Title: Rebecca
Author: Daphne du Maurier
Published: 1938
Summary: The story concerns a woman who marries an English nobleman and returns with him to Manderley, his country estate. There, she finds herself haunted by reminders of his first wife, Rebecca, who died in a boating accident less than a year earlier. In this case, the haunting is psychological, not physical: Rebecca does not appear as a ghost, but her spirit affects nearly everything that takes place at Manderley. The narrator, whose name is never divulged, is left with a growing sense of distrust toward those who loved Rebecca, wondering just how much they resent her for taking Rebecca’s place. In the final chapters, the book turns into a detective story, as the principal characters try to reveal or conceal what really happened on the night Rebecca died.
Rating: 8.5/10
I have to admit – I’m always hesitant before I read books that have been dubbed classics. Some of them, like Jane Eyre, prove to be rather disappointing, while others, such as 1984 or Anna Karenina live up to their hype. Thankfully, Rebecca belongs to the latter category.
I won’t get into too much detail regarding the plot as there might be someone who stumbles across this with the intention of reading this book in the future. The title refers to the first wife of Mr. Maxime de Winter, whom the narrator and heroine of the novel meets and marries during the story. While the narrator is timid and introverted, Rebecca is notorious for having been the life of the party, a woman who was loved by all. Her struggle with this feeling of inferiority is only heightened by the fact that her name is never given, despite the fact that the story is told in the first person perspective.
This doesn’t happen very often for me, but I truly did not see the ending coming. It was obvious from the first few chapters of the book the nature in which Rebecca died, but the details surrounding her death were quite a surprise to me. As was Maxime’s confession his wife about the true nature of his feelings regarding Rebecca.
All in all, this book was a really interesting read, with some great characters. Little by little, the reader discovers the mystery and secrets surrounding Manderley, as well as the reality about the nature of the first Mrs. De Winter and the night that she met her end.
This book sounds so interesting! I’m really curious to read it now, especially since you gave it a good review.
You should definitely give it a try if the plot interests you at all! It’s really well written and it has enough twists and turn to keep you interested.
I adore this book! I went through a massive Daphne Du Maurier phase, and she has written some really amazing books. Obviously Rebecca is the most famouns (with good reason I think – I totally didn’t see the ending coming either! And the first line and everything is just perfection!) but I would definitely recommend some of her others like Frenchman’s Creek (more of a classic Romance novel) and Jamaica Inn (seriously creepy, but really good!)
I’ve never actually read anything else that she’s written, but I’ll be sure to give it a try. I adored her writing style.
It sounded so intriguing that i couldnt help but ruin the plot for myself… by looking it up on wikipedia >< but it still looks like an amazing read though. If i ever have time and get through my list of must-reads, i'd be interested to see how the whole thing is built up.
I haven’t heard of this book, actually! Interesting! I do kind of want to read this book, now.
Speaking of the classics, I actually loved Jane Eyre, but disliked Wuthering Heights so so much.
I haven’t read this book, but a mystery theatre company here in Calgary just did a stage show based on this book. It was great. I have to admit that I didn’t see the ending coming either. It was quite enjoyable.
I grew up on classics, and I’ve been luck enough to have read ones that didn’t disappoint.. so far. But I know what you mean when some turn out below one’s expectations. I didn’t want to read the synopsis, but if I see this book on my next haul, I’ll make a note to pick it up.
What?!?! How is Jane Eyre disappointing?
It wasn’t my favorite classic, but it was still good, I thought.
I really really really want to read Rebecca, but I just can’t muster up the motivation this summer, and I still need to finish Atlas Shrugged because I’m planning to enter its essay contest. I’m not even halfway through yet…sigh, productivity failure basically characterizes summer.
I read this when i was still in secondary school! I really loved it & couldn’t put it down
– there’s also an old movie based on the book! I haven’t yet seen it myself though =)
This books sounds really interesting. I might have to read it:)