Book info

• Title Rebecca
• Author Daphne du Maurier
• Year 1938
• Genre Mystery

On a trip to the South of France, the shy heroine of Rebecca falls in love with Maxim de Winter, a handsome widower. Although his proposal comes as a surprise, she happily agrees to marry him. But as they arrive at her husband's home, Manderley, a change comes over Maxim, and the young bride is filled with dread. Friendless in the isolated mansion, she realises that she barely knows him. In every corner of every room is the phantom of his beautiful first wife, Rebecca, and the new Mrs de Winter walks in her shadow.

Thoughts

I absolutely loved this, and found it to be one of those page-turners that I just wanted to be reading all the time. I loved the main unnamed character, and her daydreaming ways. We’d be carried off on flights of fancy, following the way the storyline could unfold before being brought back to earth with a bump.

There were twists and turns along the way, and as I didn’t know anything about this before I started (and managed to stop myself googling it), they were all a surprise to me. The characters were brilliantly formed, not just figures to love or hate, but multi-dimensional with positive traits and negative flaws alike. I found Maxim fascinating but mostly because I pictured him as the main character from the BBC’s The Paradise - a chap who has just lost his wife and is trying/struggling to move on.

It was a very enjoyable read, easy-going, and filled with detail that just expanded the picture rather than weighed the story down. I’m just sad I didn’t read it earlier!

Rating: 5 / 5