Dumorie Daphne (1907–1989) today is undoubtedly a classic of the thriller genre. Her works, for all their romance and unusualness, belong to full literature. No discounts on the "genre" of her novels and stories are needed. Her books (“My cousin Rachel”, “Scapegoat”, “House on the shore”, “Blue lenses”, “Birds. Stories” and many others) are full of drama, tension, pungency ... The ending almost always presents a completely unexpected denouement. There is a certain understatement in her works, something that gives reading a unique aftertaste.
A family
Rod du Maurier has been known since the end of the 18th century. In the family of creative people, Gerald du Maurier and Muriel Beaumond, three daughters were born.
Dumorie Daphne was born on May 13, 1907 under the sign of Venus. Grandfather painted cartoons for Punch magazine, and then, when his eyesight worsened, he wrote the famous novel Trilby. In addition to the children of Gerald, he had five more grandchildren, whose characters served as the starting point for creating images in the novel "Peter Pan".
Childhood and youth
The children of Gerald du Maurier received a home education. As a child, Daphne read a lot, and at the age of 18 she published the first collection of her stories, entitled "Thirsty." Then she left to continue her education in France, near Paris. At this time, she was pondering issues of financial independence and was seriously engaged in literature. At 24 years old, her first novel, “The Spirit of Love”, was released, which brought success and coveted independence.
Marriage
The young major Browning drew attention to this novel. He met a charming author, and young people started a family in 1932. For valor in the war against Nazism, the major will receive the rank of lieutenant general and will be knighted. Marriage and the birth of children did not distract the writer from creativity. In 1936, Du Maurier released a new novel, inspired by the spirit of Stevenson’s work, The Jamaica Restaurant, but it was mystical and scary.
The novel, which was repeatedly filmed
The young 31-year-old woman already has three daughters. In addition, a contract has been concluded with the publisher, who is shown the plan of a new novel. There are quite certain deadlines, and an advance has been received. The plot is ready, but the draft author is not happy. Daphne Dumurier casts him. “Rebecca” (and we are talking about this novel) will be written with a deadline, but in a record short time. Leaving the children for a time, just four months after visiting with her husband Alexandria, in one breath she is preparing a new manuscript for publication. The publisher predicts the novel many years of recognition. Daphne herself believed that he was too joyless, shrouded in darkness, leads to very gloomy thoughts and forebodings, and therefore did not expect success. However, time has shown that Daphne Dumurier was mistaken. Rebecca was first on the list of hundreds of the best detectives of the century. In 2000, the novel was generally named the best work of the XX century.
Famous novel
The book immediately immerses the reader in an atmosphere of fear, loneliness and mental anguish. Speech in the novel is conducted in the first person, and the name of the heroine is never mentioned. We will call her Mrs. Winter. The young shy girl was the companion of the wealthy Mrs. Van Hoper. This overweight lady, a gossip and not very smart woman, was much older. On the Cote d'Azur, Maximilian de Winter paid attention to our heroine, and Mrs. Van Hoper was not slow in telling her companion that his wife Rebecca had died a year ago.
When Mrs. Van Hoper became ill, the two main characters spent a lot of time together. No one ever looked after a girl, and on her soul from her first love it was easy and joyful. Mrs. Van Hoper recovered and decided to go to America. In desperation, the young creature rushed to say goodbye to Maximilian, and he made a silly girl an offer to become his wife. Mrs. Van Hoper uttered poisonous words to her companion and was forced to let her go.
At Manderley Manor
Before winter, Mrs. Winter was in a panic. Even the flowers seemed to her monsters. The housekeeper gathered all the servants to look at the new mistress. Mrs. Denver immediately overwhelmed the young mistress of Manderley with cold and contempt. She showed in every way, talking with ill-concealed anger, that Rebecca, who was raised by her nanny Denver, a creature of the highest order, the young de Winter - was nothing.
All the time behind her stood the invisible shadow of Rebecca, illuminating everything with her unearthly beauty and a higher order mind. There was something to go crazy, especially since Denver tried to push Maximilian's young wife to suicide. Maximilian's sister, Beatrice, immediately arrived at the estate with her husband Giles. They somewhat defused the situation, but not for long. The situation for Mrs. de Winter is becoming increasingly tense. This state is supported in every possible way by Denver, who hates everyone and all. De Winter believes that her husband still loves his dead wife, an extraordinary beauty and smart girl.
Costume ball
The novel of Daphne Dumurier is rapidly approaching the denouement. As with Rebecca, the hosts had to give an annual ball. Mrs. de Winter should have ordered an evening gown. She did this after listening to the advice of the cunning Denver. The husband was dumbfounded and was seriously angry when he saw his wife in an evening dress. He demanded that she quickly change clothes while no one saw her. And Denver had the face of an evil demon, triumphant and repulsive. It was a copy of last year's Rebecca dress. Maxim's sister, Beatrice, as she could, consoled the deranged, distressed de Winter. And Denver triumphed.
Denouement
Only in the very finale does it reveal what a true vile and ugly face Rebecca had. The novel by Daphne Dumurier keeps the reader in suspense from the first to the last sentence. Rebecca was so disgusting to her husband that he could not stand it and killed her. Rebecca had a lover, her cousin, who did not have a penny in her pocket, and she kept him.
When the investigation ended in favor of Maxim, then, returning to Manderley from the city, they saw how their estate was blazing.
First translations of early stories
Today, the Russian reader has access to previously unknown works that Daphne Dumorier created in the early years of her work: "Rendezvous and other stories." The new collection will present many surprises to lovers of the writer's work. These short stories were written in the 20-30s and 40-50s. 14 stories will surprise you with rich genre and plot diversity. Here the author’s love for the Gothic entourage, theatricality in the spirit of Chekhov, fairy tales and parables, satire, as well as a terrible and intense intrigue will manifest itself. 12 stories were first translated into Russian. We wish the reader a pleasant time immersed in the world of Daphne du Maurier.
Interesting facts from the life of the author
- Father dreamed of having a son, and another girl was born. Therefore, Daphne in her youth created herself a "second self", masculine. She wrote even part of her novels on behalf of men.
- The house in Fowey, where she lived, is described in Rebecca as Manderley. Now it belongs to the family of her son Christian.
- The house in Kilmart is described in the novel House on the Shore and has become a landmark in Cornwall.
- Convinced royalist, in 1969 she was awarded the Order of the British Empire and promoted to the rank of lady commander.
- She was not a public person and did not like to give interviews.
- There was a lot of gossip about the lesbian nature of the writer, which was completely rejected by close relatives and Margaret Foster, author of the biographical book.
- The Canadian company Imperial Tobacco Canada Limited produces cigarettes of the Du Marier brand. This production began in 1929 with the permission of Daphne's father to cover his additional taxes.
Instead of an afterword
Dumorie Daphne tries not to impose clear and precise assessments. It does not fall into the morality inherent in bad, tabloid literature, but, on the contrary, arouses a desire for active empathy, sympathy for the main characters and the situation described in the work. Daphne Dumurier writes books so that you can always feel what is called the elusive shades of the human soul. Thin, seemingly insignificant details are extremely important for creating the reader’s images of the main and secondary characters of the writer's works. In general, like every good, great writer, Dumorie Daphne does not create insignificant heroes, they all matter in the patterned canvas of her narratives.