Orphaned at an early age, Philip Ashley is raised by his benevolent older cousin, Ambrose. Resolutely single, Ambrose delights in Philip as his heir, a man who will love his grand home as much as he does himself. But the cosy world the two construct is shattered when Ambrose sets off on a trip to Florence. There he falls in love and marries – and there he dies suddenly. Jealous of his marriage, … marriage, racked by suspicion at the hints in Ambrose’s letters, and grief-stricken by his death, Philip prepares to meet his cousin’s widow with hatred in his heart. Despite himself, Philip is drawn to this beautiful, sophisticated, mysterious Rachel like a moth to the flame. And yet . . . might she have had a hand in Ambrose’s death?
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Why This Book
After reading Rebecca several years ago, I placed My Cousin Rachel, another of Daphne du Maurier’s famed novels, on my To Be Read (TBR) shelf. Earlier this year, a Goodreads buddy, Michael, and I were chatting about various books when we decided to do a buddy read together, selecting this wonderful Gothic edition. We were both …
Daphne du Maurier is the queen of psychological drama and suspense. You feel exactly what the protagonist is feeling. Gothic romance at its best.
I would like to add: atmospheric, gothic, unreliable narration but addictive, contemplative, mysterious, maudlin.
Daphne du Maurie weaves a layered story of intrigue. The reader is never quite sure how to feel about the characters. An unreliable narrator adds to the unease, suspense, and doubts surrounding events and behaviors. Even to the last page, I questioned the behaviors and motives of the principle characters. This is a story with no tidy ending, …
Reminiscent of Turn of the Screw. Lots of room for interpretation and questions. Memorable characters and a haunting plot line. Highly recommend.
Classic author
Although this novel starts off slow, it ends with a bang. There is a lot of back story and not much dialogue between characters that had me originally giving it a 3 star rating. Ambrose and Philip are very close and I liked the family dynamic they had. Ambrose had a unique way of raising him, but Philip grew up respecting Ambrose.
Rachel is …
In typical daphne DuMaurier style, the characters are deeply developed. This is one of her more tragic and sad novels. I’ve read it several times.
One of my all time favorites along with REBECCA
Loved the perfect bones of this book
Not until very close to the end can you guess the end, thought the author hints of it! I marvel a t the portraits she paints of the three main characters, which shift like her portrayals of the English countryside, from fragrant and idyllic to lashing seas to brutal hail. At the end, the reader still doesn’t …
Rebecca was the only DuMaurier I was familiar with until I read Jamaica Inn. It was so good I decided to read another. My Cousin Rachel is so different from Jamaica Inn. Jamaica is dark, the main character is female, and the reader is kept guessing as to the true character of individuals. Rachel’s narrative is told by a male. The title character …
Du Maurier, of course, is in a class by herself. This is a great example of the type of book where the reader suspects that the main character is making one mistake after the other, and is unable to see the catastrophe he is building for himself. The tension is fantastic.
The perfect “did she or didn’t she” story. Many publishers in their summaries, say that Rachel is a murderess. But, if you read the book with fresh eyes and no bias, I think a case can be made either way. Because of the book’s ambiguity, I have read it multiple times trying to figure out did she or didn’t she. The story is narrated by a young man …
My Cousin Rachel is a mystery/psychological thriller novel written in 1951 by Daphne du Maurier. It’s dark, mysterious, suspenseful, psychological, snarky, funny, and will likely leave you with lingering confliction about what all has transpired. This is not a who-done-it per se, but rather a story about whether there was a crime committed in the …