New Releases by Daphne Du Maurier

Now a Netflix film starring Lily James, Armie Hammer, and Kristin Scott Thomas "Last Night I Dreamt I went to Manderley Again..." With these words, the reader is ushered into an isolated gray stone mansion on the windswept Cornish coast, as the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter recalls the chilling events that transpired as she began her new life as the young bride of a husband she barely knew. For in every corner of every room were phantoms of a time dead but not forgotten--a past devotedly preserved by the sinister housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers: a suite immaculate and untouched, clothing laid out and ready to be worn, but not by any of the great house''s current occupants. With an eerie presentiment of evil tightening her heart, the second Mrs. de Winter walked in the shadow of her mysterious predecessor, determined to uncover the darkest secrets and shattering truths about Maxim''s first wife--the late and hauntingly beautiful Rebecca. This special edition of Rebecca includes excerpts from Daphne du Maurier''s The Rebecca Notebook and Other Memories, an essay on the real Manderley, du Maurier''s original epilogue to the book, and more. A PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick

FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF REBECCA ''An eloquent elegy on the past of a county she loved so much'' THE TIMES ''This classic evocation of du Maurier''s beloved home ranks as a work of art ... '' INDEPENDENT ''Du Maurier has no equal'' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH ''There was a smell in the air of tar and rope and rusted chain, a smell of tidal water. Down harbour, around the point, was the open sea. Here was the freedom I desired, long sought-for, not yet known. Freedom to write, to walk, to wander, freedom to climb hills, to pull a boat, to be alone ... I for this, and this for me.'' Daphne du Maurier lived in Cornwall for most of her life. Its rugged coastline, wild terrain and tumultuous weather inspired her imagination and many of her works are set there, including Rebecca, Jamaica Inn and Frenchman''s Creek. In Vanishing Cornwall she celebrates the land she loved, exploring its legends, its history and its people, eloquently making a powerful plea for Cornwall''s preservation.

Daphne du Maurier''s chilling short-story collection, the title story was famously made into a film by Hitchcock - perfect for the Halloween and Christmas markets.

Both in her novels and her memoirs, Daphne du Maurier revealed an ardent desire to explore her family''s history. In Myself When Young, based on diaries she kept between 1920 and 1932, du Maurier probes her own past, beginning with her earliest memories and encompassing the publication of her first book and her marriage. Often painfully honest, she recounts her difficult relationship with her father, her education in Paris, her early love affairs, her antipathy towards London life, and her desperate ambition to succeed as a writer. The resulting self-portrait is of a complex, utterly captivating young woman. "An intimate view of a creative personality...as richly evocative as any of her novels."-Los Angeles Times

When people play the game: Name three or four persons whom you would choose to have with you on a desert island - they never choose the Delaneys. They don''t even choose us one by one as individuals. We have earned, not always fairly we consider, the reputation of being difficult guests . . . Maria, Niall, and Celia have grown up in the shadow of their famous parents - their father, a flamboyant singer and their mother, a talented dancer. Now pursuing their own creative dreams, all three siblings feel an undeniable bond, but it is Maria and Niall who share the secret of their parents'' pasts. Alternately comic and poignant, The Parasites is based on the artistic milieu its author knew best, and draws the reader effortlessly into that magical world.

When Daphne du Maurier wrote The du Mauriers she was only thirty years old and had already established herself as both a biographer and a novelist. She wrote this epic biography during a vintage period in her career, between two of her best-loved novels: Jamaica Inn and Rebecca. Her aim was to write the story of her family "so that it reads like a novel." Spanning nearly three quarters of a century, The du Mauriers is a saga of artists and speculators, courtesans and military men. From England to Paris and back again, their fortunes varied as wildly as their ambitions. An extraordinary family of writers, artists and actors they are...The du Mauriers. "Daphne du Maurier creates on the grand scale; she runs through the generations, giving her family unity and reality . . . a rich vein of humor and satire . . . observation, sympathy, courage, a sense of the romantic, are here."-The Observer

As a young guide for Sunshine Tours, Armino Fabbio leads a pleasant, if humdrum life -- until he becomes circumstantially involved in the murder of an old peasant woman in Rome. The woman, he gradually comes to realise, was his family''s beloved servant many years ago, in his native town of Ruffano. He returns to his birthplace, and once there, finds it is haunted by the phantom of his brother, Aldo, shot down in flames in ''43. Over five hundred years before, the sinister Duke Claudio, known as The Falcon, lived his twisted, brutal life, preying on the people of Ruffano. But now it is the twentieth century, and the town seems to have forgotten its violent history. But have things really changed? The parallels between the past and present become ever more evident. "In du Maurier''s fiction, she unflinchingly exposed hard truths."-Times (UK)

As far as his father, a famous writer, is concerned, Richard will never amount to anything, and so he decides to take his fate into his own hands. But at the last moment he is saved by Jake, who appeals to Richard not to waste his life. Together they set out for adventure, working their way through Europe, eventually arriving in bohemian Paris, where Richard meets Hesta, an entrancing music student. Daphne du Maurier''s second novel is a masterpiece of narration, showcasing for the first time in her career the male voice she would use to stunning effect in four subsequent novels, including My Cousin Rachel. "A magician, a virtuoso. She can conjure up tragedy, horror, tension, suspense, the ridiculous, the vain, the romantic."-Good Housekeeping

Sir Gerald du Maurier was the preeminent actor-manager of his day, knighted in 1922 for his services to the theater. Published within six months of her father''s death, Daphne du Maurier''s frank portrait was considered shocking by many of his admirers-but it was a huge success, winning her critical acclaim and launching her career. Here, Daphne captures the spirit and charm of the charismatic actor who played the original Captain Hook, amusingly recounting his eccentricities, his humor, as well as his darker side. "A remarkable book...brilliant comic writing."-The Times (UK)

Prior to the publication of Golden Lads, Anthony Bacon was viewed as a footnote in the history of his younger brother, Francis. A fascinating historical figure in his own right, Anthony Bacon was a contemporary of the brilliant band of gallants who gathered around the court of Elizabeth I, was closely connected to the Earl of Essex, and worked in France as a spy for Sir Francis Walsingham. While living in France he became acquainted with Henri IV and the essayist Michel de Montaigne, and it was there that Daphne du Maurier discovered a secret that, if disclosed during Bacon''s lifetime, could have put an end to his political career. Du Maurier did much to uncover the truth behind matters that had long puzzled Elizabethan historians, while telling a strange and fascinating tale. "Daphne du Maurier has no equal."-Sunday Telegraph

A "consistently entertaining" saga of beauty, war, and family set during the French Revolution, from the author of Rebecca and The Birds (New York Times). The world of the glass-blowers has its own traditions, its own language — and its own rules. "If you marry into glass," Pierre Labbe warns his daughter, "you will say goodbye to everything familiar, and enter a closed world." But crashing into this world comes the violence and terror of the French Revolution, against which the family struggles to survive. Years later, Sophie Duval reveals to her long-lost nephew the tragic story of a family of master craftsmen in eighteenth-century France. Drawing on her own family''s tale of tradition and sorrow, Daphne du Maurier weaves an unforgettable saga of beauty, war, and family.

She set men''s hearts on fire and scandalized a country. An ambitious, stunning, and seductive young woman, Mary Anne finds the single most rewarding way to rise above her station: she will become the mistress to a royal duke. In doing so, she provokes a scandal that rocks Regency England. A vivd portrait of sex, ambition, and corruption, Mary Anne is set during the Napoleonic Wars and based on Daphne du Maurier''s own great-great-grandmother. "This novel catches fire."-New York Times

Many accounts of the life of Francis Bacon have been written for scholars. But du Maurier''s aim in this biography was to illuminate the many facets of Bacon''s remarkable personality for the common reader. To her book she brought the same gifts of imagination and perception that made her earlier biography, Golden Lads, so immensely readable, skillfully threading into her narrative extracts from contemporary documents and from Bacon''s own writings, and setting her account of his life within a vivid contemporary framework. "Unlike many authors of popular historical biographies, du Maurier resembled Antonia Fraser in being an indefatigable researcher."-Francis King

Pursued by the twin demons of drink and madness, Branwell Bronte created a private world that was indeed infernal. As a bold and gifted child, his promise seemed boundless to the three adoring sisters over whom his rule was complete. But as an adult, the precocious flame of genius distorted and burned low. With neither the strength nor the resources to counter rejection, unable to sell his paintings or publish his books, Branwell became a spectre in the Bronte story, in pathetic contrast with the astonishing achievements of Charlotte, Emily and Anne. This is the biography of the shadowy figure of the "unknown" Bronte. "Miss du Maurier has brought to the art of the biography the narrative urgency which gives such animation to her storytelling."-New York Times Book Review

Emma wakes up one morning to an apocalyptic world. The cozy existence she shares with her grandmother, an eccentric retired actress known to all as Madam, has been shattered: there''s no post, no telephone, no radio - and an American warship sits in the harbor. As the two women piece together clues about the ''friendly'' military occupation on their doorstep, family, friends and neighbours gather round to protect their heritage. In this chilling novel of the future, Daphne du Maurier explores the implications of a political, economic and military alliance between Britain and the United States. "A diverse and engrossing cast of characters...provocative, diverting."-Chicago Tribune

A tale of love and adventure from the internationally bestselling author of Rebecca. ''She wrote exciting plots . . . a writer of fearless originality'' GUARDIAN ''One of the last century''s most original literary talents'' DAILY TELEGRAPH ''A pure, exhilarating adventure story - a swashbuckling tale of exquisite danger and tangled love'' JULIE MYERSON Lady Dona St Columb seems to revel in scandal: she is involved in every intrigue of the Restoration Court. But secretly, the shallowness of Court life disgusts her, and in her heart she longs for freedom and honest love. Retreating to Navron, her husband''s Cornish estate, she seeks peace and solitude away from London. But Navron is being used as the base for a French pirate, an outlaw hunted all over Cornwall. Instead of feeling fear, Dona''s thirst for adventure has never been more aroused; in Jean-Benoit Aubéry she finds a sensitive man who would, like her, gamble his life for a moment''s joy. Together they embark upon a quest rife with danger and glory, one which will force Dona to make the ultimate choice: will she sacrifice her lover to certain death, or risk her own life to save him?

Originally published: New York: Doubleday, 1931.

As a bold and gifted child, Branwell Brontë''s promise seemed boundless to the three adoring sisters over whom his rule was complete. But as an adult, the precocious flame of genius flickered and burned low. With neither the strength nor the resources to counter rejection, unable to sell his paintings or publish his books, Branwell became a specter in the Brontë story, in pathetic contrast with the remarkable achievements of Charlotte, Anne, and Emily. Daphne du Maurier concentrates all her biographer''s skill on the shadowy figure of Branwell Brontë, and no reader could fail to be intensely moved by Branwell''s final retreat into laudanum, alcohol, and death. Dame Daphne du Maurier wrote more than 25 acclaimed novels, short stories, and plays, including Rebecca and The House on the Strand. She was also a passionate and skillful biographer.

Mary Farren went into the gun room one morning about half-past eleven, took her husband''s revolver and loaded it, then shot herself. The butler heard the sound of the gun from the pantry... The fourteen haunting stories in this collection span the whole of Daphne du Maurier''s writing career and explore every human emotion: an apparently happily married woman commits suicide; a steamer in wartime is rescued by a mysterious sailing-ship; a dull husband breaks loose in a surprising fashion; a con woman plays her game once too often; and a famous novelist looks for romance, only to meet with bitter disappointent. Each meticulously observed tale shows du Maurier''s mastery of the genre.

"Prime du Maurier. . . . She holds her characters close to reality; the past she creates is valid, and her skill in finessing the time shifts is enough to make one want to try a little of the brew."—New York Times

Letters written to her friend, Malet, describe Du Maurier''s family, life in Cornwall, and views on writing

This is Daphne du Maurier''s personal memoir, the story of how enchanted Cornwall formed her as a writer -- how the spirit of Cornwall awakened in her a response so imaginative that it transformed ordinary perception into the inspired perception of a master story-teller. Enchanted, mysterious, unexplored, this is Cornwall as seen through the eyes of the best-selling author of Rebecca, Frenchman''s Creek and Jamaica Inn -- tales which have passed into Cornish folk-lore. In Frenchman''s Creek, it is the Helford river and the primaeval enchantment of the creek itself which inspires her; in Jamaica Inn, the hard, diabolic "beauty" of Bodmin Moor. In Castle Dor, landscape speaks to her of ancient Cornish myths and legends -- an extraordinary perception, source of that sinister otherworldliness that held spellbound millions who read The Birds and Don''t Look Now. Completed shortly before Dame du Maurier''s death in 1989, Enchanted Cornwall is the story of a magical relationship between a person and the spirit of a place. It will have special significance for millions who have enjoyed her books and want to know more about this very private writer. But it is a book for everyone to enjoy: her readers, those who have enjoyed her films, and travellers to Cornwall -- whether making their journey in person or just in mind. - Jacket flap.

Eight spellbinding tales of suspense, mystery and romance from the renowned author of Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel. Focusing upon eerie and inexplicable phenomena, the stories include "The Birds" which Alfred Hitchcock adapted to film and the terrifying "Split Second" in which a woman suddenly finds herself plunged into a world of strangers.

THE STORY: The setting is a great house in Cornwall, which has been inherited by young Philip Ashley on the death of his uncle and surrogate father. Although deeply attached to his ancestral home, the uncle had gone to Rome, married a young Itali