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Rebecca
[Penguin Readers Level 5]
"Last Night I Dreamt
I Went To Manderley Again."
"Last Night I Dreamt
I Went To Manderley Again."
So the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter remembered the chilling events that led her down the turning drive past ther beeches, white and naked, to the isolated gray stone manse on the windswept Cornish coast. With a husband she barely knew, the young bride arrived at this immense estate, only to be inexorably drawn into the life of the first Mrs. de Winter, the beautiful Rebecca, dead but never forgotten...her suite of rooms never touched, her clothes ready to be worn, her servant -- the sinister Mrs. Danvers -- still loyal. And as an eerie presentiment of evil tightened around her heart, the second Mrs. de Winter began her search for the real fate of Rebecca...for the secrets of Manderley.
- GenresClassics
105 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1999
About the author
Daphne du Maurier
437 books10.7k 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 - 30 of 32 reviews
January 27, 2026
Una versión adaptada para estudiantes que capta bien los detalles básicos de la historia. Leí el libro original hace años y, aunque apenas recuerdo nada, no he sentido que esta edición resumida te deje con dudas.
Consta de 99 páginas y se utiliza un lenguaje sencillo, por lo que lo puede leer cualquiera que tenga un nivel medio de inglés.
La historia tiene como protagonista a una mujer cuyo nombre nunca llegamos a conocer. Acaba de contraer matrimonio con Maxim de Winter, un hombre que perdió a Rebecca, primera esposa, hace unos meses. Tras la luna de miel, proceden a instalarse en Manderley, la mansión que él posee, pero será allí donde nuestra protagonista lo empiece a pasar mal al sentir que todo gira en torno a la figura de Rebecca. A pesar de estar muerta, Rebecca sigue presente en la casa y en la mente de los que habitan en ella...
El desarrollo de los acontecimientos es lo suficientemente intrigante como para que siempre quieras saber cómo acabará todo. Rebecca parecía ejercer fascinación y temor a partes iguales, por lo que no puedes dar por hecho nada sobre ella. Maxim es un personaje más gris, transmite apatía y no sabes qué le pasa exactamente por la cabeza, aunque sorprende con ciertas revelaciones. En cuanto a la protagonista, lo que más destaca es su inocencia y su inacción incluso cuando le hacen alguna que otra trastada. De los demás personajes poco se puede decir porque sus aportaciones a la trama son muy concretas y no ahondamos en ellos.
Desde mi punto de vista, el libro hubiera ganado puntos si no fuera tan aséptico. No se notan los vínculos emocionales entre los personajes y son fríos incluso cuando están al límite.
A pesar de que el desenlace resuelve todos los interrogantes, me hubiera gustado ver más reacciones al suceso final.
Es una buena opción si buscáis una lectura ligera o si queréis leer algo sencillo en inglés.
Consta de 99 páginas y se utiliza un lenguaje sencillo, por lo que lo puede leer cualquiera que tenga un nivel medio de inglés.
La historia tiene como protagonista a una mujer cuyo nombre nunca llegamos a conocer. Acaba de contraer matrimonio con Maxim de Winter, un hombre que perdió a Rebecca, primera esposa, hace unos meses. Tras la luna de miel, proceden a instalarse en Manderley, la mansión que él posee, pero será allí donde nuestra protagonista lo empiece a pasar mal al sentir que todo gira en torno a la figura de Rebecca. A pesar de estar muerta, Rebecca sigue presente en la casa y en la mente de los que habitan en ella...
El desarrollo de los acontecimientos es lo suficientemente intrigante como para que siempre quieras saber cómo acabará todo. Rebecca parecía ejercer fascinación y temor a partes iguales, por lo que no puedes dar por hecho nada sobre ella. Maxim es un personaje más gris, transmite apatía y no sabes qué le pasa exactamente por la cabeza, aunque sorprende con ciertas revelaciones. En cuanto a la protagonista, lo que más destaca es su inocencia y su inacción incluso cuando le hacen alguna que otra trastada. De los demás personajes poco se puede decir porque sus aportaciones a la trama son muy concretas y no ahondamos en ellos.
Desde mi punto de vista, el libro hubiera ganado puntos si no fuera tan aséptico. No se notan los vínculos emocionales entre los personajes y son fríos incluso cuando están al límite.
A pesar de que el desenlace resuelve todos los interrogantes, me hubiera gustado ver más reacciones al suceso final.
Es una buena opción si buscáis una lectura ligera o si queréis leer algo sencillo en inglés.
July 29, 2026
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier is 59th on The Greatest Books of All Time site, part of The 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read list – you find thousands of reviews of magnum opera from the aforementioned and other lists on my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... and YouTube channel
8 out of 10 because this regards a theater adaptation
I have enjoyed Rebecca https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... both in the original, and as a film adaptation with Laurence Olivier in the leading role, furthermore, I think I have even seen (maybe just part of, I could not remember) a more recent motion picture, based on it
This note refers to an adaption for the National Radio, and a clumsy attempt it was, it was an unsuccessful perspective for a few reasons: technical problems, missing scenes, not just what had to be edited, but simple errors, finally, the thespians were not doing so much to delight the audiences, at least this listener was not satisfied.
Nevertheless, the story is a great one, after all, some clever (maybe it is an AI, I do not know) algorithm has placed it in the 59th spot on The Greatest Books of All Time site, where it has climbed, it used to be 64th some months ago, when I wrote the review https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20...
For Parasites, another Daphne du Maurier oeuvre, that did not really enchant me – back to Rebecca now, the narrator was a young woman without material means, working for this insufferable, rich snob, Mrs. Van Hopper, when they meet Maxim de Winter, a charming widower who is attracted by the heroine, whose name remains a mystery
This is a love story, but also a psychological thriller, the classic Games People Play https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... comes to mind, the main character will eventually marry Maxim de Winter – Rebecca is the title of the chef d’oeuvre, but I do not see her as the heroine
Indeed, as the reader learns more, the late Rebecca ceases to be this luminous, glorious figure from the past, and we see her failures – gradually though, the center stage is taken for some time by the nefarious housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers, who is devoted to her deceased mistress, and wants to punish the new spouse for taking her place
For some strange reason, the nurse from One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Fletcher was the name? easy to find, but why bother, she was just as harsh and mean https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... and Danvers wants her new mistress to kill herself
Then this turns into a murder mystery, and I will not reveal anything, though I am always skeptical that anybody really reads these lines, and furthermore, all the way to the end – it is as good as https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... Malice Aforethought
8 out of 10 because this regards a theater adaptation
I have enjoyed Rebecca https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... both in the original, and as a film adaptation with Laurence Olivier in the leading role, furthermore, I think I have even seen (maybe just part of, I could not remember) a more recent motion picture, based on it
This note refers to an adaption for the National Radio, and a clumsy attempt it was, it was an unsuccessful perspective for a few reasons: technical problems, missing scenes, not just what had to be edited, but simple errors, finally, the thespians were not doing so much to delight the audiences, at least this listener was not satisfied.
Nevertheless, the story is a great one, after all, some clever (maybe it is an AI, I do not know) algorithm has placed it in the 59th spot on The Greatest Books of All Time site, where it has climbed, it used to be 64th some months ago, when I wrote the review https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20...
For Parasites, another Daphne du Maurier oeuvre, that did not really enchant me – back to Rebecca now, the narrator was a young woman without material means, working for this insufferable, rich snob, Mrs. Van Hopper, when they meet Maxim de Winter, a charming widower who is attracted by the heroine, whose name remains a mystery
This is a love story, but also a psychological thriller, the classic Games People Play https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... comes to mind, the main character will eventually marry Maxim de Winter – Rebecca is the title of the chef d’oeuvre, but I do not see her as the heroine
Indeed, as the reader learns more, the late Rebecca ceases to be this luminous, glorious figure from the past, and we see her failures – gradually though, the center stage is taken for some time by the nefarious housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers, who is devoted to her deceased mistress, and wants to punish the new spouse for taking her place
For some strange reason, the nurse from One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Fletcher was the name? easy to find, but why bother, she was just as harsh and mean https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... and Danvers wants her new mistress to kill herself
Then this turns into a murder mystery, and I will not reveal anything, though I am always skeptical that anybody really reads these lines, and furthermore, all the way to the end – it is as good as https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... Malice Aforethought
February 12, 2023
Escalofríos, precioso.
"Anoche soñé que había vuelto a Manderley."
"Anoche soñé que había vuelto a Manderley."
November 6, 2025
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Glorious, ecstatic read
Rebecca is one of the best books ever written.
And since a masterpiece has the power to transcend, to go beyond the limits of its covers, this one has inspired a glorious film
- Rebecca, with Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine and the fascinating George Sanders as the villain has won the Academy Award for Best Picture
The story is powerful; it has a romance, the fight between good and evil, a complex Maximillian de Winter and a delightful heroine.
- Wait a minute!
- I mean the new Mrs. De Winter and not Rebecca
Because one of the intriguing and yet appealing aspects of this tale is the fact that the one that gives the name to the novel is actually dead.
As Maxim de Winter is trying to find solace- we would learn to know better later in the book- in Monte Carlo, he meets this young woman.
She is the one who will play the story teller and in many ways the real star of the show, adumbrated at times by the shadow of Rebecca.
Maxim de Winter is well known as a rich gentleman, a widow proprietor of an envied estate with an appealing name:
- Mandalay
The young girl is the hired help or assistant of an American rich woman who is stupefied when Maxim de Winter shows interest in her employee.
In fact, after a few drives in the car and an outburst of emotions and a few rude remarks, the widower asks the young woman to marry him.
I would note that Max de Winter, as Favell calls him, is not altogether the knight in shining armor and has a dark side.
That may contribute to his allure, but he feels obnoxious at times and his proposal of marriage sounded weird:
- Would you rather go back to America or to Mandalay
- You mean you want a secretary
- No, I want to marry you
The dark secret we would learn that he hides explains in large part his misbehaving and I will not go into that, in the odd chance that you want to read the book after going through this, out of more than 12,800 reviews on Goodreads.
Once she becomes Mrs. De Winter, the married woman travels to Mandalay where she has to meet with the Evil.
The Darth Vader, Anton Chigurhs and Saurons of this story are:
- The aforementioned Rebecca, her cousin and lover Jack Favell and the latter’s friend and housekeeper at Mandalay Mrs. Danvers
The terrible “Danny” is playing cat and mouse with the new, young Mrs. De Winter right from the start.
I was thinking earlier if she was not a hidden lesbian, seeing as she had been so enamored with her late mistress.
Whatever the case might be, she tries very hard to make the new lady of the house raving mad and suicidal.
A climax is reached when there is an upcoming costume party, wherefore she makes Mrs. De Winter choose the absolute wrong dress.
Having done that, the helpless young mistress drives her spouse crazy, but that annoyed me and I still say:
- Ok, now we know what was on your mind, feelings of guilt and all, but still, why did you need to shout to the poor wife so loud?
- You criminal bastard- this last is a sort of a joke
Things get complicated from here, with first an attempt from the said Chigurh in women’s clothes to make the lady of the castle jump to her death.
Then there is a terrible storm and looking for a fresh wreck they find the remains of the boat with which Rebecca had sank.
Only there are surprises and the end keeps the reader breathing hard and waiting for new developments in a thrilling detective story, for chapters at the end.
And now for some quotes:
“Happiness is not a possession to be prized, it is a quality of thought, a state of mind.”
“...the routine of life goes on, whatever happens, we do the same things, go through the little performance of eating, sleeping, washing. No crisis can break through the crust of habit.”
PS: there are two ratings, because I have read this twice, the latest in the form of an adaptation for the BBC
Glorious, ecstatic read
Rebecca is one of the best books ever written.
And since a masterpiece has the power to transcend, to go beyond the limits of its covers, this one has inspired a glorious film
- Rebecca, with Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine and the fascinating George Sanders as the villain has won the Academy Award for Best Picture
The story is powerful; it has a romance, the fight between good and evil, a complex Maximillian de Winter and a delightful heroine.
- Wait a minute!
- I mean the new Mrs. De Winter and not Rebecca
Because one of the intriguing and yet appealing aspects of this tale is the fact that the one that gives the name to the novel is actually dead.
As Maxim de Winter is trying to find solace- we would learn to know better later in the book- in Monte Carlo, he meets this young woman.
She is the one who will play the story teller and in many ways the real star of the show, adumbrated at times by the shadow of Rebecca.
Maxim de Winter is well known as a rich gentleman, a widow proprietor of an envied estate with an appealing name:
- Mandalay
The young girl is the hired help or assistant of an American rich woman who is stupefied when Maxim de Winter shows interest in her employee.
In fact, after a few drives in the car and an outburst of emotions and a few rude remarks, the widower asks the young woman to marry him.
I would note that Max de Winter, as Favell calls him, is not altogether the knight in shining armor and has a dark side.
That may contribute to his allure, but he feels obnoxious at times and his proposal of marriage sounded weird:
- Would you rather go back to America or to Mandalay
- You mean you want a secretary
- No, I want to marry you
The dark secret we would learn that he hides explains in large part his misbehaving and I will not go into that, in the odd chance that you want to read the book after going through this, out of more than 12,800 reviews on Goodreads.
Once she becomes Mrs. De Winter, the married woman travels to Mandalay where she has to meet with the Evil.
The Darth Vader, Anton Chigurhs and Saurons of this story are:
- The aforementioned Rebecca, her cousin and lover Jack Favell and the latter’s friend and housekeeper at Mandalay Mrs. Danvers
The terrible “Danny” is playing cat and mouse with the new, young Mrs. De Winter right from the start.
I was thinking earlier if she was not a hidden lesbian, seeing as she had been so enamored with her late mistress.
Whatever the case might be, she tries very hard to make the new lady of the house raving mad and suicidal.
A climax is reached when there is an upcoming costume party, wherefore she makes Mrs. De Winter choose the absolute wrong dress.
Having done that, the helpless young mistress drives her spouse crazy, but that annoyed me and I still say:
- Ok, now we know what was on your mind, feelings of guilt and all, but still, why did you need to shout to the poor wife so loud?
- You criminal bastard- this last is a sort of a joke
Things get complicated from here, with first an attempt from the said Chigurh in women’s clothes to make the lady of the castle jump to her death.
Then there is a terrible storm and looking for a fresh wreck they find the remains of the boat with which Rebecca had sank.
Only there are surprises and the end keeps the reader breathing hard and waiting for new developments in a thrilling detective story, for chapters at the end.
And now for some quotes:
“Happiness is not a possession to be prized, it is a quality of thought, a state of mind.”
“...the routine of life goes on, whatever happens, we do the same things, go through the little performance of eating, sleeping, washing. No crisis can break through the crust of habit.”
PS: there are two ratings, because I have read this twice, the latest in the form of an adaptation for the BBC
December 29, 2021
Me han entrado muchísimas ganas de leer el libro original 🤩
December 28, 2023
very interesting
December 13, 2025
Un feminicidio justificado por el cáncer terminal.
Ni idea, es mi lectura en inglés del año y es lo que había a mano.
Arrancó terrible, remontó un poco, terminó terrible.
Ni idea, es mi lectura en inglés del año y es lo que había a mano.
Arrancó terrible, remontó un poco, terminó terrible.
Read
November 20, 2016I accidentally grabbed the Penguin Reader instead of the original, but decided to read it anyway seeing as I had a long train ride ahead. Would like to read the original anyway.
March 14, 2025
My favorite book ever
March 7, 2024
Lectura obligatòria del curs d'anglès. Molt vocabulari nou! La història ja la coneixia pel cinema, i aquesta versió m'ha semblat massa resumida (d'altra banda, el meu nivell d'anglès no permet gaire més).
August 23, 2024
Me gustó el ''plot twist'' de la verdadera muerte de Rebecca y como Du Maurier desenvuelve la trama para que acabes compadeciéndote del asesino y deseando que no sea castigado por su crimen.
Buen libro; los clásicos nunca decepcionan.
Buen libro; los clásicos nunca decepcionan.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
April 27, 2021A young insecure woman swept off her feet by a wealthy widower. Upon arrival at his mansion, she found that his deceased wife carried a heavy past. It is a writer's book, even with a twist. Enjoy.
September 20, 2023
El libro estuvo interesante, pero ese final...
September 3, 2024
Me dieron ganas de leerme el original, basta
April 22, 2025
Second time of reading Rebecca and I remember it being just as good! This is definitely one I need to try watching too!
September 14, 2025
Nice story with a twist near the end. Almost a detective story haha. Maybe someday I'll read the original version.
January 22, 2011
The first thing that strikes me about Rebecca, is the author really doesn't seem to believe in long exposition or wasting any time unnecessarily. In that way she's a bit like the anti-Larsson, who is in my opinion the king of exposition.
Either way, the story starts with Maxim getting to meet his future second wife for the first time. A page later they're in love and two pages later they've been married for seven weeks and move into Mandalay. As I said, no unnecessary time is wasted on characterization or atmosphere. In fact, the plot is almost pushed along and I found it somewhat amusing that there seems to be only one person in the whole story who is really characterized really well and thoroughly: Rebecca - the character who isn't there anymore. Still, that really amused me and in fact led me to believe that the whole book is merely about Rebecca who influences people's lives way past her own death. That being said, from the very moment the author mentioned that the buried body was too mangled to be recognized, I knew it wasn't Rebecca (on the other hand, I don't believe we ever learn whose body it was. Clearly there's no Kay Scarpetta around Mandalay when you need her).
Overall I found the book to be a nice mystery story with one intriguing character and the idea the story is based on really appeals to me.
A nice read. Recommended.
Either way, the story starts with Maxim getting to meet his future second wife for the first time. A page later they're in love and two pages later they've been married for seven weeks and move into Mandalay. As I said, no unnecessary time is wasted on characterization or atmosphere. In fact, the plot is almost pushed along and I found it somewhat amusing that there seems to be only one person in the whole story who is really characterized really well and thoroughly: Rebecca - the character who isn't there anymore. Still, that really amused me and in fact led me to believe that the whole book is merely about Rebecca who influences people's lives way past her own death. That being said, from the very moment the author mentioned that the buried body was too mangled to be recognized, I knew it wasn't Rebecca (on the other hand, I don't believe we ever learn whose body it was. Clearly there's no Kay Scarpetta around Mandalay when you need her).
Overall I found the book to be a nice mystery story with one intriguing character and the idea the story is based on really appeals to me.
A nice read. Recommended.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 29, 2020
This book has one of the best opening chapters ever written. 'Last night I dream I was in Manderley again...' and we are led into a slightly creepy but beautifully constructed garden. The narrator doesn't reveal her own name but we get an underwear drawer look at her needs and insecurities. She falls in love with a mysterious, authoritative, rich and lonely widower. She lives in the shadow of his dead wife, Rebecca, who's left her mark everywhere; in rooms, gardens, pockets, and even a creepy old servant called Danvers. The poor old narrator feels out of her depth and quite the wallflower. I'd call this a gothic drama but it's earthed by a strong coming of age theme that most of us earthbound, non- glamorous, non-Rebeccas can relate to. I fastened myself to the narrative plight like a barnacle.
August 2, 2012
Well it would be more interesting if I have read the original version that was written by Daphne Du Maurier. I decided on that low rating probably because of that reason, the events where flying from one to another, some facts were thrust upon you here and there ... Yet I had really enjoyed reading it, besides it didnt take so much time, for I finished it in one day. So the next book I'm gonna read inchaAllah will be " Gone with the Wind" and I'm real excited about it for it IS a Loooooong book.
June 25, 2007
For a novel written so long ago, I thought this was pretty good. At times I got bogged down in the language-- three pages describing the flowers kind of got to me. But once I got to the half-way mark, it really picked up and I thoroughly enjoyed the rest. Good entertainment but perhaps a little heavy-handed with the flourish.
January 12, 2010
This was a good read - the style kind of reminded me of Jane Eyre though the story takes place in the 1920s. I did think it was curious that the author never gave the first name of the character in the book.
I also thought that the book ended abruptly and I was hoping for more of a happy ending. Overall I would recommend it.
I also thought that the book ended abruptly and I was hoping for more of a happy ending. Overall I would recommend it.
August 10, 2016
This book was my prize for 100% attendance at our school's Annual Prize Distribution in 2002 or when I was in 8th grade.
I have been a fan of Rebecca since then...and this edited version is a very good effort; it keeps the magic of the original text intact.
See my review of the unabridged version here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I have been a fan of Rebecca since then...and this edited version is a very good effort; it keeps the magic of the original text intact.
See my review of the unabridged version here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
April 24, 2008
loved it
Want to Read
May 25, 2008This is a simplified children's version of "Rebecca" with a word-glossary in the back.
October 27, 2012
I couldn't stop reading as the story got closer to the end. It's really good.
October 11, 2017
I think I should give my full review after reading the full version of the story, not the simplified one.
November 9, 2019
nice book
January 5, 2020
Nicely read in one day
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews