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Manderley Forever: A Biography of Daphne du Maurier

Review

Manderley Forever: A Biography of Daphne du Maurier

written by Tatiana de Rosnay, translated by Sam Taylor

“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” Those who read Daphne du Maurier’s REBECCA, or saw the Alfred Hitchcock-directed film version, are haunted by the second Mrs. de Winter’s words. The lovely, lyrical sentence opens du Maurier’s most famous book; the reader thinks that it means one thing, but at the end of the novel discovers that it means something else entirely. REBECCA is not a love story, as the first-time reader might assume. It’s a dark, twisted rollercoaster of hideous secrets, misunderstandings and even murder. Yet it impacts the reader and lingers in the mind for years.

Daphne du Maurier was the middle of three daughters born to the famous British actor Gerald du Maurier and his wife (also an actress, who retired to raise the couple’s children) Muriel. Artists and artisans were widely spread throughout the family. The children’s uncle was J. M. Barrie, the author of PETER PAN; other relatives included French glass-blowers, painters and more authors. The girls grew up acting out plays in their home, with du Maurier (who was incredibly shy with outsiders) directing her sisters and taking the lead roles.

"de Rosnay brings the magic she includes in every one of her books to this most readable account of a quite unusual and fearless woman. Even if you’ve never read anything by Daphne du Maurier, you’ll be spellbound by this gorgeously written and imagined book."

As she attends finishing school in France, du Maurier and her instructor, Fernande, take a trip to Paris. The evening they arrive, du Maurier observes an unhappy couple on the hotel’s terrace, and a story comes to her. She knows what will happen to them and begins writing in her notebook, the entire tale unfolding in her mind. When she tells Fernande what she came up with, the woman is happy for her but says it’s a terrible story. A delighted du Maurier laughs and agrees.

Daphne du Maurier was unlike all the other authors of her era. Her stories often came to her fully formed, almost always when she was entranced by a new love interest. Absolutely fearless and unafraid in both her writing and her life, she tackled subjects like cruelty, incest, infidelity and abandonment in her books. Despite the dark subject matter, she was incredibly popular with her audiences, and her book sales, especially for the first half of her writing career, were enormously lucrative.

Perfectly suited to a novel-like retelling, du Maurier’s private life was quite turbulent and tumultuous. She fell passionately in love with her female teacher Fernande, engaged in a brief affair with her cousin, and finally met the man she would marry, Sir Frederick Browning (Boy), near the ocean close to the family’s home in Cornwall. During their marriage, Boy would work for Princess Elizabeth, Lord Mountbatten, and serve as a commander in the British military. The couple had three children, and du Maurier continued to write. Several of her books (JAMAICA INN, REBECCA, MY COUSIN RACHEL, FRENCHMAN’S CREEK) were made into movies, as was her short story that became Hitchcock’s The Birds. In all, she published 35 books, both fiction and nonfiction.

Author Tatiana de Rosnay discovered REBECCA, and du Maurier, at the tender age of 11, when she read the novel for the first time. As soon as she reached the end, she read it again, captivated by du Maurier’s use of hidden truths, mystery, madness and suspense, which influenced every book de Rosnay herself would write later on. When de Rosnay was asked to write a biography of her favorite author, she agreed, investigating and following in du Maurier’s footsteps to Paris, London and Cornwall. She talked with her children and grandchildren, and read all of her books.

The result is MANDERLEY FOREVER, a definitive and beautifully expressed account of du Maurier’s life that reads like a novel. de Rosnay brings the magic she includes in every one of her books to this most readable account of a quite unusual and fearless woman. Even if you’ve never read anything by Daphne du Maurier, you’ll be spellbound by this gorgeously written and imagined book. You’ll feel as though you are inhabiting du Maurier’s life, experiencing all of her adventures and passions. You may even forget that you’re reading a biography!

Reviewed by Melanie Reynolds on May 5, 2017

Manderley Forever: A Biography of Daphne du Maurier
written by Tatiana de Rosnay, translated by Sam Taylor

  • Publication Date: April 18, 2017
  • Genres: Biography, Nonfiction
  • Hardcover: 352 pages
  • Publisher: St. Martin's Press
  • ISBN-10: 1250099137
  • ISBN-13: 9781250099136