Rebecca [Movie Tie-In]

By Daphne du Maurier

Book Overview

Now a Netflix film starring Lily James and Kristin Scott Thomas

"Last Night I Dreamt I went to Manderley Again..."

With these words, the reader is ushered into an isolated gray stone mansion on the windswept Cornish coast, as the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter recalls the chilling events that transpired as she began her new life as the young bride of a husband she barely knew. For in every corner of every room were phantoms of a time dead but not forgotten--a past devotedly preserved by the sinister housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers: a suite immaculate and untouched, clothing laid out and ready to be worn, but not by any of the great house's current occupants. With an eerie presentiment of evil tightening her heart, the second Mrs. de Winter walked in the shadow of her mysterious predecessor, determined to uncover the darkest secrets and shattering truths about Maxim's first wife--the late and hauntingly beautiful Rebecca.

This special edition of Rebecca includes excerpts from Daphne du Maurier's The Rebecca Notebook and Other Memories, an essay on the real Manderley, du Maurier's original epilogue to the book, and more.

A PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0063082993
• ISBN13: 9780063082991
• Release Date: October 2020
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 0.74 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Enjoyed

I loved the classic movie of this book, and was happy to finally read the book. So good. Enjoyed it.

Suspenseful and Haunting

Absolutely amazing! The descriptions in this book made me feel the suspense of this book. Especially toward the end of the book, the thrill picked up, and I could not put the book down until I had finished it. Will definitely be telling my friends to read this classic.

Suspense and Obsession

A truly captivating book. When the unnamed narrator is swept off her feet by a charming estate owner, she is envisioning a happy ever after. She instead finds constant reference and comparison to his first wife, the titular Rebecca. Even though she's dead, it seems Rebecca casts a long shadow and this incites our narrator to try to unravel the mystery of who was the first Mrs. de Winter and why is everyone seemingly so obsessed with her. The novel does a fantastic job of letting you feel the presence of this little known woman who hangs over the story and the narrator like a pall.

A great gothic mystery classic

This book came fast and in great condition. If you loved Jane Eyre and love mysteries, you will love this book

One of the best books I've ever read!

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a good mystery. I absolutely loved it... I was stunned at the outcome. I want many more read like this one. It's going in my top five favorites of all time...and I'm an avid reader...with a HUGE palette. 5 stars!!!

The best romantic suspense novel!

I absolutely love Daphne Du Maurier's writing style. This book was captivating and interesting and I honestly couldn't put it down. It is a must read for sure!

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This is the best book I've read in a while

Great mystery. Quick read. Loved it.

"We can never go back to Manderley again..."

This riveting tale of fear, suspicion, and love opens as the unnamed narrator reminisces about her former home, the grand English estate, Manderley. She had been young and shy, a lady's companion, when she met the wealthy recent widow, Maxim de Winter, fell in love with him, and married him in a matter of weeks. They returned to his home, where she was immediately overwhelmed with the responsibilities of running the house and dealing with her forbidding housekeeper as well as the memory of Maxim's first wife, Rebecca. She had been beautiful, sophisticated, and supremely confident, and the narrator felt lost and helpless in comparison. Her new husband was strangely distant to her, until a horrible secret was revealed that would change their lives and the very existence of Manderley. Daphne Du Maurier has crafted a wonderfully spooky story with remarkably little action, but a great deal of atmosphere and a steadily mounting feeling of impending doom. The ravishing Rebecca is never seen, and yet she is the main character, dominating the story with her passions and cruelty. Another main "character" is the great house itself, which is described in such fascinating detail that I felt as if I had walked its long hallways, descended its grand stairs, and had tea in the library. The narrator is purposely kept anonymous to contrast her with the larger-than-life Rebecca, and Maxim is a seriously flawed but lovable man. Anna Massey does not just read the story, she performs it, delighting the listener with her upper-class British accent, giving a different voice to each character. I happily recommend this audio cassette version of Rebecca to those who enjoy exciting tales of suspense, psychological dramas, and mysteries.

An All-Time Classic

This book is one of the all-time greatest works of fiction, combining suspense, romance, and character development, all wrapped up in a mystery that is literally not resolved until the last page.Modern readers should treat this story as a period piece of sorts; American readers in particular should bear in mind the differences between British and American cultures, and also the historical differences (Rebecca was published in 1938), otherwise they are apt to find the story 'slow' or 'dull.'Like any great mystery writer, du Maurier throws out subtle clues in the first third of the story; about halfway through, she begins to resolve these clues, and from then on, the story races at full steam. *Don't let* the seemingly slow introduction stop you from finishing the book; patient readers will be well- rewarded when they see how brilliantly du Maurier sets up her surprises.The story revolves around the unusual marriage of the young, unworldly narrator (whose first name is never revealed, one of the book's charming idiosyncrasies)to the brooding 'landed gentleman,' Maxim de Winter. When she arrives at his grand country manor, Manderly (the house is perhaps the book's most potent character), she is immediately confronted by the other characters' feelings about Rebecca, Maxim de Winter's flamboyant late wife.Perhaps du Maurier's greatest accomplishment, character-wise, is the way she develops Rebecca, who is already dead when the main action of the story begins, and never really appears 'on-screen,' so to speak. Rebecca is very much alive in the memories of Maxim, the house servants, friends and family members, but most crucially, of her personal maid, Mrs. Danvers (and also of Rebecca's sleazy cousin, Jack Favel). It is Mrs. Danvers who becomes the greatest nemesis of the narrator, and who makes the frightened young woman feel utterly unwanted and unloved in her new home. If Rebecca truly does haunt Manderly, Mrs. Danvers is her conduit to the world of the living.After a treacherous episode that almost brings the narrator to the breaking point, a string of coincidences alters everything; the narrator learns the truth about what turns out to be a lot of mistaken assumptions. In the process, she herself grows into a far more confident person. The last quarter of the story is an absolute masterpiece, as the action takes one turn, then another, then another. And even when it seems that all the clues have been resolved, du Maurier saves one last whammy for the final page.I first read this book twenty years ago, and it made more of an impression on me than just about anything else I've read since. I re-read it from time to time, and gain a new insight with every perusal.In short, Rebecca is a wonderful, wonderful novel, and not to be missed. I can't recommend it highly enough-- read it, linger over it, enjoy it, and read it again. It's a true literary achievement.