Born in 1907, Daphne du Maurier, also known as Lady Browning, earned a reputation for penning thrillers
with romantic undertones. Transformed into Alfred Hitchcock’s successful adaptations, it’s grim, racy, and paranormal, mostly set in Cornwall. Rebecca, Jamaica Inn,
Frenchman Creek, and others have won her the National Book Award. Walking
in the footsteps of her grandfather, George du Maurier, who was a writer and a
cartoonist, she walked a mile further in creating lasting characters.
A Londoner settled in Cornwall, Daphne was
married to Frederick Browning and bore three children with him. A daughter to
upscale parents in the Regent’s Park, she had a long list of ancestors and
relatives equally talented. Standing out prominently in the talent pool is
Llewelyn Davies Boys, serving as an inspiration for J. M Barrie’s ‘Peter Pan’
or ‘The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up’. A writer of thrillers bordering on
paranormal, how would you describe her literary personality? Her biographers
know her as Daphne du Maurier still writing under her maiden name before her
husband, Frederick was knighted thus making her Lady Browning.
Undoubtedly, she resonated with the
audience. Not taken seriously at first, she grew in popularity later with her
works leaving an enduring appeal. But she couldn’t remain untouched. The downside
of fame pushed her into the life of a recluse. Daphne’s personal life did not
leave much to the imagination. Pouring herself into writing, her frosty demeanour
lacked warmth. The reverberations of cracks spread far and wide until in the
company of close friends who knew her inside out. The chills of marriage passed on to her girls.
Mixing in the society was once in a blue moon affair and equally rare were the
interviews. The setting for The House on the Strand became Kilmarth in
Cornwall post the aftermath of her husband’s passing away. Eventually Cornwall
became a setting for many of her works.
Of her novels, short stories and
biographies, Rebecca, published in the year 1938, proved to be the most successful. In
the United States, in the same year, Maurier won the National Book Award for
Rebecca. Seven years after the publication of her first work, her fame did not
seem to wane and Rebecca never went out of print. Borrowing the elements of a
Gothic novel, Mrs Danvers' sinister presence is imbued with paranormal accidents.
It’s not unwittingly that Rebecca became Hitchcock’s favourite: the director who
shares Daphne’s penchant for the paranormal. The unnamed reader marries the widower
of Manderley's estate out of impulsiveness. No sooner than she assumes the responsibilities
of the Estate, she realizes the shadows of her predecessor consuming her. Undermined by Mrs Danvers contempt and
isolated by her husband’s impetuousness, the narrator justifies her
psychological state in her reflection, fairly underscoring its relevance as
well the enduring significance of the novel’s opening lines: “ Last night, I
dreamt of Manderley again.”
IMAGE SOURCE: BRITANNICA