Read for the first time this well-loved novel that I liked well enough.

This is a beautiful story with beautiful descriptions of a manor with a musical sounding name. Manderley. Just rolls right off the tongue, doesn't it?

I admit I did not become fully engrossed until about halfway through. Right along the fancy dress ball did I start not reading fast enough. Before that I was just enjoying the seemingly flawless writing style, but now we were cooking!

I had seen the old Hitchcock film years ago, so unfortunately, the mystery was gone. I kept picturing Laurence Olivier as Maxim while reading - I am not complaining! However, knowing what happened did not make it any less intense. I found myself holding my breath at some points and I stopped to ask myself, "Why?" du Maurier is no doubt a master at suspense! ( )

I read this book for the first time in the late '60's or early '70's when my mother passed her copy to my sister and me. I have read it at least 3 times since. I absolutely love this tale of mystery and angst. I must admit that I sometimes wanted to shake our heroine, but I really would not have her be any other way. ( )

DAPHNE DU MAURIER: Rebecca

Read in 1984 and revisited many times.
An adroit, compelling and haunting romance that touches the heart.

The young and innocent girl who marries Maxim de Winter in Monte Carlo to become the second Mrs De Winter is not to be compared to his first wife, Rebecca. Rebecca has been drowned and Maxim proposes to this young woman merely days after they meet in Monte Carlo and brings her home to his estate Manderley.

“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again….” the opening line leads to a story of haunting where the second Mrs De Winter, often called “child” by her husband, is dogged by the legacy of the dazzling and accomplished Rebecca, who seems the perfect wife.

The girl, whose first name is never revealed in the novel, fears she is a poor second to Rebecca but a twist in the plot reveals her to be a woman of real value whom Maxim truly loves.

Classic Fiction Novel 1938 ( )

The ultimate gothic tale. Haunting, lyrical, suspenseful. I love the book, the movie, and now Anna Massey's audio reading. ( )

So this is my, what? Thirtieth time reading Rebecca? It NEVER gets old. Oh gosh, Rebecca . Yes, five stars. I would give ten if that were an option, because Rebecca is brilliant. DuMaurier is a fine author anyway, but Rebecca is her magnum opus, her swan song, her...I don't know. Her descriptions are amazing: she uses thousands of words and never wastes one. Every single line adds a shade, a nuance, to that strangely lovely yet dreamlike/creepy atmosphere she weaves, until the non-entity narrator sinks into oblivion and dead Rebecca becomes more vividly alive than any other character. I always marvel, as I finish the book, how clearly I can SEE Rebecca; I know I would recognize her (and her handwriting!) if I ever saw her.

(BTW, my daughter just mentioned to me that she always reads Rebecca when she is coming down from Jane Eyre. I can hardly believe this, but I never noticed the similarities until she said that. But anyway: in terms of sheer literary art, Rebecca is the better book. But I still love Mr. Rochester infinitely more than chilly Max de Winter.) ( )