Any Daphne Du Maurier fans out there? discussion

Rebecca was my summer read this year for my local book club. I LOVED it, everything about it. I enjoyed every moment I spent in the world of Manderley and am now looking forward to more Du Maurier books. I think I'll tackle The Loving Spirit or Jamaica Inn next. If anyone has another recommendation for me, please post!

Hi Karen, I haven't got around to rereading Rebecca yet (I'm sure I read it in my younger days. So far my favorites are Mary Anne and the King's General. Some are very dark like Julius and Hungry Hill is very depressing. She has quite a range, so you're not getting the same old same old.

Yes, I think that's what is so fascinating about her-- that incredible range. When I told my fellow bookclubbers that she wrote The Birds and Jamaica Inn (movies they were familiar with) they were blown away. "She wrote THAT?!" I will definitely check out the books you mentioned, thank you!

Hi Karen :)
I agree that Rebecca is an amazing book, and the world of Manderley is hard to leave.

If it's gothic mystery you're looking for, do read Jamaica Inn. If you like historical romance, try Frenchman's Creek. If you like ambigious, mysterious characters, you can't go wrong with My Cousin Rachel.

Enjoy!

Hi, Hannah! I've had a couple people tell me Frenchman's Creek is their favorite Daphne DuMaurier novel, and I've always heard good things about My Cousin Rachel, so my "to read" stack is growing by the day! Thanks!

I finished reading “Rebecca.” Wow, what a great book. I read it fairly quickly for me. I have the DVD and watched that too. There were some extras on Daphne du Maurier on the DVD which proved illuminating. She was a cousin of the Llewelyn-Davies boys who inspired J. M. Barrie to write “Peter Pan.” In fact, her father, actor Sir Gerald du Maurier, was the original Mr. Darling/Captain Hook in the play. I adore this sort of trivia. I recently watched “Finding Neverland” (which had me crying like a baby), but these facts were not introduced (I guess it would have distracted from the focus of the story being told). Kate Winslet played her aunt Sylvia and Julie Christie her grandmother Emma.

Don't Look Now: Selected Stories of Daphne Du Maurier

I selected this for my land based book club which meets October 12th. Here's what I wrote in our newsletter:

Looking for something macabre to read in honor Halloween? Why not "Don't Look Now" and "The Birds"? Though I had never read these stories, I had seen film versions of both and thought I knew what to expect. However, where Nicolas Roeg’s "Don't Look Now" succeeds at bringing du Maurier's story to life on screen brilliantly and faithfully, the Hitchcock adaptation pirated only two words from du Maurier's manuscript: "the" and "birds." Yes, the birds attack in both, but that is where the similarities end. [I still revere the Hitchcock film, which terrified me as a child].

"Don’t Look Now" uses Venice to stunning effect; the labyrinthine canals and dark deserted alleyways make for a perfectly sinister setting. A grieving couple has come to the city of falling angels to regroup after the loss of their young daughter. They encounter a strange couple: twin sisters, middle aged, one a blind medium with precognitive gifts. The sisters relay a warning from the daughter that the couple is in danger and must leave Venice…..to go any further would spoil the suspense (which would be a crime). Needless to say, there is tension, intrigue and dread on every remaining page. Densely plotted and executed with unparalleled skill, "Don’t Look Now" is a ghost story worthy of the masters.

"The Birds" is a masterpiece of suspense, stark and exquisitely articulated. Set on a farm in Cornwall just after WWII, the story is an apocalyptic vision of a world where birds suddenly wage war against humans. There is no journey to safety; ninety percent of the action takes place in the farmer’s cottage. du Maurier’s tale is bleak and relentless, a claustrophobic nightmare. This story would make a great film. I imagine it just as written, shot in beautiful black and white.

Ivan wrote: "I finished reading “Rebecca.” Wow, what a great book. I read it fairly quickly for me. I have the DVD and watched that too. There were some extras on Daphne du Maurier on the DVD which proved i..."

Hi Ivan, welcome. There is a book on the Du Maurier JM Barrie connection but the name escapes me. Pat and Barb have read it so I hope they'll jump in. I'm too busy at work today to go hunting :)

Neverland: J. M. Barrie, The Du Mauriers, and the Dark Side of Peter Pan by Piers Dudgeon - I think this may be the book in question - I'm going to try to find it local this weekend as this really has sparked my interest.

Ivan wrote: "[book:Nev..."

That's the one Ivan. As I said Barb and Pat have both read it and say it's very dark.

Over at the BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS group it looks like their November picks will be Rebecca (fiction) and Myself When Young: The Shaping of a Writer (non-fiction). The polls are still open, join and vote and discuss. This is a great group reads books dealing with the period 1900 thru 1940. Obviously not devoted to du Maurier, but one of their members (OK, it's me) has been getting into du Maurier and recommended these.

Ivan wrote: "Over at the BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS group it looks like their November picks will be Rebecca (fiction) and Myself When Young: The Shaping of a Writer (non-fiction). The poll..."

But I dare not join Bright Youngs Things since I am a dumb old thing, LOL!

I don't believe it.

Ivan wrote: "I don't believe it."

why not?

Rebecca is one of those books (and characters) that you can't stop thinking about. I read Rebecca last summer, but I can't stop imagining it and seeing parts of it around me. Rebecca is my all time favorite book, and I never seize to be in awe of it. I have read many books, with many interesting characters, but Rebecca definitely beats all of them. I like her to the extent that I strive to be like her! Many have fallen into her trap, and consciously, so have I. I think obsession is the right word.

Joya wrote: "Rebecca is one of those books (and characters) that you can't stop thinking about. I read Rebecca last summer, but I can't stop imagining it and seeing parts of it around me. Rebecca is my all time..."

I agree, Joya. Even after 20 years I still think about it.

Kathleen wrote: "Joya wrote: "Rebecca is one of those books (and characters) that you can't stop thinking about. I read Rebecca last summer, but I can't stop imagining it and seeing parts of it around me. Rebecca i..."

:)