Will I love Rebecca?

This book has haunted me for decades. 

So much so that I’ve read it several times since I first encountered it as a teenager. (Plus watched both movie versions, twice each.)

The first line, "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again," drew me in and refused to let go. I wanted to return to Manderley. I wanted to find out what dark secrets would be revealed there. The unnamed, naive young heroine is haunted by the all-pervading presence of her husband’s first wife, Rebecca… and so was I.

And although some of the social attitudes are jarring to… show more.

From the famous opening dream sequence onwards, it’s impossible to come away from Rebecca without a vivid picture of Manderley in your mind.

Last summer, thanks to a fortuitous Airbnb mix-up, I ended up spending a holiday in a cottage on the Cornish estate where Daphne de Maurier lived, and which she used as the basis for Manderley. I can’t speak for the house itself, but I’m happy to report that the gardens – from the blue hydrangeas, to the rhododendrons and azaleas of Happy Valley, to the cove where Rebecca kept her boat – entirely lived up to what… show more.

Continuing with the Gothic theme, I have to mention one of my all-time favorite books. The estate of Manderley is almost another character in this novel, looming large over the story along with the legacy of its dead mistress. And the community poses an immediate threat to the book’s unnamed narrator, the new wife of the estate’s owner, when she comes in as an outsider and gets the cold shoulder from Manderley’s staff. Her desperate attempts to win everybody over lead to some gloriously nail-biting moments.

But what I adore about this novel is how it slowly reveals that the… show more.

Gorgeous. The prose is stunning, and the story slowly wraps itself around you in such a gentle way that you don't realize you've become obsessed until it's much too late.

I will be dreaming of Manderley for a long time.

Rebecca is unsettling and gothic, perfectly paced with excellent dialogue and a protagonist who is both unreliable and compelling.

This is a Gothic suspense classic, but the suspense is gradual in the most delicious way. The book begins with a 1930s meet-cute in which a young paid companion to a rich and unpleasant woman meets a wealthy, unhappy widower at a resort. The young woman befriends the man while her employer is bedridden with a cold, and the two share some funny and touching moments.

The Gothic part comes when he unexpectedly proposes marriage, and they return to his gargantuan family estate, Manderley, which was formerly run by his late wife, Rebecca. Now, the spookiness permeates the story, from… show more.

I believe that the best haunted house books are ones in which it’s the characters who are haunted. In this book by Daphne du Maurier, I’m not sure if the house is haunted by the specter of Rebecca, but I know the narrator certainly is.

I love how the author creates an atmosphere filled with dread as the new wife imagines her predecessor, tries to live up to her reputation, and finally learns who she really was. 

The Trope: The Gothic Suspense

Rebecca is a classic. I’ve read it and watched the movie so many times I’ve lost count. It was my introduction to what has become one of my favorite thriller tropes—Gothic Suspense. All the elements are there: the sprawling mansion, the romantic lead with a dark, mysterious past, the insecure heroine, and the evil servant.

For me, it’s a world that’s both familiar and unsettling. I love almost any book in this subgenre, but Rebecca is the star.

Daphne Du Maurier has made a permanent mark on my soul. Whether it was Hitchcock's adaptation of The Birds, which I watched when I was far too young, or the wrecked ships of Jamaica Inn, her imagery and ideas are unforgettable. 

And like the titular character of Rebecca, part of me still roams the halls and grounds of Manderley. I first encountered the story at a transitional moment in early adulthood. Having been a child drawn to spooky stories about ghouls and spectres, this book marked the moment I came to understand that not every haunted house… show more.

This book begins with only the most famous first line of a novel in English literature. (Move over, Jane Austen.)

Wistful, mysterious, and yearning, the unnamed narrator of Rebecca follows her much older husband to his luxe estate in England after a hasty marriage in France. There, she encounters a housekeeper bent on humiliating her (or worse) and the specter of her new husband’s perfect first wife, who died unexpectedly.

Even knowing what will happen, I am sucked in every time. This hits that great spot between outright horror and suspense, and my next book will be heavily influenced by… show more.