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Enchanted Cornwall: My Pictorial Memoir
Completed shortly before her death in 1989, this is Daphne du Maurier's personal memoir, the story of how in Cornwall she found herself as a writer and as a person. Illustrated with 78 colour and black-and-white photographs, including many from the author’s personal collection, this is the story of a magical relationship between an extraordinary woman and the spirit of a place. It will have special significance for millions who have enjoyed her books and want to know more about this very private author. Here is the story of what led her to write Rebecca, which this year won the W H Smith Nation’s Favourite Book Competition ahead of novels by Dickens, Austen, Orwell and the Brontës. Here is what moved Daphne to write My Cousin Rachel, made into one of 2017’s must-see movies, and what in her personal life led to Jamaica Inn, Frenchman’s Creek, The House on the Strand, The Birds and many other of her best-known stories. Here is a book for all to enjoy: her readers, those who have enjoyed her films, and lovers of beauty and enchantment everywhere.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dame Daphne du Maurier (Lady Browning) was born in London in 1907, the second daughter of Sir Gerald and Lady Muriel du Maurier. He was the leading actor manager of the day, and Daphne grew up in a wildly imaginative Peter Pan world peopled by writers and actors, J M Barrie (known as Uncle Jim) included.
In 1926 Daphne travelled with her mother and two sisters, Angela and Jeanne, to Fowey in Cornwall and her life was immediately transformed. The place and its people inspired her to write her first novel, The Loving Spirit, which so affected a young major in the Grenadier Guards, later Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Browning, that he travelled to Fowey in his boat, Ygdrasil (The Tree of Fate), to meet its author. They later married.
Numerous books followed, the most enduring being the Cornish works, including the multi-million selling Rebecca, Jamaica Inn, Frenchman's Creek, The King's General, My Cousin Rachel, and The Birds.
Dame Daphne died on April 19, 1989, at home at Kilmarth, her house set high on the cliffs, near Par, in Cornwall.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dame Daphne du Maurier (Lady Browning) was born in London in 1907, the second daughter of Sir Gerald and Lady Muriel du Maurier. He was the leading actor manager of the day, and Daphne grew up in a wildly imaginative Peter Pan world peopled by writers and actors, J M Barrie (known as Uncle Jim) included.
In 1926 Daphne travelled with her mother and two sisters, Angela and Jeanne, to Fowey in Cornwall and her life was immediately transformed. The place and its people inspired her to write her first novel, The Loving Spirit, which so affected a young major in the Grenadier Guards, later Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Browning, that he travelled to Fowey in his boat, Ygdrasil (The Tree of Fate), to meet its author. They later married.
Numerous books followed, the most enduring being the Cornish works, including the multi-million selling Rebecca, Jamaica Inn, Frenchman's Creek, The King's General, My Cousin Rachel, and The Birds.
Dame Daphne died on April 19, 1989, at home at Kilmarth, her house set high on the cliffs, near Par, in Cornwall.
175 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 1989
23 people are currently reading
255 people want to read
About the author
Daphne du Maurier
425 books10.2k followersDaphne du Maurier was born on 13 May 1907 at 24 Cumberland Terrace, Regent's Park, London, the middle of three daughters of prominent actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and actress Muriel, née Beaumont. In many ways her life resembles a fairy tale. Born into a family with a rich artistic and historical background, her paternal grandfather was author and Punch cartoonist George du Maurier, who created the character of Svengali in the 1894 novel Trilby, and her mother was a maternal niece of journalist, author, and lecturer Comyns Beaumont. She and her sisters were indulged as a children and grew up enjoying enormous freedom from financial and parental restraint. Her elder sister, Angela du Maurier, also became a writer, and her younger sister Jeanne was a painter.
She spent her youth sailing boats, travelling on the Continent with friends, and writing stories. Her family connections helped her establish her literary career, and she published some of her early work in Beaumont's Bystander magazine. 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, whom she married.
She continued writing under her maiden name, and her subsequent novels became bestsellers, earning her enormous wealth and fame. Many have been successfully adapted into films, including the novels Rebecca, Frenchman's Creek, My Cousin Rachel, and Jamaica Inn, and the short stories The Birds and Don't Look Now/Not After Midnight. While Alfred Hitchcock's films based upon her novels 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 of 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 of 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.
She spent her youth sailing boats, travelling on the Continent with friends, and writing stories. Her family connections helped her establish her literary career, and she published some of her early work in Beaumont's Bystander magazine. 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, whom she married.
She continued writing under her maiden name, and her subsequent novels became bestsellers, earning her enormous wealth and fame. Many have been successfully adapted into films, including the novels Rebecca, Frenchman's Creek, My Cousin Rachel, and Jamaica Inn, and the short stories The Birds and Don't Look Now/Not After Midnight. While Alfred Hitchcock's films based upon her novels 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 of 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 of 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.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
March 2, 2011
Excellent companion book for any serious fan of du Maurier. This book, published about a year after her death, is her pictorial memoir and features excerpts from all of her major works, photos from her personal collection, beautiful phototography of all the places in Cornwall from her books, as well as her own fascinating insights on her early life and her writing life.
I only meant to read a small portion around midnight before going to bed, but ended up devouring this until I came up for air around 3:00 a.m. If this review reads a bit punchy, it's because I am :)
My favorite parts revolved around her most famous book, Rebecca. I could easily relate to du Maurier's obsession with the real life prototype of Manderley, a house named "Menabilly". du Maurier began stalking the derelict and unoccupied mansion during several forays when she lived in the area. She would go there and sit for long hours on the grass outside and just gaze at the house and dream of all the lives lived there. Once, she gained entrance to the home via an unclasped window and roamed the interior with a flashlight. Much later after writing Rebecca, she and her family had the rare priviledge of renting Menabilly and living there for many years. (How cool is THAT?)
In fact, after reading this book and looking at all the places in and around Cornwall, it's hard to imagine a more perfect place for the London-born du Maurier's writing talent to flourish and expand. This is a book I will refer back to again and again as I re-read du Maurier's books. It also makes a perfect stand-alone book for the dreamer in all of us.
I only meant to read a small portion around midnight before going to bed, but ended up devouring this until I came up for air around 3:00 a.m. If this review reads a bit punchy, it's because I am :)
My favorite parts revolved around her most famous book, Rebecca. I could easily relate to du Maurier's obsession with the real life prototype of Manderley, a house named "Menabilly". du Maurier began stalking the derelict and unoccupied mansion during several forays when she lived in the area. She would go there and sit for long hours on the grass outside and just gaze at the house and dream of all the lives lived there. Once, she gained entrance to the home via an unclasped window and roamed the interior with a flashlight. Much later after writing Rebecca, she and her family had the rare priviledge of renting Menabilly and living there for many years. (How cool is THAT?)
In fact, after reading this book and looking at all the places in and around Cornwall, it's hard to imagine a more perfect place for the London-born du Maurier's writing talent to flourish and expand. This is a book I will refer back to again and again as I re-read du Maurier's books. It also makes a perfect stand-alone book for the dreamer in all of us.
March 15, 2022
It can be hard to revisit an author you loved as a 12 year old. How could I ever have loved that hysterical claptrap. Still—du Maurier is a special case and I enjoyed this book. She convinces the reader that there is something worth revisiting. It’s hard to ignore a writer who came up with ideas that are so beautifully set in a particular place and time.
Enchanted Cornwall was written towards the end of her life as a writer and published just before her death. I imagine she didn’t have the health or energy for another novel, but still had the drive to write.
The title, Enchanted Cornwall, almost suggests a travel book. That is only right to a very small degree. What the book does is explain a little of her family background, how she came to see Cornwall as her special place and how that place was so important in so many of her books. There are photos throughout which were either taken by her or by others of her in spots that inspired scenes from her Cornwall novels.
She may not have been the most “deep thinking” of novelists but she knew how to research and develop historical incidents. Her own family was full of artsy celebrities. Her grandfather was a popular novelist in his day and both her parents were actors. Her father was sort of a Kenneth Branagh of his day and her childhood home entertained the important theatre people of the time. She and her sisters were inspired to dress in costumes and Daphne was the writer enacting all the historical fantasies.
Her home from the age of 20 on was Cornwall. She explains how she heard stories and tales of the area connected to the Civil War, wreckers and pirates. This book makes it understandable that she should develop her trademark over-the-top romantic gothic tales. And then there is everyone’s favorite, Rebecca. It was her only contemporary Cornwall story. It’s all about the house and for 26 years it was du Maurier’s house.
The best of this book shows how a writer developed her novels from small beginnings, researched and toiled in her very gothic style. The turmoil, jealousy and domestic violence is not pretty romance. Maybe her books should be read by adults instead of 12 year olds.
Enchanted Cornwall was written towards the end of her life as a writer and published just before her death. I imagine she didn’t have the health or energy for another novel, but still had the drive to write.
The title, Enchanted Cornwall, almost suggests a travel book. That is only right to a very small degree. What the book does is explain a little of her family background, how she came to see Cornwall as her special place and how that place was so important in so many of her books. There are photos throughout which were either taken by her or by others of her in spots that inspired scenes from her Cornwall novels.
She may not have been the most “deep thinking” of novelists but she knew how to research and develop historical incidents. Her own family was full of artsy celebrities. Her grandfather was a popular novelist in his day and both her parents were actors. Her father was sort of a Kenneth Branagh of his day and her childhood home entertained the important theatre people of the time. She and her sisters were inspired to dress in costumes and Daphne was the writer enacting all the historical fantasies.
Her home from the age of 20 on was Cornwall. She explains how she heard stories and tales of the area connected to the Civil War, wreckers and pirates. This book makes it understandable that she should develop her trademark over-the-top romantic gothic tales. And then there is everyone’s favorite, Rebecca. It was her only contemporary Cornwall story. It’s all about the house and for 26 years it was du Maurier’s house.
The best of this book shows how a writer developed her novels from small beginnings, researched and toiled in her very gothic style. The turmoil, jealousy and domestic violence is not pretty romance. Maybe her books should be read by adults instead of 12 year olds.
February 6, 2023
★★★☆☆ 3.25 stars
"Janet brama la libertà come l'avevo bramata io; quando vedeva una nave che lasciava il porto di Plyn con le vele spiegate al vento per poi allontanarsi come un fantasma silenzioso sulla superficie del mare, tutto il suo essere veniva scosso da un palpito di intenso dolore. Il cuore le si straziava per il desiderio di andare via anche lei, di essere parte della nave, parte dei mari e del cielo al di sopra, felice e libera come un gabbiano".
"Janet brama la libertà come l'avevo bramata io; quando vedeva una nave che lasciava il porto di Plyn con le vele spiegate al vento per poi allontanarsi come un fantasma silenzioso sulla superficie del mare, tutto il suo essere veniva scosso da un palpito di intenso dolore. Il cuore le si straziava per il desiderio di andare via anche lei, di essere parte della nave, parte dei mari e del cielo al di sopra, felice e libera come un gabbiano".
June 10, 2016
There is only one way to describe Daphne du Maurier's 'Enchanted Cornwall' and that is, enchanting. It is a marvellous book with some superb illustrations both scenic and family related and the way she tells the story endears one to the lady herself and her surroundings immediately.
She begins in her foreword explaining the difference between being a recluse and being a loner. The reason that she was thought of as a recluse was that she did not go out socially and she didn't want to do constant TV interviews. She explains that she was not lonely, that she had always liked being on her own and therefore she should be classed as 'solitary' not reclusive. Being very much of this vein myself these days, I can fully empathise with her view; I am now officially 'solitary' - although I don't mind being classed as a recluse!
Throughout the book Daphne (if I may call her that) gives a very good idea of how Cornwall has communicated with her and vice versa and for evidence of this she states that it was in Cornwall that she found herself both as a writer and a person. She travelled Cornwall with something of a dreamer's freedom and she found that places and houses seemed to whisper their secrets to her and even to share their sorrows and joys throughout the years with her.
She had a cherished upbringing with her father being the actor-manager Gerald du Maurier and her grandfather the author George du Maurier. She tells countless tales of the pair of them and how they, too, influenced her thinking and later writing. London was fine, Paris, at a finishing school, was exhilarating, but when, on 13 September 1926, her mother, herself and her two sisters set out for Cornwall in search of a holiday home, everything changed. From the minute she espied Fowey harbour she was smitten!
She found freedom to walk, to wander, to climb hills, to pull a boat and to write and, in support of her foreword views, 'to be alone'. They duly bought their holiday home, Swiss Cottage, renamed Ferryside as its original name had 'horrid associations with an underground railway station in the Finchley Road at home, in London'. It was whilst staying at Ferryside that she discovered stories and relics that she was later to weave into her various Cornish stories. And throughout the book there are swathes of extracts from her various Cornish novels [these should be avoided - as I avoided them - if one does not want to get to know too much about the novels before reading them].
She writes lovingly of her happy marriage to Lieutentant-General Sir Frederick Browning and of her search for the perfect home of their own. She found it, on the Gribben headland when she spotted 'the grey roof of a house set in its own ground in the midst of trees'. This was Menabilly, and even though she was not able to secure it initially, 'the lure of Menabilly was upon me'.
When it came up for leasing some time later she was delighted and, having imagined what had gone on there in the past often enough, she was able to secure it on a long-term lease. Of course, Menabilly became the prototype for Manderley in her novel 'Rebecca'. When she was obliged to move, regretfully and tearfully, in June 1969 she was fortunate enough to move to Kilmarth, the one-time dower house to Menabilly, so she and Tommy retained their Cornish residence in their ideal location.
'Enchanted Cornwall' has lots more stories to tell for it is a book written with love and passion and one which passes these feelings on to its readers thus making it most enjoyable. And the illustrations are excellent throughout; the scenes are superb and particularly fascinating are the photographs from the family albums.
She begins in her foreword explaining the difference between being a recluse and being a loner. The reason that she was thought of as a recluse was that she did not go out socially and she didn't want to do constant TV interviews. She explains that she was not lonely, that she had always liked being on her own and therefore she should be classed as 'solitary' not reclusive. Being very much of this vein myself these days, I can fully empathise with her view; I am now officially 'solitary' - although I don't mind being classed as a recluse!
Throughout the book Daphne (if I may call her that) gives a very good idea of how Cornwall has communicated with her and vice versa and for evidence of this she states that it was in Cornwall that she found herself both as a writer and a person. She travelled Cornwall with something of a dreamer's freedom and she found that places and houses seemed to whisper their secrets to her and even to share their sorrows and joys throughout the years with her.
She had a cherished upbringing with her father being the actor-manager Gerald du Maurier and her grandfather the author George du Maurier. She tells countless tales of the pair of them and how they, too, influenced her thinking and later writing. London was fine, Paris, at a finishing school, was exhilarating, but when, on 13 September 1926, her mother, herself and her two sisters set out for Cornwall in search of a holiday home, everything changed. From the minute she espied Fowey harbour she was smitten!
She found freedom to walk, to wander, to climb hills, to pull a boat and to write and, in support of her foreword views, 'to be alone'. They duly bought their holiday home, Swiss Cottage, renamed Ferryside as its original name had 'horrid associations with an underground railway station in the Finchley Road at home, in London'. It was whilst staying at Ferryside that she discovered stories and relics that she was later to weave into her various Cornish stories. And throughout the book there are swathes of extracts from her various Cornish novels [these should be avoided - as I avoided them - if one does not want to get to know too much about the novels before reading them].
She writes lovingly of her happy marriage to Lieutentant-General Sir Frederick Browning and of her search for the perfect home of their own. She found it, on the Gribben headland when she spotted 'the grey roof of a house set in its own ground in the midst of trees'. This was Menabilly, and even though she was not able to secure it initially, 'the lure of Menabilly was upon me'.
When it came up for leasing some time later she was delighted and, having imagined what had gone on there in the past often enough, she was able to secure it on a long-term lease. Of course, Menabilly became the prototype for Manderley in her novel 'Rebecca'. When she was obliged to move, regretfully and tearfully, in June 1969 she was fortunate enough to move to Kilmarth, the one-time dower house to Menabilly, so she and Tommy retained their Cornish residence in their ideal location.
'Enchanted Cornwall' has lots more stories to tell for it is a book written with love and passion and one which passes these feelings on to its readers thus making it most enjoyable. And the illustrations are excellent throughout; the scenes are superb and particularly fascinating are the photographs from the family albums.
December 8, 2019
In "Enchanted Cornwall: My Pictorial Memoir", Daphne du Maurier shows and explains why Cornwall was important to her and the inspiration for many of her books. I read on my Fire Device, so I could enjoy colored and the black and white pictures. This is a nice combination of family, personal and some insight into books that were inspired by Cornell. I had read almost all the books she mentions but some I look forward to re-reading and coming back here to understand her and her story better. Many fairly long passages from several books brings her points home. "Rebecca", "The House on the Strand", "Jamaican Inn", "Castle Dor", "The King's General", "Rule Britannica", "My Cousin Rachel", "The Scapegoat" and her grandfather's Peter Ibberson. Many of her comments on her stories helped my understanding of questionable ends. This is a must read for Daphne fans. I had read her, "Myself, When Young" and when starting "Enchanted Cornwall" I thought there was going to be a lot of similarities but really this is quite different with some repeating.
"Later, when I started writing, the different characters became people on paper, that’s all. Each book is a thing of the moment, a phase one is going through — just like our games were as children. When I am writing I have to become each person (though sometimes they surprise me). It’s very like acting."
I look forward to re-reading the books she mentions which I have already read, at some point and the ones I have yet not read, that includes George du Maurier and hopefully Angela's books will be Kindle ready!!
"Later, when I started writing, the different characters became people on paper, that’s all. Each book is a thing of the moment, a phase one is going through — just like our games were as children. When I am writing I have to become each person (though sometimes they surprise me). It’s very like acting."
I look forward to re-reading the books she mentions which I have already read, at some point and the ones I have yet not read, that includes George du Maurier and hopefully Angela's books will be Kindle ready!!
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September 18, 2022Cercando libri sulla Cornovaglia ho trovato questo, in un'edizione anastatica fatta malissimo.
Capisco che sia più semplice fare così anziché lavorare di nuovo a un libro, ma non si fa un buon servizio né all'autrice né a chi vuole
leggerlo.
Nel libro Du Maurier racconta il suo amore per la Cornovaglia che è entrato molto nei suoi libri, quindi il libretto è pieno di lunghissime citazioni in corpo 6, a dire tanto. Per leggerle serviva la lente di ingrandimento. Tra l'altro senza
un'introduzione o una nota di traduzione per gran parte del testo non si capisce cosa voglia davvero raccontare.
Un peccato, speravo fosse una chicca ma perché lo fosse sarebbe stato necessario un buon lavoro editoriale.
Capisco che sia più semplice fare così anziché lavorare di nuovo a un libro, ma non si fa un buon servizio né all'autrice né a chi vuole
leggerlo.
Nel libro Du Maurier racconta il suo amore per la Cornovaglia che è entrato molto nei suoi libri, quindi il libretto è pieno di lunghissime citazioni in corpo 6, a dire tanto. Per leggerle serviva la lente di ingrandimento. Tra l'altro senza
un'introduzione o una nota di traduzione per gran parte del testo non si capisce cosa voglia davvero raccontare.
Un peccato, speravo fosse una chicca ma perché lo fosse sarebbe stato necessario un buon lavoro editoriale.
July 25, 2022
Una especie de memorias de Daphne du Maurier en las que nos cuenta hasta qué punto su vida y su obra están ligadas a esa región del suroeste de Inglaterra que es Cornualles. ¡Ojo! Hay spoilers y citas de aquellas de sus novelas (muchas) que se desarrollan ahí, pero con un poco de cuidado es fácil evitarlos.
Las fotografías son maravillosas.
Para admiradores de la escritora y su obra.
Las fotografías son maravillosas.
Para admiradores de la escritora y su obra.
March 10, 2011
An interesting pictorial by Daphne du Maurier. I loved the pictures of Cornwall, not so much the text in between. While some of it was interesting, du Maurier presented a narration of places in Cornwall in which her books were based, along with some of its history. She included some of the book text which I found tedious. I actually skipped quite a few of them.
Some of the most interesting parts of the book were how she met her future husband, the story behind Castle Dor and inspiration for Rebecca. The rest I could have skipped and not felt anything was missed.
This being said, I did a google map search for one of the first places she lived in in Fowey and found it still there in much the same condition. I was also able to 'walk' up to the pub she visited now and again.
Some of the most interesting parts of the book were how she met her future husband, the story behind Castle Dor and inspiration for Rebecca. The rest I could have skipped and not felt anything was missed.
This being said, I did a google map search for one of the first places she lived in in Fowey and found it still there in much the same condition. I was also able to 'walk' up to the pub she visited now and again.
January 3, 2018
Absolutely loved this memoir in which Daphne du Maurier describes her love of Cornwall and explores those parts of the Cornish landscape that provided the inspiration for many of her novels and short stories. The author includes appropriate excerpts from her novels to illustrate her descriptions which have only inspired me to want to read even more of her work! Reading this whilst on holiday in Cornwall only made the experience of reading this book even more special. 10/10.
December 25, 2012
I skipped over the excerpts which take up most of this memoir - she gives away the whole story(ies)!
The pictures are gorgeous and I enjoyed getting a feel for how this place shaped du Maurier's writing. But where was her life? You could probably condense all that she actually wrote about her own life and history onto one page!
The pictures are gorgeous and I enjoyed getting a feel for how this place shaped du Maurier's writing. But where was her life? You could probably condense all that she actually wrote about her own life and history onto one page!
January 30, 2009
Actually I read The House on the Strand set in Cornwall and suggested to me by Sandra's sister Susan. It concerns time travel but couldl have had a better historical tale to go back in time to.
September 1, 2019
A wonderful insight into the inspiration for some of her her most famous books Rebecca, My Cousin Rachel, Jamaica Inn, Castle Dor, Loving Spirit from the landscape, people and histories of Cornwall - read on holiday near Fowey where she first lived at Ferryman and wrote her first book inspired by a wrecked ship built locally, the boatbuilder’s mother as figurehead. Also her passion for Menabilly, the house that inspired Manderley which she was finally able to lease and restore after the war. Such an interesting read with pictures of Cornwall and large excerpts from the novels.
November 15, 2022
Of interest to people who enjoy du Maurier's books, as she writes about the places and experiences which were the catalysts for various plots. No startling revelations, but these were not to be expected of so private a person. The book includes extensive quotes from the various novels she mentions, and a lot of photographs of the places and houses around which she wove her stories.
August 15, 2017
Fun as a companion to her books.
November 24, 2020
Reading this book during the pandemic was truly an "enchanted" experience for me!
I have been a fan of Daphne du Maurier for as long as I can remember, and have often said that if I were to be marooned on a desert island with one book and one movie, the movie would be "Gladiator, and the book would be "Rebecca." Her prose is so spellbinding and so continuous, it's like entering not only another world but the soul of another person, with fears and passions and impulsiveness and regrets. I don't know what brought this book to my attention, but I had it in hand mid-summer of 2020, while most local businesses were still closed and we were all still sorting out our approaches to the words "Covid" and "pandemic" with anxiety and fear.
I had recently discovered what amounted to my own "secret garden" during this time, on the beautifully landscaped grounds of a lovely museum that was closed to the public at this time. The outdoor cafe area still had its tables and chairs on the patio surrounded by trees and flowers and whimsical sculptures, and hidden by tall hedges from few people who were walking right past on the sidewalk beyond. In the cool shade of this magical place was where I finally read this captivating book, which combines the author's narratives about her life and photos of her beloved Cornwall with juxtaposed passages from the books that drew from those experiences. I had had no idea before this just how much of her inspiration had been drawn from those things in Cornwall that she had seen and learned and touched. Manderley, for starters! I returned to my secret garden again and again as I digested the book in chapters, and imagined her journeys of discovery as she explored the countryside as a young woman, and allowed her imagination to lay mesmerizing narratives upon the local history or landmarks, such as Frenchman's Creek, and Rebecca, and Jamaica Inn.
I highly recommend finding this book in hardcover, either through your library system or through a bookstore, since its tangible size and weight and those lovely photographs just create a charming, hypnotic experience.
I have been a fan of Daphne du Maurier for as long as I can remember, and have often said that if I were to be marooned on a desert island with one book and one movie, the movie would be "Gladiator, and the book would be "Rebecca." Her prose is so spellbinding and so continuous, it's like entering not only another world but the soul of another person, with fears and passions and impulsiveness and regrets. I don't know what brought this book to my attention, but I had it in hand mid-summer of 2020, while most local businesses were still closed and we were all still sorting out our approaches to the words "Covid" and "pandemic" with anxiety and fear.
I had recently discovered what amounted to my own "secret garden" during this time, on the beautifully landscaped grounds of a lovely museum that was closed to the public at this time. The outdoor cafe area still had its tables and chairs on the patio surrounded by trees and flowers and whimsical sculptures, and hidden by tall hedges from few people who were walking right past on the sidewalk beyond. In the cool shade of this magical place was where I finally read this captivating book, which combines the author's narratives about her life and photos of her beloved Cornwall with juxtaposed passages from the books that drew from those experiences. I had had no idea before this just how much of her inspiration had been drawn from those things in Cornwall that she had seen and learned and touched. Manderley, for starters! I returned to my secret garden again and again as I digested the book in chapters, and imagined her journeys of discovery as she explored the countryside as a young woman, and allowed her imagination to lay mesmerizing narratives upon the local history or landmarks, such as Frenchman's Creek, and Rebecca, and Jamaica Inn.
I highly recommend finding this book in hardcover, either through your library system or through a bookstore, since its tangible size and weight and those lovely photographs just create a charming, hypnotic experience.
April 9, 2014
A absolutely fabulous read that makes me want to delve into a Du Maurier novel straight away. The descriptions of her Cornwall with added titbits of history only enhanced the joy I had in reading this book. The photos and poems and excerpts of her books were wondefully added and slotted in perfectly! For anybody who loves Daphne Du Maurier novels , or loves Cornwall - read this , it's an absolute treasure of a book!
September 25, 2012
This is Daphne Du Maurier's personal memoir, the story of how enchanted Cornwall formed her as a writer. Her novels set in the area are familiar: Rebecca, Frenchman's Creek, Jamaica Inn, The House on the Strand, Castle Dor as well as short stories The Birds and Don't Look Now. Peppered with photos and text from her works, one understands how special Cornwall was to her and her writing.
August 30, 2011
wonderful way to connect with Daphne du Maurier through the land she loved and the land that is so significant to her works.
Want to read
August 22, 2012A Goodwill find. I liked the pictures when I flipped through it, and I've liked what few of her writings I've read, so I went ahead and got it for $1.50. It should be interesting.
January 21, 2014
Absolutely loved! A great book about a favorite author!
March 29, 2014
Wonderful book--but there are spoilers and they can sneak up on you.
June 14, 2014
For Daphne du Maurier fans
Read
December 11, 2016Better than the other Cornwall memoir by du Maurier. This has more of her personal history interwoven with the Cornwall scenery and history. OK
October 16, 2010
A nice companion to anyone reading any of Du Maurier's works.
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