Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

 

Title:  Rebecca

Author:  Daphne Du Maurier

Narrated by:  Anna Massey

Publisher: Hachette Audio

Length: Approximately 14 hours and 30 minutes

Source: Checked out with Hoopla through the Kewaunee Public Library.  Thank-you!

 

What is your favorite book to movie adaptation?  The 1940 film Rebecca directed by Alfred Hitchcock based on the book Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier is one of my very favorite adaptations.  I was first introduced to it by my friend Stephanie when I was fourteen and have loved it since then. My high school English teacher, Mrs. Smith, furthered my love for all things Daphne Du Maurier.

In the novel Rebecca, a young woman falls in love with an older man in Monte Carlo.  They marry and return to his estate, Manderley, in Cornwall.  There she feels she is always in the shadow of Maxim’s first wife, Rebecca.  Will she be able to move forward out of her shadow and become her own person?

My thoughts on rereading this classic novel again:

·       I love this book every time I reread it.  It is a beautifully written romantic suspense novel.  The language is just beautiful to read, and the plot is perfectly put together.  The first and last lines of this novel are famous for a good reason.

·       I did not like how harsh Maxim talked to the narrator at times.  I could really see their age difference in this reread.  I wanted someone to treat the narrator with the kindness and love that she craved.

·       The narrator starts the novel so awkward, and I felt embarrassed for her often.  I liked her character development and how she becomes a stronger person by the end.

·       When I first read this as a teenager, I got all the way to the end before I realized that I never knew the narrator’s name.  This was a brilliant way to write the novel as narrated by a woman who feels she is not good enough.

·       The mystery is wonderfully put together and the reveal at the end is perfect.

·       This is a book I will reread my entire life and still find it to be engaging.

·       Manderley is a character itself, beautiful, yet creepy.

·       Is there any other book where a dead person looms so large in a story in which she never actually appears?

·       I always felt like this story was a modern update of the Jane Eyre story. Does anyone else feel the same way?

·       I loved the small details about even the minor characters such as the detestable Mrs. Van Hopper when she puts her cigarettes out in her cold cream.  This for some reason really bothered me about this character.

·       Mrs. Danvers is one of the great villains of literature.  I would love to read a book on the back story of Mrs. Danvers.

·       This was the first time I read this book on audiobook.  Anna Massey was a great narrator, and it was a very engaging audiobook experience.

I read this book in January for my Back to the Classics Book Club at the Kewaunee Public Library.  Unfortunately, we had to reschedule the meeting to this month due to too many people being unable to attend the meeting.  We’ll be discussing the book next Monday night and watching the movie at our meeting in March.

Favorite Quotes:

“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” – First Line

“And the ashes blew towards us with the salt wind from the sea.” – Last Line