Rebecca
Daphne du Maurier
(Guest Student Reviewer - Carly X)
2002 Avon
ISBN: 0380730405

A new bride recalls the events that led her to the isolated gray stone manse on the windswept Cornish coast.

“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” So begins this classic Gothic tale of jealousy, revenge & a loveless marriage.

Guest Student Reviewer Carly X. writes:

First published in 1938, Daphne du Maurier's novel Rebecca has clearly stood the test of time. When she wrote it du Maurier never planned on it being a success but simply a “study of human jealousy”, & while it does beautifully portray parts of human nature, it is much more than that; it is a classic novel that is sure to be everyone's favorite.

Du Maurier's simple diction doesn't intimidate readers as some of the other older Classics do, as well as keeps the reader's interest with close attention to detail & brilliantly depicted scenes.

With this diction & close intimacy created with the characters, du Maurier adds to an already brilliant plot to create her best received novel which will be around for much longer.

Rebecca is a wonderful mystery with a plot driven by suspense which du Maurier weaves through every chapter. As the novel continues the plot thickens to such an unimaginable degree that pulls the reader in so much it is difficult to put it down.

As the narrator begins her life as Max de Winter's new wife at Manderley, she feels that she is always competing to be as good as her husband's deceased first wife, Rebecca. [The housekeeper, the resentful & intimidating Mrs. Danvers is a major contributor to this feeling]. One of the most intriguing parts about the novel is that the narrator is never named. This is one of du Maurier's wonderful ways of connecting the reader with the story. By never naming the protagonist du Maurier makes it obvious to the reader the degree to which Rebecca is still a part of the narrator's new home ... is shadowed by her husband's late wife & feels as though she can never amount to what she did.

Rebecca is neither dated nor, as it appears, a book for solely female readers because everyone can identify in some way with a narrator who feels “[Rebecca] still is mistress [of Manderley], even if she is dead” (P. 250). Every person knows how it feels to be in the shadow of someone else.

I loved this novel & I was totally involved in it. I felt like I knew exactly what the narrator was feeling & although I have never felt inadequate as someone's second wife I couldn't help but connect with & feel sympathy for her. Du Maurier's writing is so vivid that it makes you feel like you are a part of each scene & personally know & understand the characters.

I will admit that for a suspense it starts off slow but please, please read it all the way through, don't give up at the beginning, you will be pleasantly surprised with the pick up of the plot's pace. Even if you don't consider yourself a reader, Rebecca is a book for anyone willing to take the time & read a wonderfully written & developed mystery. Possibly my favorite of all time.

More from Daphne du Maurier:
The House on the Strand
My Cousin Rachel
The Scapegoat
Jamaica Inn
The Birds
The Glass Blowers
I'll Never Be Young Again
Rule Britannia
Hungry Hill
Frenchman's Creek
(04/25/04)

Guest Reviewer - Carly X
2004©Carly X