REBECCA Paperback – 30 January 2003

“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.”With one the most famous opening lines in books, I dived into the most popular work of Daphne du Maurier - Rebecca. I had already read My Cousin Rachel by the same author and just loved it.When I turned the last page of the book, I had so many feelings and immediately I began comparing it with My Cousin Rachel. In fact, the comparison between the two books ran constantly at the back of my mind while I read Rebecca. Having said all this, Rebecca is a kind of book that needs to be read more than once as I feel that every time you will read it you will discover something that you missed when you read it first. This book deserves to be absorbed for it's obscure hints, it's beautiful writing and characters for which your feelings will continue to change as you progress with the book.The heroine of Rebecca is a young girl who works as a paid companion to an indignant elderly lady, Mrs. Van Hopper. On a trip to Monte Carlo with Mrs. Hopper our heroine meets Maxim de Winter, a rich handsome widower. Despite the age difference between the two, they develop a bond, a friendship and begin to see each other often. A surprise marriage proposal from Mr. de Winter takes our heroine from the warm setting of South of France to the cold, dark and yet beautiful mansion, Manderly. Here she learns and discovers so much about her husband - be it his past or his present life, that she realises that she has never known the man whom she has married.But, what worries and haunts her the most is the presence of his dead beautiful wife, Rebecca in every corner of Manderley.This book has a list of notorious characters who you will mostly despise or be scared of - the nameless narrator, a villain that you for some reason you vouch for and a character who is dead but her presence is felt throughout the story.This is my second book from Daphne du Maurier and just like My Cousin Rachel, the author maintains the dark, sinister setting where you know almost everything but as you progress with the book you begin to doubt your knowledge. You do not understand who to trust, who to support, who to hate and who to love. This dilemma in your mind that makes du Maurier's books unputdownable can be attributed to her tricky and ambiguous writing. With some extraordinary lines, Rebecca is truly a masterpiece.Rebecca deserves the praise and love it has received since the day it was published. The story is dark and thrilling with some memorable characters. A must read!

Rebecca the review - I remember how I fell in love with the gorgeous cover instantly. Speaking about the novel - truly a masterpiece. A well crafted plot. Deeply engrossing tale. I remember how it piqued my interest with every turning page. The author has done a splendid job in terms of imagination and execution.I love the way it impacted me. I love the way it made me feel everything that the nameless protagonist went through. It transported me every time the vivid descriptions were portrayed. It has that rustic earthen feel to it. The vastness of the sea in comparison with the confines of Menderly, the place where the nameless heroine resides, was an out of the world and a surreal experience. It was so intense and richly imaginative. I strongly recommend reading it to experience the medley of emotions that it has to offer.

Perfectly neat ofcrs.

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier is such a classic book which had been very new to me according to it's genre until I finished reading it..I really don't have any clear idea about how to write about this book concisely. There's so many things to talk about. Still trying to write a few lines..A young girl (assumingly in her late teens or very early twenties) got married to rich and elite Maxim de Winter by chance of her luck and became Mrs de Winter about which she fantasized like crazy after knowing. But the things turned out quite opposite to her imagination when she came to Manderley, the estate of de Winters'. There was Mrs. Danvers who was the personal maid of Rebecca (the first Mrs. de Winter). After the mysterious death of Rebecca the second marriage happened and Manderley got exposed to our narrator..It's totally a character driven book and the development of characters are so very amazing. I love the narrator's character. She is around 19-20 years and I can relate with her in many ways. How insecured she feels in front of people she doesn't know and how much of an overthinker she is! This is very much relevant for a girl of her age..There's dead Rebecca's existence all over the Manderley which haunts everybody in that estate. Despite of being dead she is so much omnipresent, that any living and non living thing of that estate is affected by it..There is so much more in the story. The uncanny feelings of the characters are very impactful. Every character is very much significant and they have their own spaces to flourish. The character of Mrs. Danvers is another of a kind and mysterious all along.du Maurier's writing style is remarkable. An impactful read with a great amount of unanswered suspense.

The first half of the book might seem a bit of a stretch to many like it did to me but the other half of the book is worth it all. As the plot progresses the novel seems to become a black hole that can't be put down as it absorbs you wholly. At the end of the novel you are left stunned and Rebecca, oh! She keeps fascinating and haunting your mind.

Page quality is quite poor.