This is only my second book by Du Maurier. Since I didn’t enjoy my first one, “The House on the Strand”, at all, I was a bit hesitant at first, but I knew I had to give her another chance. The premise of “Rebecca” sounded intriguing, and I’m really glad I read it. It was phenomenal.

„Everyone knows that Maxim de Winter was obsessed with his glamorous wife – and devastated by her tragic death. So when he proposes to a shy, anxious young woman after a whirlwind meeting in the South of France, no one is more surprised than the new bride herself. But when they reach Manderley, his beautiful, isolated Cornish mansion, the second Mrs de Winter begins to realise that every inch of her new home – and everyone in it – still belongs to Rebecca.“

Blurb

The writing was comfortable and beautiful. I loved the descriptions of Cornwall, the coast, and of course Manderley with its surroundings. Maybe the entry was easier for me because I had read “Agnes Grey” beforehand, which might have made the prose feel more accessible. That said, I think after a few pages you get pulled into the story either way.

The first half of the book was noticeably slower and dragged at times, but this was more than balanced out by a much faster-paced second half full of twists and revelations. I liked it very much. The ending was amazing as well, but not at all what I had expected, which I consider a good thing.

The novel is followed by an afterword that clears up some of the feelings and rumours surrounding the book and sheds more light on the author’s life and worldview. This helped enormously in understanding the work. I learned a lot about how women were treated in the publishing industry at the time and how the book was wrongly marketed as some kind of romance or chick-lit. In my opinion, there is much more to this story than is generally known to the public. Many people are familiar with the broad strokes of the plot, but I was positively surprised to find that there is so much more to it, and that the story, especially its characters, offers so many layers and possible interpretations.

In the end, it was clearly a 5-star read for me, and I can recommend it to anyone who loves modern classics or historical mysteries.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📝 If you are looking for my own short stories, poems and texts, check out my Substack: https://substack.com/@fragmentsandthedark