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Rebecca
A classic novel of romantic suspense finds the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter entering the home of her mysterious and enigmatic new husband and learning the story of the house's first mistress, to whom the sinister housekeeper is unnaturally devoted.
Paperback, 410 pages
Published
2006
by HarperCollins
(first published May 1938)
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(showing 1-30)
Jun 18, 2007
Kelly
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
fans of gothic lit.
This is it. THE delicious, curl up next to the fire under a blanket with tea book. THE windowsill on a rainy day with your pet book. THE stay up all night book. A chill goes down your spine (but in a good way!) while reading it. It is a masterpiece of gothic literature, the inheritor of the tradition of novels like Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. I'd call it the 20th Century Jane Eyre, actually, with a modernist twist. It is written so that the characters and events come to seem quite believabl
...more
Dec 29, 2016
Jeffrey Keeten
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
gothic,
book-to-film
”Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again".
This is one of the more famous lines in literature certainly it belongs in the same conversation as Call me Ishmael. Even to people who have never read the book or seen the excellent movie by Alfred Hitchcock might have a glimmer of recognition at the mention of a place called Manderley. Daphne du Maurier leased a place called Menabilly which became the basis for the fictional Manderley. Aren’t we glad she changed the name? Just say Manderley a few ...more
This is one of the more famous lines in literature certainly it belongs in the same conversation as Call me Ishmael. Even to people who have never read the book or seen the excellent movie by Alfred Hitchcock might have a glimmer of recognition at the mention of a place called Manderley. Daphne du Maurier leased a place called Menabilly which became the basis for the fictional Manderley. Aren’t we glad she changed the name? Just say Manderley a few ...more
Well…this is awkward.
So, most of my friends love this book. Naturally, I wanted to as well. I blame the herd mentality.
Baaah.
Did I love this book? At times, yes. Did I also loathe this book? At times, yes. It’s made deciding on a rating a much more daunting task than I normally face. After reflecting on it for some time, and re-reading my f-bomb laden notes, I’m going with two stars, because as a whole, I did not enjoy this.
While I greatly detested some aspects, I can still recognize gorgeou ...more
So, most of my friends love this book. Naturally, I wanted to as well. I blame the herd mentality.
Baaah.
Did I love this book? At times, yes. Did I also loathe this book? At times, yes. It’s made deciding on a rating a much more daunting task than I normally face. After reflecting on it for some time, and re-reading my f-bomb laden notes, I’m going with two stars, because as a whole, I did not enjoy this.
While I greatly detested some aspects, I can still recognize gorgeou ...more
Oh, how I wish I could rewind the past month and start all over again! Then I could pick up Rebecca and experience this breathtaking novel once more as if for the first time. Truth be told, this wasn’t actually my first time reading this quintessential piece of classic gothic literature. However, I am ashamed to say that the number of years that have passed between my first reading and this recent one, combined with what I like to call a lingering case of ‘momnesia’, effectively rendered this re
...more
HERE IS MY HEART...
REBECCA is my favorite book of all time -- bar none.
The opening line is famous, but I didn’t know that the first time I read it (I was about 14). I just remember that the magic began with that first line:
Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderly again....
The girl is young, clumsy, exquisitely sensitive. Impoverished and alone after her father’s death, she was employed by a wealthy and boorish social climber, Mrs. Van Hopper, and made her living as the older woman’s companion.
Ma ...more
REBECCA is my favorite book of all time -- bar none.
The opening line is famous, but I didn’t know that the first time I read it (I was about 14). I just remember that the magic began with that first line:
Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderly again....
The girl is young, clumsy, exquisitely sensitive. Impoverished and alone after her father’s death, she was employed by a wealthy and boorish social climber, Mrs. Van Hopper, and made her living as the older woman’s companion.
Ma ...more
A woman, a man, another woman's shadow; a landscape, a house, a hidden history. These six elements have informed the gothic impulse from Udolpho and Jane Eyre to The Thirteenth Tale. Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca is crucial to the genre, for in it du Maurier simplified and organized these six elements, refining the narrative, concentrating the mythic, and enriching the ambiguity of her tale.
What du Maurier understood is that the heart of the romantic gothic is the struggle between two women, one w ...more
Sep 09, 2007
Madeline
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
the-list,
all-time-favorites
"I dreamt I went to Manderley again."
Rebecca is the story of a young woman (her first name is never given) who marries wealthy Maxim de Winter, mostly to escape her life as a companion to a rich American woman. She moves with her new husband to his estate, Manderly, where she learns about her husband's previous wife, Rebecca. Although Rebecca drowned in the ocean near the house over a year ago, the house is still full of her prescence. Her old room is cleaned daily, and is left exactly the way i ...more
Rebecca is the story of a young woman (her first name is never given) who marries wealthy Maxim de Winter, mostly to escape her life as a companion to a rich American woman. She moves with her new husband to his estate, Manderly, where she learns about her husband's previous wife, Rebecca. Although Rebecca drowned in the ocean near the house over a year ago, the house is still full of her prescence. Her old room is cleaned daily, and is left exactly the way i ...more
May 10, 2010
Tatiana
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
lovers of classics
Recommended to Tatiana by:
Hannahr, Ryan
Books like Rebecca remind me from time to time what quality literature really is. Sometimes I forget, buried under stacks of entertaining but often poorly written popular fiction.
At first, Rebecca is very reminiscent of another favorite book of mine - Jane Eyre. The main character is a young, innocent, poor girl who falls in love with a rich older man. The happiness is so near, but the shadow of the man's first wife stands in the way of it. A family secret, a haunted mansion, a deranged servant ...more
At first, Rebecca is very reminiscent of another favorite book of mine - Jane Eyre. The main character is a young, innocent, poor girl who falls in love with a rich older man. The happiness is so near, but the shadow of the man's first wife stands in the way of it. A family secret, a haunted mansion, a deranged servant ...more
Jul 31, 2011
Lora
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
fans of classics from the early - mid 20th century
Recommended to Lora by:
Arlene, Wendy, my love for all things Gothic and romantic
Rebecca is a classic tale that weaves mystery, secrets, and romance into an intricate and stunning twine. It tells the story of a young girl who is swept off her feet by a much older man with money and possessions aplenty — and even more heartache in his recent past.
Since his wife's tragic death eight months ago, Maxim de Winter has been doing everything he can to forget the horrific part of his past that has left him feeling bereft of happiness and aloof from others.
But even with this kind of ...more
Since his wife's tragic death eight months ago, Maxim de Winter has been doing everything he can to forget the horrific part of his past that has left him feeling bereft of happiness and aloof from others.
But even with this kind of ...more
"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again."
This beautiful first line is instantly recognisable, and has passed into our culture. Like all great openings it captures our imagination and makes us want to read more. The rhythm is insistent, the mention of dreams intrigues us and the word "Manderley" echoes somewhere in our subconscious. We are already in danger of falling under Daphne Du Maurier's hypnotic spell.
Generally regarded as Daphne du Maurier's masterpiece, Rebecca has never been out ...more
This beautiful first line is instantly recognisable, and has passed into our culture. Like all great openings it captures our imagination and makes us want to read more. The rhythm is insistent, the mention of dreams intrigues us and the word "Manderley" echoes somewhere in our subconscious. We are already in danger of falling under Daphne Du Maurier's hypnotic spell.
Generally regarded as Daphne du Maurier's masterpiece, Rebecca has never been out ...more
If I found myself in Interstellar's tesseract by a quirk of fate, then chances are I might leave a coded message for my younger self to read Rebecca asap. Since my ill-informed, younger self was not put off by cloyingly sentimental narrators who make the experience of 'tell don't show' all the more grating or the gender politics underpinning a work, her reaction to the book would have been more in tune with the multitude of gushing reviews on GR and elsewhere.
My heart, for all its anxiety and d...more
Rebecca
Every year I promise myself that I will include some literary classics in my reading list and every year I fail miserably. 2016 was no exception, although in my defense I wasn't very engaged in reading for a good part of it. But I digress.
Going by many comments I've read in Goodreads, it seems that Rebecca is one of those "aspirational" books that live perennially in our to-read shelves but that many of us never actually read.
I am not sure what finally prod me to get out of my comfort z ...more
Every year I promise myself that I will include some literary classics in my reading list and every year I fail miserably. 2016 was no exception, although in my defense I wasn't very engaged in reading for a good part of it. But I digress.
Going by many comments I've read in Goodreads, it seems that Rebecca is one of those "aspirational" books that live perennially in our to-read shelves but that many of us never actually read.
I am not sure what finally prod me to get out of my comfort z ...more
Manderley and I had a much more successful visit this time around, as compared to the first time I read this book several years ago. Here's the key: This is not a romance novel. As I read Rebecca over the last several days, I had a much greater appreciation for its artistry, the way Daphne du Maurier skillfully used words to create a mood and increase the suspense.
We can never go back again, that much is certain. The past is still close to us. The things we have tried to forget and put behind us...more
Manderley, "today we we pass on, we see it no more, and we are different, changed in some infinitesimal way. We can never be quite the same again." It's such a sensation, when you read a book and a place is so memorable that it stays with you. To have place, plot, and person in such congruency, this is a treat; it is when you know an author is at her best. When I remember this book, I won't think of Rebecca, the deceased wife, nor will I recall the nameless narrator and gullible young bride o
...more
Last night I dreamed I went to Manderley again. It seemed to me I stood by the iron gate leading to the drive, and for a while I could not enter, for the way was barred to me.
This is one of the best opening lines ever. In fact, I found the whole fist chapter to be amazing in terms of setting up the scenery and the mood of the story. We know this a personal narration of some undefined dramatic event. We know the narrator has a powerful imagination and is prone to flights of fancy. We know that ...more
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Manderley... a mist on the hill, an unreal mansion, dark, threatening, unfathomable, unreachable, a thing that can not exist, only seen through a dream, a mirage, that will pass into the night, and float into nothingness, a nightmarish, chilling legend, that will continue, but the reality never discovered, for a myth has no answers just questions...Maximilian (Maxim) de Winter is a sad English widower, at 42, living an aimless life, travelling to forget, but can't, staying in a Monte Carlo hotel
...more
"Γιατί τα σκυλιά να σε κάνουν να θέλεις να κλάψεις; Η συμπόνια τους έχει κάτι το τόσο σιωπηλό και το τόσο απελπισμένο. Ηξερε ο Τζάσπερ ότι έτρεχε κάτι κακό, όπως όλα τα σκυλιά...»
Τι τρυφερή και ανεπιτήδευτη γραφή; Τι καταιγιστικές εξελίξεις; Ολοκληρωμένοι χαρακτήρες αποτύπωμενοι με τόση αληθοφάνεια που σίγουρα ταυτίζονται με υπαρκτά πρόσωπα, οικεία,αγαπημένα ή μισητά. Όλη η υπόθεση ξετυλίγεται με μεγάλη γοητεία,αβίαστα και αυθόρμητα.
Ατμόσφαιρα μυστηρίου, πάθη,λάθη,μυστικά,εναλλαγή καλού-κακού, ...more
Τι τρυφερή και ανεπιτήδευτη γραφή; Τι καταιγιστικές εξελίξεις; Ολοκληρωμένοι χαρακτήρες αποτύπωμενοι με τόση αληθοφάνεια που σίγουρα ταυτίζονται με υπαρκτά πρόσωπα, οικεία,αγαπημένα ή μισητά. Όλη η υπόθεση ξετυλίγεται με μεγάλη γοητεία,αβίαστα και αυθόρμητα.
Ατμόσφαιρα μυστηρίου, πάθη,λάθη,μυστικά,εναλλαγή καλού-κακού, ...more
I first read this novel approximately forty years ago, when I was a teenager. I have an enduring memory of walking around my home, nose firmly in the book, unable to put it down. Yesterday, listening to the concluding chapters of the audiobook, I had the same experience. I could not stop listening until it was over.
When I was a teenager, what captivated me most about Rebecca was the plot: the relationship between the unnamed narrator and Maxim de Winter, the machinations of Mrs Danvers, the mys ...more
When I was a teenager, what captivated me most about Rebecca was the plot: the relationship between the unnamed narrator and Maxim de Winter, the machinations of Mrs Danvers, the mys ...more
Still my favorite gothic novel of all time. A troubled love interest, an unwelcoming housekeeper, a house haunted by the memories of its previous mistress, and a young girl who is ill-equipped to handle everything...all the elements for a wildly mysterious and romantic story that is unforgettably and beautifully written.
Rebecca is just a great story that never gets old. Great characters, great writing... it remains one of my all time favourites and I seem to appreciate something new every time I return to it.
As a reader, there’s nothing so thrilling as the joy of discovery. Of happening upon a book you’ve never heard of, reading it, and absolutely loving it. And then going out and telling ten other people about the incredible experience. That happened to me upon reading Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca.
To be sure, I didn't exactly “discover” Rebecca any more than Columbus discovered America. After all, it was published in 1938 and has never gone out of print. More to the point, I was not ignorant of its ...more
To be sure, I didn't exactly “discover” Rebecca any more than Columbus discovered America. After all, it was published in 1938 and has never gone out of print. More to the point, I was not ignorant of its ...more
Well. This was certainly different from what I expected. In the reviews I read beforehand, Rebecca was described as a suspenseful, gothic murder mystery. And the last third of the book was just that. But the first two thirds are definitely more of a character study.
We are introduced to the young, unnamed heroine in Monte Carlo, where she works as a companion to a pretty detestable woman. After a short romance, she marries Maxim de Winter, a man twice her age, and comes with him to his grand est ...more
We are introduced to the young, unnamed heroine in Monte Carlo, where she works as a companion to a pretty detestable woman. After a short romance, she marries Maxim de Winter, a man twice her age, and comes with him to his grand est ...more
It was quite a painful book and not really in a good way. The protagonist is so insecure. How can someone walk around feeling so...desperate, depressed, and doubtful about everything? It was depressing. I could not finish it.
It's not necessarily a bad book; I just couldn't stand how uncomfortable she felt all the time. It's like those people who had to do presentations in class that looked so flustered you felt bad for them and watching them was just out right painful. That was like this book f ...more
It's not necessarily a bad book; I just couldn't stand how uncomfortable she felt all the time. It's like those people who had to do presentations in class that looked so flustered you felt bad for them and watching them was just out right painful. That was like this book f ...more
When you want something, the whole world conspires to get you that thing.
The above quote suits very well in my getting to read Rebecca.
I had this book in my college library and I kept saying it a no, next time I'll issue you and it was such an evil of me!
Thankfully I got this book from a friend and I must say my reading world had never been the same again.
This is one book I'd want to recommend to everyone who enjoy classics and to everyone who say they don't read classics.
Read this one book a ...more
The above quote suits very well in my getting to read Rebecca.
I had this book in my college library and I kept saying it a no, next time I'll issue you and it was such an evil of me!
Thankfully I got this book from a friend and I must say my reading world had never been the same again.
This is one book I'd want to recommend to everyone who enjoy classics and to everyone who say they don't read classics.
Read this one book a ...more
Apr 02, 2014
Joe Valdez
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Ghost hunters, McMansion lovers, Gothic chicks
Shelves:
mystery-suspense
I can't recall what possessed me to bump Daphne du Maurier's 1938 Gothic mystery so far up my reading list. Rebecca was the source material for the Academy Award winning Best Picture of 1940, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Joan Fontaine & Laurence Olivier, a film I recall being visually stunning but very un-Hitchcockian in its plot development. It had more in common with Gone With the Wind than Strangers on a Train. My urge to give more female authors an honest read and to find so
...more
Η αφήγηση είναι όμορφη. Οι χαρακτήρες διακατέχονται από αληθοφάνεια. Γεμάτο συμβολισμούς, πχ. η ηρωίδα χωρίς όνομα νιώθει κυνηγημένη από την "Ρεβέκκα", επίσης η ένταση εκτονώνεται κατά την διάρκεια μίας βροχής και αργότερα η λύτρωση και ο εξαγνισμός με μία πυρκαγιά. Το πιο σημαντικό, όμως είναι ότι δύσκολα το αφήνει ο αναγνώστης, από τα χέρια του, όταν το κάνει δε, δεν γίνεται να βγάλει αυτό το βιβλίο απο το μυαλό του..
Η αλήθεια όμως είναι οτι επιθυμούσα η ατμόσφαιρα να έχει περισσότερη αύρα μυσ ...more
Η αλήθεια όμως είναι οτι επιθυμούσα η ατμόσφαιρα να έχει περισσότερη αύρα μυσ ...more
The author’s dark twist of mystery & suspense adds depth & substance to what is really just a rehash of the classic Cinderella story. I was immediately hooked by the opening line "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again" then swept into one of the most enchanting descriptive passages I’ve ever read, a dream-walk through the manor’s overgrown and abandoned garden. “The beeches with white, naked limbs leant close to one another; their branches intermingled in a strange embrace. A lil
...more
I realize after re-reading this book I never wrote a review. I love this book. The writing is wonderful, the story is slow-moving but engaging. The characters make me angry. The current Mrs. de Winter needs to snap out of it. At times, I wanted to smack her. But I felt for her at the same time. I watched the movie and it really made me want to smack her. As far as Max, he is the most moody gentleman I have ever come across. Even the evil Mrs. Danvers was clearly insane. But that is what adds to
...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suffolk bookclub: Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier | 3 | 4 | 9 hours, 11 min ago | |
| The Book Basilisks: January Read: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier | 13 | 13 | Jan 19, 2017 06:26AM | |
| Around the Year i...: Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier | 25 | 82 | Jan 15, 2017 06:29PM | |
| Bookworm Bitches : April - June 2012: Rebecca | 143 | 517 | Jan 15, 2017 06:25PM | |
| 50 books to read ...: Rebecca | 12 | 42 | Jan 10, 2017 10:46PM | |
| Should Maxim have gotten away with murder? | 7 | 59 | Jan 10, 2017 10:59AM | |
| The 2nd wife's name? | 60 | 1141 | Jan 01, 2017 06:03PM |
If Daphne du Maurier had written only Rebecca, she would still be one of the great shapers of popular culture and the modern imagination. Few writers have created more magical and mysterious places than Jamaica Inn and Manderley, buildings invested with a rich character that gives them a memorable life of their own.
In many ways the life of Daphne du Maurier resembles a fairy tale. Born into a fami ...more
More about Daphne du Maurier...
In many ways the life of Daphne du Maurier resembles a fairy tale. Born into a fami ...more
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“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.”
—
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“If only there could be an invention that bottled up a memory, like scent. And it never faded, and it never got stale. And then, when one wanted it, the bottle could be uncorked, and it would be like living the moment all over again.”
—
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