Best Selling Books by Daphne du Maurier

The bestselling classic and masterpiece of psychological fiction ''The greatest psychological thriller of all time'' ERIN KELLY ''The book every writer wishes they''d written'' CLARE MACKINTOSH ''Excellent entertainment . . . du Maurier created a scale by which modern women can measure their feelings'' STEPHEN KING On a trip to the South of France, the shy heroine of Rebecca falls in love with Maxim de Winter, a handsome widower. Although his proposal comes as a surprise, she happily agrees to marry him. But as they arrive at her husband''s home, Manderley, a change comes over Maxim, and the young bride is filled with dread. Friendless in the isolated mansion, she realises that she barely knows him. In every corner of every room is the phantom of his beautiful first wife, Rebecca, and the new Mrs de Winter walks in her shadow. Not since Jane Eyre has a heroine faced such difficulty with the other woman. An international bestseller that has never gone out of print, Rebecca is the haunting story of a young girl consumed by love and the struggle to find her identity. ''Rebecca is a masterpiece'' GUARDIAN ''This chilling, suspenseful tale is as fresh and readable as it was when it was first written'' DAILY TELEGRAPH

"Daphne du Maurier has no equal." Sunday Telegraph As civil war rages across England, the weak prove their courage and the privileged become traitors

Originally published: London: V. Gollancz, 1954.

Including the brilliantly frightening short story that inspired Alfred Hitchcock''s masterpiece, this collection from the author of Rebecca is a classic work of alienation and horror. The chilling stories in this collection echo a sense of dislocation and mock man''s dominance over the natural world. The mountain paradise of "Monte Veritv?" promises immortality, but at a terrible price; a neglected wife haunts her husband in the form of an apple tree; a professional photographer steps out from behind the camera and into his subject''s life; a date with a cinema usherette leads to a walk in the cemetery; and a jealous father finds a remedy when three''s a crowd . . . "Continually provokes both pity and terror...Anyone starting this book under the impression that he may sleepily relax is in for a shock." —The Observer (UK)

From the author of Rebecca and The Birds: a classic thriller of shipwreck and murder, "rich in suspense and surprise" (New York Times Book Review). On a bitter November evening, young Mary Yellan journeys across the rainswept moors to Jamaica Inn in honor of her mother''s dying request. When she arrives, the warning of the coachman begins to echo in her memory, for her aunt Patience cowers before hulking Uncle Joss Merlyn. Terrified of the inn''s brooding power, Mary gradually finds herself ensnared in the dark schemes being enacted behind its crumbling walls -- and tempted to love a man she dares not trust. The inspiration for the 1939 Alfred Hitchcock film.

''She wrote exciting plots, she was highly skilled at arousing suspense'' GUARDIAN ''Daphne du Maurier is an excellent storyteller'' KIRKUS REVIEWS ''One of the last century''s most original literary talents'' DAILY TELEGRAPH As a tour guide, Armino Fabbio leads a pleasant, if uneventful life - until he becomes circumstantially involved in the death of a peasant in Rome. The woman, he gradually learns, was his family''s beloved servant many years ago before, in his native town of Ruffano. Fabbio returns to his birthplace, and finds it is haunted by the phantom of his brother, Aldo, who was shot down in flames during the war. Over five hundred years before, the sinister Duke Claudio, known as The Falcon, lived his twisted, brutal life, preying on the people of Ruffano. The town seems to have forgotten its violent history, but have things really changed? The parallels between the past and present become ever more evident.

THE STORY: The setting is a great house in Cornwall, which has been inherited by young Philip Ashley on the death of his uncle and surrogate father. Although deeply attached to his ancestral home, the uncle had gone to Rome, married a young Itali

THE CLASSIC THRILLING ROMANCE FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF REBECCA ''A writer of fearless originality'' GUARDIAN ''One of the last century''s most original literary talents'' DAILY TELEGRAPH ''A pure, exhilarating adventure story - a swashbuckling tale of exquisite danger and tangled love'' JULIE MYERSON Lady Dona St Columb seems to revel in scandal: she is involved in every intrigue of the Restoration Court. But secretly, the shallowness of Court life disgusts her, and in her heart she longs for freedom and honest love. Retreating to Navron, her husband''s Cornish estate, she seeks peace and solitude away from London. But Navron is being used as the base for a French pirate, an outlaw hunted all over Cornwall. Instead of feeling fear, Dona''s thirst for adventure has never been more aroused; in Jean-Benoit Aubéry she finds a sensitive man who would, like her, gamble his life for a moment''s joy. Together they embark upon a quest rife with danger and glory, one which will force Dona to make the ultimate choice: will she sacrifice her lover to certain death, or risk her own life to save him?

''A marvellous celebration of du Maurier''s life, work and cultural legacy'' SARAH WATERS ''She wrote exciting plots, she was highly skilled at arousing suspense'' GUARDIAN ''One of the last century''s most original literary talents '' DAILY TELEGRAPH Daphne du Maurier is one of Britain''s best-loved bestselling authors. Her writing captured the imagination in a way that few have been able to equal. Rebecca, her most famous novel was a huge success on first publication and brought du Maurier international fame. This enduring classic remains one of the nation''s favourite books. In this celebration of Daphne du Maurier''s life and achievements, today''s leading writers, critics and academics discuss the novels, short stories and biographies that made her one of the most spellbinding and genre-defying authors of her generation. The film versions of her books are also explored, including Alfred Hitchcock''s Rebecca and The Birds and Nicholas Roeg''s Don''t Look Now. Featuring interviews with du Maurier''s family and a long-lost short story by the author herself, this is the indispensable companion to her work. Contributors include Sarah Dunant, Sally Beauman, Margaret Forster, Antonia Fraser, Michael Holroyd, Lisa Jardine, Julie Myerson, Justine Picardie and Minette Walters.

When Daphne du Maurier wrote The du Mauriers she was only thirty years old and had already established herself as both a biographer and a novelist. She wrote this epic biography during a vintage period in her career, between two of her best-loved novels: Jamaica Inn and Rebecca. Her aim was to write the story of her family "so that it reads like a novel." Spanning nearly three quarters of a century, The du Mauriers is a saga of artists and speculators, courtesans and military men. From England to Paris and back again, their fortunes varied as wildly as their ambitions. An extraordinary family of writers, artists and actors they are...The du Mauriers. "Daphne du Maurier creates on the grand scale; she runs through the generations, giving her family unity and reality . . . a rich vein of humor and satire . . . observation, sympathy, courage, a sense of the romantic, are here."-The Observer

As far as his father, a famous writer, is concerned, Richard will never amount to anything, and so he decides to take his fate into his own hands. But at the last moment he is saved by Jake, who appeals to Richard not to waste his life. Together they set out for adventure, working their way through Europe, eventually arriving in bohemian Paris, where Richard meets Hesta, an entrancing music student. Daphne du Maurier''s second novel is a masterpiece of narration, showcasing for the first time in her career the male voice she would use to stunning effect in four subsequent novels, including My Cousin Rachel. "A magician, a virtuoso. She can conjure up tragedy, horror, tension, suspense, the ridiculous, the vain, the romantic."-Good Housekeeping

In "a dazzlingly clever and immensely entertaining novel," an Englishman switches lives with his doppelganger, a French count with a dysfunctional family ( New York Times). By chance, John and Jean—one English, the other French—meet in a provincial railway station. Their resemblance to each other is uncanny, and they spend the next few hours talking and drinking —until at last John falls into a drunken stupor. It''s to be his last carefree moment, for when he wakes, Jean has stolen his identity and disappeared. So the Englishman steps into the Frenchman''s shoes, and faces a variety of perplexing roles - as owner of a chateau, director of a failing business, head of a fractious family, and master of nothing. Gripping and complex, The Scapegoat is a masterful exploration of doubling and identity, and of the dark side of the self. "What a magnificent thriller this is." — The New York Times Book Review Praise for Daphne Du Maurier: "No other popular writer has so triumphantly defied classification . . . She satisfied all the questionable criteria of popular fiction, and yet satisfied the exacting requirements of "real literature," something very few novelists ever do." ―Margaret Forster, author of Daphne Du Maurier: The Secret Life of the Renowned Storyteller "She wrote exciting plots, she was highly skilled at arousing suspense, and she was, too, a writer of fearless originality" — The Guardian

"Daphne du Maurier has no equal." --Sunday Telegraph Born in turn of the century Cornwall, Janet Coombe longs to share in the excitement of seafaring: to travel, to have adventures, to know freedom. But constrained by the times, she marries her cousin Thomas, a boat builder, and settles down to raise a family. Janet''s loving spirit--her passionate yearning for adventure and love--is passed down to her son, and through him to his children''s children. As generations of the family struggle against hardship and loss, their intricately plotted history is set against the greater backdrop of war and social change in Britain. Her debut novel, The Loving Spirit established du Maurier''s reputation and style with an inimitable blend of romance, history and adventure.

Dick Young is lent a house in Cornwall by his friend Professor Magnus Lane. During his stay he agrees to serve as guinea pig for a new drug Magnus has discovered in his biochemical research; the effect of which is to transport Dick from the house at Kilmarth to the Cornwall of the 14th century.