Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.
It’s my most favourite book of all time.
I didn’t go to Manderley but I did buy this gorgeous edition.
I’m mostly a Kindle and audiobooks person, but I do like to have my faves in physical form, preferably in hardback. I grabbed this on my recent visit to Waterstones–although it’s not brand new as the book’s 80th anniversary was in 2018. I only had it in paperback previously, with a not very impressive cover. I’m so glad I got it, I could finally take a nice picture of it and post it here, in the seven and a half years I’ve been running this blog, it’s long overdue!
Daphne du Maurier fascinates me, and the character of Rebecca de Winter also fascinates me. A dead woman dominating the narrative like that must have been quite a personality. I approach Rebecca the same way I do Jane Eyre–how do we know that Maxim is telling the whole truth? In addition to the second Mrs de Winter being a biased narrator herself.
The second Mrs de Winter is a character I relate to more than any other fictional character. Or my younger self at least; I’m Maxim’s age now and hopefully more confident. But it’s amazing how Daphne depicted social anxiety so well, it’s pretty much textbook, without realising she did so.
Maxim de Winter makes me feel conflicted because I can’t decide whether I want to 1. throw things at him or 2. throw him against the wall.
So, that’s my thoughts on Rebecca. Anyone else a fan?
Some Photoblog 