Most Popular Books by Daphne Du Maurier

The bestselling classic and masterpiece of psychological fiction ''The greatest psychological thriller of all time'' ERIN KELLY ''The book every writer wishes they''d written'' CLARE MACKINTOSH ''Excellent entertainment . . . du Maurier created a scale by which modern women can measure their feelings'' STEPHEN KING On a trip to the South of France, the shy heroine of Rebecca falls in love with Maxim de Winter, a handsome widower. Although his proposal comes as a surprise, she happily agrees to marry him. But as they arrive at her husband''s home, Manderley, a change comes over Maxim, and the young bride is filled with dread. Friendless in the isolated mansion, she realises that she barely knows him. In every corner of every room is the phantom of his beautiful first wife, Rebecca, and the new Mrs de Winter walks in her shadow. Not since Jane Eyre has a heroine faced such difficulty with the other woman. An international bestseller that has never gone out of print, Rebecca is the haunting story of a young girl consumed by love and the struggle to find her identity. ''Rebecca is a masterpiece'' GUARDIAN ''This chilling, suspenseful tale is as fresh and readable as it was when it was first written'' DAILY TELEGRAPH

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

The definitive biography of Daphne Du Maurier, one of history''s greatest psychological thriller novelists Rebecca, published in 1938, brought its author instant international acclaim, capturing the popular imagination with its haunting atmosphere of suspense and mystery. Du Maurier was immediately established as the queen of the psychological thriller. But the more fame this and her other books encouraged, the more reclusive Daphne du Maurier became. Margaret Forster''s award-winning biography could hardly be more worthy of its subject. Drawing on private letters and papers, and with the unflinching co-operation of Daphne du Maurier''s family, Margaret Forster explores the secret drama of her life - the stifling relationship with her father, actor-manager Gerald du Maurier; her troubled marriage to war hero and royal aide, ''Boy'' Browning; her wartime love affair; her passion for Cornwall and her deep friendships with the last of her father''s actress loves, Gertrude Lawrence, and with an aristocratic American woman. Most significant of all, Margaret Forster ingeniously strips away the relaxed and charming facade to lay bare the true workings of a complex and emotional character whose passionate and often violent stories mirrored her own fantasy life more than anyone could ever have imagined.

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)

For his part, John has no choice but to take the Frenchman''s place - as master of a chateau, director of a failing business, head of a large and embittered family, and keeper of too many secrets.".

Soon to be a major motion picture starring Rachel Weisz and Sam Claflin "From the first page...the reader is back in the moody, brooding atmosphere of Rebecca." -The New York Times From the bestselling author of Rebecca, another classic set in beautiful and mysterious Cornwall. Philip Ashley''s older cousin Ambrose, who raised the orphaned Philip as his own son, has died in Rome. Philip, the heir to Ambrose''s beautiful English estate, is crushed that the man he loved died far from home. He is also suspicious. While in Italy, Ambrose fell in love with Rachel, a beautiful English and Italian woman. But the final, brief letters Ambrose wrote hint that his love had turned to paranoia and fear. Now Rachel has arrived at Philip''s newly inherited estate. Could this exquisite woman, who seems to genuinely share Philip''s grief at Ambrose''s death, really be as cruel as Philip imagined? Or is she the kind, passionate woman with whom Ambrose fell in love? Philip struggles to answer this question, knowing Ambrose''s estate, and his own future, will be destroyed if his answer is wrong. Bonus Reading Group Guide Included Praise for Daphne du Maurier "Miss du Maurier is... a storyteller whose sole aim is to bewitch and beguile. And in My Cousin Rachel she does both, with Rebecca looking fondly over her shoulder." -- New York Times "Double-distilled readers'' delight." -- Manchester Guardian

Born in turn of the century Cornwall, Janet Coombe longs to share in the excitement of seafaring: to travel, to have adventures, to know freedom. But constrained by the times, she marries her cousin Thomas, a boat builder, and settles down to raise a family. Janet''s loving spirit -- her passionate yearning for adventure and love -- is passed down to her son, and through him to his children''s children. As generations of the family struggle against hardship and loss, their intricately plotted history is set against the greater backdrop of war and social change in Britain. Her debut novel, The Loving Spirit established du Maurier''s reputation and style with an inimitable blend of romance, history and adventure. "Daphne du Maurier has no equal."-Sunday Telegraph

"Daphne du Maurier has no equal." Sunday Telegraph As civil war rages across England, the weak prove their courage and the privileged become traitors

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

From the author of Rebecca and The Birds: a classic thriller of shipwreck and murder, "rich in suspense and surprise" (New York Times Book Review). On a bitter November evening, young Mary Yellan journeys across the rainswept moors to Jamaica Inn in honor of her mother''s dying request. When she arrives, the warning of the coachman begins to echo in her memory, for her aunt Patience cowers before hulking Uncle Joss Merlyn. Terrified of the inn''s brooding power, Mary gradually finds herself ensnared in the dark schemes being enacted behind its crumbling walls -- and tempted to love a man she dares not trust. The inspiration for the 1939 Alfred Hitchcock film.

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

Attempts of the Irish semi-aristocratic land owners to escape the destiny inherent in their way of life.

THE CLASSIC THRILLING ROMANCE FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF REBECCA ''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?

A COMING-OF-AGE TALE OF ADVENTURE AND LOVE, FROM THE 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 ''Amazingly vivid'' SATURDAY REVIEW ''The iron of the bridge felt hot under my hand. The sun had been upon it all day. Gripping hard with my hands I lifted myself on to the bar and gazed down steadily on the water passing under . . . I thought of places I would never see, and women I should never love.'' As far as Richard''s father, a famous poet is concerned, his son has no talent as a writer and will never amount to anything. In a moment of crisis, Richard decides to end his life, but is saved by Jake, a passing stranger. The two men, both at turning points in their lives, set out for adventure, jumping aboard a ship to Norway. Their travels take them through Europe and they form a passionate friendship. But in bohemian Paris, Richard meets Hesta, a music student who inspires him to follow his artistic dreams.

In this collection of suspenseful tales in which fantasies, murderous dreams and half-forgotten worlds are exposed, Daphne du Maurier explores the boundaries of reality and imagination. Her characters are caught at those moments when the delicate link between reason and emotion has been stretched to the breaking point. Often chilling, sometimes poignant, these stories display the full range of Daphne du Maurier''s considerable talent. "The appeal of romance and the clash of highly-charged emotions."-New York Herald-Tribune

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.

The last - unfinished - novel of Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, which was completed by Daphne du Maurier. It is a re-creation of the legend of Tristan and Iseult, transplanted in time to 19th-century Cornwall.

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

Daphne du Maurier confirms her eminence as the unchallenged master of psychological suspense in this unforgettable collection of six of her most popular stories. Illustrated by Michael Foreman, it includes "The Birds", "The Alibi" an d four more spine-chilling thrillers. Illustrated.

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.

It is a very cold winter. The birds are hungry and dangerous. There are thousands and thousands of birds and they want to kill and to eat. Then they attack.

FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF REBECCA With an Introduction by ''Britain''s most sophisticated film critic'' David Thomson, THE TIMES ''A remarkable imagination continually provokes both pity and terror'' OBSERVER ''One of the last century''s most original literary talents'' DAILY TELEGRAPH ''She wrote exciting plots . . . a writer of fearless originality'' GUARDIAN ''How long he fought with them in the darkness he could not tell, but at last the beating of the wings about him lessened and then withdrew . . .'' A classic of alienation and horror, The Birds was immortalised by Hitchcock in his celebrated film. The five other chilling stories in this collection echo a sense of dislocation and mock man''s sense of dominance over the natural world.

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.

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.

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

Dick Young is lent a house in Cornwall by his friend Professor Magnus Lane. During his stay he agrees to serve as guinea pig for a new drug Magnus has discovered in his biochemical research; the effect of which is to transport Dick from the house at Kilmarth to the Cornwall of the 14th century.

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.