My Best 5 Daphne du Maurier Novels
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I love the works of Daphne du Maurier. She was a writer often wrongly condemned as a romantic writer when her books are actually much more. Yes, there is often an element of romance in her books, but then, there is in most books. Her novels are surprising; people who haven't read her before can be shocked by her subject matter i.e. Julius.
But not only that! Daphne du Maurier was a technically brilliant writer - she wrote an entire novel without once giving a name to her main character, for example, and another in which she maintains a mystery over whether a woman is a killer or not and she does this without the reader ever feeling short-changed.
If you haven't read Daphne du Maurier, give her a go now - you won't be disappointed.
Want to know where to start? Here's my top 5 Daphne du Maurier novels:
1. Rebecca
An inexperienced and shy young woman marries the brooding and mysterious Maxim de Winter and moves to his grand country estate, Manderley. Out of her depth in a world she wasn't born into, she not only finds her elevated position a challenge but feels haunted by the presence of his first wife, Rebecca, whose memory has been carefully preserved by the sinister housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers.
2. My Cousin Rachel
Philip Ashley, a young and misogynistic Englishman, becomes convinced his cousin and surrogate father Ambrose was murdered by his widow, Rachel. When Rachel arrives in England, Philip is determined to expose her but finds him falling beneath her spell. But as he falls deeper in love, secrets are uncovered that make him wonder whether he was right about her after all.
3. Jamaica Inn
After the death of her mother, Mary Yellan moves to live with her aunt and uncle at the notorious Jamaica Inn located on the moor, far from anywhere. She soon comes to learn the truth about the nocturnal goings-on at the inn and discovers why it has such a bad reputation. She wants to expose her uncle and free her aunt, but she has no idea what or who she is up against.
4. The House on the Strand
A timeslip novel in which Dick Young agrees to be the guinea pig for a mysterious drug developed by his scientist friend, Magnus. The drug thrusts him into the past, in 14th-century Cornwall, and Dick becomes obsessed with his visions, so much so that the line between what's real and what's history becomes blurred.
5. The Scapegoat
Working on the premise that people have doppelgangers, an Englishman called John encounters his exact double, a French aristocrat named Jean de Gué. After a night of drinking, John wakes up to find his identity stolen and forced to take over Jean's life, including his work, his house and his family. It is a world he has often envied but should he stay or should he go?