“Rebecca is a work of immense intelligence and wit, elegantly written, thematically solid, suspenseful..” –Washington Post“Daphne du Maurier created a scale by which modern women can measure their feelings.” –Stephen King Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again . . .The novel begins in Monte Carlo, where our heroine is swept off her feet by the dashing widower Maxim de Winter … swept off her feet by the dashing widower Maxim de Winter and his sudden proposal of marriage. Orphaned and working as a lady’s maid, she can barely believe her luck. It is only when they arrive at his massive country estate that she realizes how large a shadow his late wife will cast over their lives–presenting her with a lingering evil that threatens to destroy their marriage from beyond the grave.
First published in 1938, this classic gothic novel is such a compelling read that it won the Anthony Award for Best Novel of the Century.
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A classic book with unforgetable characters. One easily slips back in time to this story and feels the events as they unfold.
At the time I read this, I thought it was the best book I’d ever read. I stayed up all night to finish it.
A golden oldie, a novel you’ll never forget. du Maurier’s writing is so vivid and sensuous, the reader can become entranced by the feelings the story evokes. Was a wonderful intro for me to novels with some substance when I was seventeen, still remembered and loved now, when knocking on eighty.
The perfect thriller, “Rebecca,” begins as a simple tale of a mousy lady’s companion wiling away her little spare time at a fashionable European watering hole. The tension ramps up slowly until the it reaches the point that you can’t turn the pages fast enough. The characters are vivid and Manderley might be the most fascinating character of …
I read this long ago as a teenager but wanted to revisit it. It’s every bit as haunting and atmospheric as I remember. Despite the very descriptive prose, the pace never slows, and I found it an immensely absorbing from the first page to the last.
SPOILERS—
I can’t believe how good this book was. Like in my top three good. Simply amazing, and better than the movie. However, I’m glad I watched the movie (many, many times) because it gives you a point of reference for the imagery in your mind. The movie was very true to the book (Bravo to Alfred Hitchcock) with one exception- which I can …
Pleasantly surprised with this one. I had previously decided I wouldn’t read any more classics because they truthfully bore me to death. I started reading this because I wanted to watch the film on Netflix – without the slightest idea that it was written in the 1930s. Unlike the other classics I’ve read, this one was an entertaining and easy …
Fantastic gothic romance. The author did a beautiful job of making you feel as if you were in the story. While I read, I felt as invisible as the nameless narrator. I ached to be loved and noticed just as she did. I highly recommend it.
A classic!
An all time favorite mystery. Don’t pass this one up!
A classic! Daphne DuMaurier has penned a spine-tingling thriller filled with unnerving characters who will keep you at the edge of your seat. From the darkly aloof Maximillian deWinter to the conniving Mrs. Danvers, you won’t know who to trust. “Rebecca” is a delicious read! Don’t bother watching the movie, though; they ruined the story.
A story at times predictable but in surprising forms. The story is enjoyable, the writing evocative. There is enough grand description and droll observation here to last in the readers mind well past the final page.
A book to read and reread.
Rebecca resonates with so many women today. It is a good read.
One of my favorite books of all time.
I can’t really remember if I found this great novel unpredictable the first time I read it, as I recently read it for the fifth or sixth time. As remarkable in print as on screen. In print you get much more of the atmosphere of West Coast Britain.
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier tells the story of a young, unnamed protagonist who meets a handsome, older gentleman Maxim de Winter and falls in ‘obsession’ with him. They have a whirlwind romance and swiftly get married despite his troubled past. As the new lady of the house, the protagonist struggles to adjust to Maxim’s more privileged way of …
One of the most memorable books I have ever read.
One of the greatest mysteries ever written.
“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again…”
These few simple words open Daphne du Maurier’s legendary novel “Rebecca”. A hauntingly beautiful tale of love, revenge, and desperation.
For me, it is a ghost story where the ghost never appears. Instead the lead heroine is haunted by the shadow of her new husband’s first wife, Rebecca. …