Daphne du Maurier

Available for over a year

"Last night I dreamt of Manderley again..." begins Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier one of the most well-loved novels of the 20th century. As part of the Daphne du Maurier: Double Exposure season on Radio 4, Open Book looks again at her hugely popular novels to reveal the enduring qualities and appeal of her writing. From the pirates, smugglers and bewitching Cornish wilds of Jamaica Inn and Frenchman’s Creek, to the gender politics and class commentary of Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel, du Maurier’s reputation as a romance novelist misrepresented the true breadth of her work. Octavia Bright is joined by Olivia Laing, author of The Lonely City, Funny Weather and Crudo; novelist, short story writer and Cornish resident Wyl Menmuir and Dr Laura Varnam of Oxford University, an expert on du Maurier’s life and work, to strip away some of the undermining labels she struggled to shake in her lifetime. Book List – Sunday 10 March and Thursday 14 March Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier Don’t Look Now by Daphne du Maurier The Birds by Daphne du Maurier My Cousin Rachel by Daphne de Maurier The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier The Infernal World of Branwell Brontë by Daphne du Maurier The Parasites by Daphne du Maurier Vanishing Cornwall by Daphne du Maurier Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne du Maurier Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier The Lonely City by Olivia Laing Funny Weather by Olivia Laing Crudo by Olivia Laing The Draw of the Sea by Wyl Menmuir