well worth a read. As for that cover, if that doesn’t draw people in, I don’t know what will! It sends shivers down my spine

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Chatto and Windus - Random House U.K. /Vintage for the much appreciated early copy in return for an honest review.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Acknowledgements at the end of ‘The Housekeeper’, Rose Tremain explains that the origins of this imaginative take on the creation of the novel ‘Rebecca’ by Daphne du Maurier originates from Tremain’s short story of the same name. It feels like a travesty to say so as I much admire her writing but this version, expanded into novel form, is not the all-involving narrative I was expecting.

It helps to have read ‘Rebecca’ in order to understand the many literary echoes in ‘The Housekeeper’, also set in the 1930s. There are certainly episodes when the writer can sympathise enormously with Danni, the Jewish housekeeper from Poland who looks after the running of the beautiful house on the Cornish country estate of Manderville Hall. Danni is a lonely outsider in almost all respects. So, when Daphne du Maurier seduces her and allows her to be her true self, she falls deeply in love. Of course this is a love that must be kept secret. When it is exposed, Danni is abandoned both emotionally and materially.

Not only does Danni have to cope with this rejection; she also feels horribly shamed by her lover who goes on to use her as inspiration for the often vicious character, Mrs Danvers, in ‘Rebecca’. (Some interpretations of ‘Rebecca’ argue that Mrs Danvers was in love with Rebecca. Hence the reason why she so resents the new Mrs de Winter.)

Unusually for Tremain, there are a few ‘purple prose’ passages in the novel. These do nothing to convince the reader of the reality of the relationship between Danni and Daphne – but maybe that’s the point. It can only exist in the boathouse or in a borrowed London house.

Whilst this novel reinforces our understanding of the barriers of class and the impossibility of single sex liaisons in the first half of the twentieth century, it doesn’t expand my appreciation or understanding of ‘Rebecca’ in any way, as does ‘The Wide Sargasso Sea of ‘Jane Eyre’ or ‘Longbourn’ of “Pride and Prejudice’ for example. ‘The Housekeeper’ is likely to be enjoyed by many but it’s not up there with Tremain’s best novels.

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK Vintage for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

[Paula Sterling-Stead · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story of forbidden love and its consequences. The novel centres on a young housekeeper, Mrs Danowski — Danni — who serves at Manderville under Lord Grenville-Whithers. Danni is a Polish Jew who escaped to the UK when war broke out, and now works for the family on their sprawling Cornwall estate. Despite the importance of her role within the household, she remains a servant and is treated as such. I mention this because an underlying theme of class conflict runs through the novel — those who serve and those who are served. It surfaces during "the Bash," and again later when Danni is silenced and removed.
One day she is asked to show a guest around the estate: the famous author Daphne Du Maurier. The two feel an instant attraction and begin an illicit affair — one that would prove ruinous for Daphne if it came to light.
For Danni, the affair is all-consuming and intoxicating; it soon becomes clear that only Daphne will do. For Daphne, it is almost torturous, as she wrestles with "the boy" caged within her and the conflict he represents.
Tremain writes three-dimensional characters who spring from the page, each given a voice that is distinct and credible. Combined with her vivid rendering of Cornwall and London before WW2, it makes for a novel that truly comes alive.
Already familiar with Du Maurier's Rebecca, I was curious to see how Tremain would weave it into the story — and she delivers.
Overall, The Housekeeper is a beautiful portrayal of forbidden love within a society where reputation and social standing condemn it. A solid read, engaging from the very first page.
Thank you to NetGalley, Rose Tremain, and Random House UK for the opportunity to read this ahead of publication.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a fictionalised account of Daphne du Maurier's inspiration for Rebecca, we meet Lilianne Danowski - also known as Danni or Mrs D - housekeeper at Manderville Hall, the beautiful Cornish estate owned by the Grenville Whithers.
Daphne and Lilianne embark on a passionate affair that could ruin them both if the truth came out. A tale of love, lust and betrayal follows as Danni pours out her story from her childhood as a Jew in Poland to her current situation as a seamstress in Truro,
This was a bold and passionate story, never graphic in sexual content, but very erotic for all that. Daphne holds all the power in the relationship and is exactly as I imagined the writer of Rebecca would be. Danni is a very empathetic character, no victim, but very vulnerable to the whims of others - employers, lover, and even people she thinks of as friends.
Hers is a story of betrayal, and of aloneness - as a Jew, she is perceived as something alien by others: as a lesbian in the 1930s, equally so.
She is almost an allegory of the political and social situation of pre-war Europe.
Yet she is nevcr wholly defeated,
The whole story has echoes of Rebecca, from the beauty of Manderville itself, the legend of a woman drowned at sea, the loss of her first ladyship and the challenges of a prospective new chatelaine of the manor whom Danni cannot bring herself to like.
Rose Tremain has brought the threads of her own fictionalised story and du Maurier's original story beautifully together in the subtlest of ways. You can enjoy The Housekeeper without having read Rebecca, but I'd say it's a much richer and compelling read for those familiar with du Maurier's masterpiece.

[Joanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find myself torn about this novel. On the one hand, I found the story very compelling, but on the other, I struggled with the somewhat flowery prose. That surprised me, as it's not a style I would normally associate with Rose Tremain. I've enjoyed many of her other novels, but The Housekeeper didn't captivate me in quite the same way.

I also found the pace at the beginning rather rushed. The characters seemed to lock eyes and become completely obsessed with one another almost immediately, which I found unusual. Given the social conventions of the time, I would have expected more introspection from Danni, particularly considering her position.

I found the constraints of class and morality, and the way they ultimately made the relationship unsustainable, deeply moving. This was really the heart of the novel for me and what kept me reading. I loved the way Danni was portrayed. Daphne was a less appealing character, but again, I felt that much of her abruptness was shaped by the expectations and constraints of her class.

I understand the book is being adapted into a film, and I'll be interested to see it on the big screen, as I think the story will translate well.

My thanks to NetGalley and Vintage publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier is one of my favourite books, so I was drawn to The Housekeeper by Rose Tremain, a new author for me.

The novel charts the backstory of Rebecca, through a love affair between Daphne du Maurier and “Danni”, a housekeeper.

Danni is the inspiration for the chilling Mrs Danvers character, whose mistress died and her room is kept in her memory by her husband.

Danni rightly feels betrayed when she learns of the Rebecca novel, with her namesake used as the villain, and lots of secrets about her employer, the house and her peppered throughout the book.

It’s a tragic romance as two women in love was taboo in the early 20th century, and Daphne du Maurier had much to lose if this was made public, so it was destined to end in heartbreak.

There were lots of fun (or cheesy - I enjoyed them) references to Rebecca and Daphne du Maurier’s other works.

I was really excited to read that it is being made into a film - can’t wait! I’d recommend it to anyone who loves Rebecca as much as I do!

Thanks to Rose Tremain, Random House UK and NetGalley for this ARC in return for an honest review.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was intrigued when I was asked by NetGalley to review this interesting slant on Rebecca Daphne Du Maurier classic story.

I was not sure what to expect and read without any misconceptions and so enjoyed this slant on a classic. reimaging Rebecca the gothic novel. Danni fled the Nazi and became a housekeeper in Cornwall. After the death of her mistress Daphne Du Maurier meets up with her and a passionate affair begins. Danni is kept in the subservient role and is dumped by the author fearing terrible social scandal. Danni is futher disgraced by being protrayed as the terrible Mrs Danvers who was so obseed with the dead Rebecca and as you know from the novel Rebecca tries to destroy the new Mrs De Winter and her marriage.- it is an interesting view and slant.

This is also being made into a movie with an all star cast - which I will be interested to watch when this comes out at the Tivoli Cinema in Cheltenham with a cocktail.

[Cathy Beyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is always difficult to write a novel that refers to another novel which the readers may or may not have read and if they have, they may compare it (un)favorably with the original novel. Rose Tremain must have been aware of this so she had a difficult task to fulfil. I have conflicted feelings about this. On the one hand, Tremain is a wonderful and experienced writer so as a novel in itself The Housekeeper is a joy to read. On the other hand, the whole alternate reality storyline that refers to Du Maurier and her novel Rebecca goes a bit far, in my opinion. I am sure some research was done and maybe some of the novel's ideas have some roots in reality but it's hard to imagine the whole novel as anything else but a work of fiction made up by a clever writer. It's enjoyable, well written and so, reader, take it for what it is.

[Laura Spira · Rating 4 out of 5]

An astonishing book. I read it in two sittings, completely gripped. At the simplest level it’s the back story of Mrs Danvers, the housekeeper in Daphne du Maurier’s famous book Rebecca, or rather a fictional account of how the character was created by du Maurier. But Rose Tremain’s invention is also a profound exploration of love and loneliness. The central characters are vividly brought to life although I found the minor characters less convincing. Indeed the entire book is very visual and I was very interested to read in the acknowledgements that a film is underway. It occurs to me that there is now a whole generation of younger readers who may not be familiar with Rebecca: I wonder how that affects one’s reading of this book.
Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for the ARC

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was sent an advance proof copy of The Housekeeper by Rose Tremain to read and review by NetGalley. I love Rose Tremain’s writing so I was eager to request and read this book and it did not disappoint. One thing I will say though is read the book Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, that this novel is based on, first as there are plenty of spoilers dotted throughout the story. In the acknowledgements at the end of the book it states that there is a film of The Housekeeper being made and having enjoyed the book I am excited to see how it translates to the screen. If you love reading Rose Tremain and/or Daphne du Maurier then this novel is for you.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my what an intriguing storyline. For the most part, it’s quite a sad novel delving into the life of Danni, a Polish-born Housekeeper, who meets and falls in love with Daphne du Maurier. Over the years Danni has fought have for survival and growth, with her story told in past and real time. The secret lovers keep their affair hidden, until the ultimate discovery resulting in a turnaround of circumstances. The novel makes interesting and informative reading and the author introduces a strong Mrs Danvers look-alike character in Danni.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers Random House for this ARC in return for a review

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a re-imagining, and I love Rose Tremain, so this novel, based (also) on one of my favourite novels, 'Rebecca' (Daphne Du Maurier, like you needed to know) concentrated on the Mrs. Danvers character. It's not necessary to read 'Rebecca' first, but if you have, it will illuminate your thoughts, for sure. Tremain takes this complex and dark character, and makes you understand her. I loved it, and I'm delighted to see there's a film about to be made. Excellent. I hope it does this brilliant novel justice. Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

[Jackie Murrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is inspired by Daphne du Maurier’s classic “Rebecca,” perhaps the first psychological thriller with twists and an unreliable narrator.
Tremain’s heroine is Lillian Danowski, known as Danni, a Polish emigrant who fled the Nazis and became the trusted housekeeper of a stately home in Cornwall. After the death of her mistress, she meets du Maurier and the two begin a passionate affair, although Danni is kept in a subserviant role and is eventually dropped rather brutally when they face discovery, with the author fearing the loss of both family and career as well as public disgrace. Danni is further devastated when she discovers that she features in the novel as the “villain,” Mrs Danvers, the housekeeper who had been obsessed with the dead Rebecca and who tries to destroy the new Mrs de Winter and her marriage. I found the affair between Danni and Daphne rather unconvincing and the depiction of it sometimes unintentionally hilarious, especially Daphne’s coy way of speaking and her use of the term “waxing” to describe their lovemaking. While I loved the idea of a backstory for Mrs Danvers, this didn’t work for me. However, the book is already being made into a film with a starry cast, and I think that it might well work better on the screen than on the page.

[Suzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was intrigued to read this twist on DuMaurier’s Rebecca. The housekeeper is quite a sad tale. Seamstress Danni is reflecting on her time as Housekeeper at a rather grand house where for a time she was lover to the great author.
Both the housekeeper and the house become inspiration for Rebecca.

I shall definitely go see the film when this comes out.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the copy to review.

[Leanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Housekeeper is a beautifully unsettling reimagining of the shadows behind Rebecca, told in a voice that feels both intimate and quietly bruised. Rose Tremain gives Danni Danowski her own story at last — a housekeeper on the wild Cornish coast whose life is upended when a young, magnetic Daphne du Maurier arrives at Manderville Hall. What begins as a charged, intoxicating connection soon deepens into something far more dangerous: the kind of love that alters the air around you, that makes the ordinary world feel suddenly thin.

Tremain captures that fragile shimmer of desire with exquisite restraint. The affair feels secretive and salt‑stung, full of glances that say too much and silences that say even more. And when Daphne’s triumph becomes Danni’s heartbreak — when she finds herself twisted into a jealous spectre on the page — the betrayal lands with a quiet, devastating force. It’s the cruelty of being rewritten, of watching your truth reshaped into someone else’s fiction.

What lingers is Tremain’s meditation on authorship and erasure: who gets to be remembered, who gets sacrificed for art, and how a woman might reclaim her own voice after being turned into a ghost. The result is atmospheric, elegant, and steeped in melancholy — a novel that feels as though it has blown in from the Cornish cliffs at dusk, carrying secrets in its wake.

With thanks to Rose Tremain, the publisher and netgalley for the ARC

[Stephen the Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

"...That was a statement my father used to utter frequently, that we only have one life, but he used to add something else, He used to say, 'The secret of a successful One Life is to cram many lives into it. As many as possible.'"

Over many years, Rose Tremain has written some superb novels- Restoration; The Road home and The Gustav Sonata to name but three.

The Housekeeper will join this compendium of fictional brilliance.

This is a tale that imagines the creation behind Daphne Du Maurier's phenomenal novel "Rebecca".

This is a novel of suppressed love and emotions told from the perspective of Lillian Danowski- Danni the Housekeeper at Manderville Hall. When Daphne du Maurier visits the hall, Danni is requested by Lord Grenville- Whithers to accompany the writer on a tour of the estate; a fire is lit and an all consuming but forbidden passion begins.

As changes occur at Manderville Hall, Danni's life is thrown into turmoil and a subsequent exit. Throughout the events of the story, she reminisces about her childhood in Poland as Jewish girl and subsequent escape with her father- the rejection, not belonging and not being accepted for who she is.

The story of Danni is heart-breaking but with moments of light and understanding. The ultimate rejection and treatment by the writer is compelling and cleverly delivered.... darkly summed up in the line " Do you think I will ever find it, Danni? The key to a story which no one will ever forget?"

This is a beautiful novel laced with melancholy - an awareness that the path taken can never succeed despite the power of imagination and every moment of happiness should be seized . Full of period details , class division and social history from the late 1930s with WWII on the horizon- the lives of the fortunates and less fortunates in all strata. This a is gripping read that pulled me in and one I couldn't put down. Rose Tremain is the consummate storyteller.

A film version of the novel is due to be released in the autumn which will be interesting - written by Rose Tremain

" Learn from them Lilianne. Learn animal endurance. Learn stillness. Then your life will consider much less to disappoint you."

"Sometimes we become the thing which others see in us. It felt to me that nothing remained for me except to embrace this darkness."

Thank you to Chatto & Windus and NetGalley for the advance copy for an honest review