BOOK REVIEW: Rebecca

REBECCA, the classic of romantic suspense novel by Daphne du Maurier, finally made it to the top of the pile of books on my night stand. The book was first published in 1938, so I guess it could be said that I have waited a few years to get around to reading it.

The narrator, known to the reader only as “the second Mrs. de Winter, starts by telling of her remembrances of her meeting Maxim de Winter, their sudden marriage, and her life as a new bride in the beautiful estate named Manderley. The ghost of Rebecca, the first Mrs. de Winter is very much still in residence at the estate. From all accounts, Rebecca was perfect in everything that she did and was loved by all who knew her.

Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper at Manderley, still is very loyal to her ex-mistress and goes to great length to make the new bride feel not only resented, but threatened as well. As more and more facts come forth about Rebecca’s death, the reader starts to worry about the safety of our heroine.

This is one of the first books to be written in the Gothic Romance genre and as a result, many authors have stolen freely from the original plot. Although this was my first reading, several scenes struck a chord with me as being familiar.  The evil housekeeper has become a standard character in suspense novels, as has the flashy playboy and loyal secretary.

I had some real problems with the heroine at the beginning of the book and especially when she arrives at Manderley. Her youth and lack of self-confidence gave too much power to the late Rebecca. Character development is very important to me in a book and the people in Rebecca were more than stereotypes. Mrs. Danvers truly is motivated by her love of Rebecca. Her actions may appear to be evil, but they make sense----at least to her.

As a rule, I like my romantic heroes to be, well, romantic. I found Maxim to be a bit of a cold fish. The only reason that I could see the heroine marrying him was to get out of the bad situation that she was in. I wanted more of a passionate spark on his part. It has to be remembered that love scenes have changed in the last seventy some years.

I am glad that I finally got around to reading REBECCA. I enjoy the genre, plus now when “ Last night I dreamed I went to Manderley again” appears on a quiz on famous literary first lines, I will remember the two wives of maxim de Winter.