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