You Should Be Reading: Rebecca

Written by Daphne du Maurier and published in 1938, Rebecca is a classic English novel that follows the narration of an unnamed protagonist who, whilst working as the companion to a rich American woman vacationing in Monte Carlo, meets a wealthy widowed Englishman named Maxim de Winter. When he suddenly proposes her hand in marriage, she agrees to accompany him to his mansion, the beautiful West Country estate Manderley, but soon finds that the memory of his first wife, Rebecca, still maintains a grip on her husband and the servants, especially on the housekeeper Mrs Danvers. Haunted by her memory, a mystery that lives on even after Rebecca’s death begins to unravel.

Set to be released next month, the film adaptation is directed by Ben Wheatley and will star Armie Hammer as Maxim de Winter, Lily James as Mrs de Winter, and Kristin Scott Thomas as Mrs Danvers.

My 2016 Reading Wrap-Up

Over the past couple of years, I have documented every film that I have watched and reviewed them all using Letterboxd.

As a way to motivate myself to read more, I thought I would do the same for what books I have been reading, using Goodreads as a way to set myself a reading challenge.

So, this year I set myself a challenge of reading 18 books, and for the first time since doing so, I have managed to exceed my target, hooray!

Here’s how my 2016 challenge went, with a short review and rating for each of the books:

Book v Film: Rebecca (1940)

“I am glad it cannot happen twice, the fever of first love. For it is a fever, and a burden, too, whatever the poets may say. They are not brave, the days when we are twenty-one. They are full of little cowardices, little fears without foundation, and one is so easily bruised, so swiftly wounded, one falls to the first barbed word.”

Based on Daphne du Maurier‘s 1938 book and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, Rebecca follows an unnamed protagonist (Joan Fontaine) who, whilst working as the companion to a rich American woman vacationing in Monte Carlo, meets a wealthy widowed Englishman named Maxim de Winter (Laurence Olivier). When he suddenly proposes her hand in marriage, she agrees to accompany him to his mansion, the beautiful West Country estate Manderley, but soon finds that the memory of his first wife, Rebecca, still maintains a grip on her husband and the servants, especially on the housekeeper Mrs Danvers (Judith Anderson). Haunted by her memory, a mystery that lives on even after Rebecca’s death begins to unravel.

Book Review: Rebecca

“I am glad it cannot happen twice, the fever of first love. For it is a fever, and a burden, too, whatever the poets may say. They are not brave, the days when we are twenty-one. They are full of little cowardices, little fears without foundation, and one is so easily bruised, so swiftly wounded, one falls to the first barbed word.”

Written by Daphne du Maurier and published in 1938, Rebecca is a classic English novel that follows the narration of an unnamed protagonist who, whilst working as the companion to a rich American woman vacationing in Monte Carlo, meets a wealthy widowed Englishman named Maxim de Winter. When he suddenly proposes her hand in marriage, she agrees to accompany him to his mansion, the beautiful West Country estate Manderley, but soon finds that the memory of his first wife, Rebecca, still maintains a grip on her husband and the servants, especially on the housekeeper Mrs Danvers. Haunted by her memory, a mystery that lives on even after Rebecca’s death begins to unravel.

Daphne Du Maruier’s Rebecca To Return To The Big Screen

(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)

DreamWorks has confirmed this month that they plan to bring Daphne du Maruier‘s 1938 novel Rebecca back to the big screen.

To be re-adapted by Steven Knight, the book tells the story of an unnamed American woman who marries a rich Englishman, Maximilian de Winter. Moving into his estate, though, she finds herself confronted by the echoes of her new husband’s first wife, Rebecca and beings to unravel a mystery that lives on even after Rebecca’s death.