Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier

     I recently re-read Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca for the Cornwall Challenge I have taken on for 2011.  The novel is one of my all time favorites as you will know if you've viewed our post "If I am caught with amnesia".  I read the novel first as an adolescent and can't begin to count the number of times I've read it since.  "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again", the famous first line draws me in over and over again.

     First published in 1938, the story of the unnamed second wife and her husband, Maxim de Winter, whose lives are over-shadowed by the very much dead first Mrs. de Winter, Rebecca, and the evil housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers, has captivated readers for over seventy years.  Part Gothic suspense, part murder mystery, the novel is an engaging page turner.  For those, if any, who haven't read it, Wikipedia has an excellent plot summary.  This is not intended to be a review but more of an homage to this lasting work.
     The novel has inspired many other books, including Mrs. de Winter by Susan Hill and Rebecca's Tale by Sally Beauman.
     Here's a bit of info I found on Rebecca:  "One edition of the book was used as a code source.  Sentences would be made using single words in the book, referred to by page number, line and position in the line.  One copy was kept at Rommel's headquarters and the other was carried by German Abwehr agents infiltrated in Cairo after crossing Egypt by car...The code was never used, however, because the radio section of the HQ was captured in a skirmish and hence the Germans suspected that the code was compromised."  Wow!  How many novels can claim that!
     Inevitably, the novel has been adapted for film.  The first instance was Alfred Hitchcock's version starring Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine.  It has also been adapted for television and stage.
     Few novels have inspired music but, of course, this one has.  Here's a clip (with lyrics) of Meg and Dia (Dia Frampton who was the runner-up on The Voice recently) singing "Rebecca", inspired by the du Maurier novel.  Enjoy!




- Frances