Rebecca
“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.”
One of the most famous opening lines in literature and I finally got around to reading Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. I was familiar with the bare bones of the story. An impressionable young woman falls quickly in love and marries wealthy older widower Maxim de Winter. He brings her to Manderley, his grand imposing ancestral family estate. Once there, she realizes the hold Max’s dead wife Rebecca still has on the estate and on him. There’s also creepy Mrs. Danvers, the head housekeeper, who is intent on sabotaging the new marriage.
It’s a classic. It won the Anthony Award for Best Novel of the Century. It’s slow burning and creepy. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Anna Massey. Her performance is powerful and exquisite. She strikes all the right notes from self conscious girl trying to fit in to confused newlywed trying to understand her moody husband to unafraid woman finally standing up for herself. Massey has great material to work with.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
If you’re a big fan of domestic or gothic suspense, this is a must read. Today’s domestic thrillers stand on du Maurier’s and Rebecca’s shoulders.
This is on Amazon’s list of 100 mysteries and thrillers to read in a lifetime and I certainly see why.
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