Although du Maurier is classed as a romantic novelist, her stories have been described as "moody and resonant" with overtones of theparanormal. Her bestselling works were not at first taken seriously by critics, but they have since earned an enduring reputation for narrative craft. Many have been successfully adapted into films, including the novelsRebecca,Frenchman's Creek,My Cousin Rachel andJamaica Inn, and the short stories "The Birds" and "Don't Look Now". Du Maurier spent much of her life inCornwall, where most of her works are set. As her fame increased, she became more reclusive.[2]
As a child, du Maurier met many prominent theatre actors, because of the celebrity of her father. On meetingTallulah Bankhead, du Maurier was quoted as saying that Bankhead was the most beautiful creature she had ever seen.[7]
Du Maurier spent her childhood atCannon Hall, Hampstead, the family's London residence, and summers at their home inFowey, Cornwall, where they also lived during the war years.
Flavia (b. 1937), who married Captain Alastair Tower. After they divorced, she marriedGeneral Sir Peter Leng.
Christian (b. 1940), a photographer and filmmaker. He married Olive White (Miss Ireland 1961).
She was known as Daphne du Maurier from 1907 to 1932, when she married Frederick Browning. Still writing as Daphne du Maurier during her marriage, she was also known as Lady Browning after her husband was knighted in 1946.[8]
Biographers have claimed that du Maurier's marriage was at times somewhat chilly, and that she could be aloof and distant to her children, especially the girls, when immersed in her writing.[9][10] She has often been painted as a frostily private recluse who rarely mixed in society or gave interviews,[10] but many people remembered her as a warm and immensely funny person in private who was a welcoming hostess to guests atMenabilly,[11] the house that she had leased for many years, from theRashleigh family in Cornwall.
An exception to her reticence to give interviews came after the release of the filmA Bridge Too Far, based on a book by Cornelius Ryan, in which her late husband was portrayed in a less-than-flattering light. Incensed, she wrote to the national newspapers, decrying what she considered unforgivable treatment.[13]
She appeared as a castaway in the BBC Radio programmeDesert Island Discs broadcast on 3 September 1977. Her chosen book wasThe Collected Works ofJane Austen, and her luxury was whisky and ginger ale.[14]
When she was made aDame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1969,[1] she was titled Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, DBE, but she never used the title. According to her biographerMargaret Forster, she told no one about the honour, so that even her children learned of it only from the newspapers. "She thought of pleading illness for the investiture, until her children insisted it would be a great day for the older grandchildren. So she went through with it, though she slipped out quietly afterwards to avoid the attention of the press."[15]
The Daphne du Maurier Companion, edited by Helen Taylor, includes Taylor's claims that du Maurier confessed to her in 1965 that she had had anincestuous relationship with her father and that he had been a violent alcoholic.[16] Du Maurier stated in her memoirs that because her father had wanted a son,[9] she became atomboy, in an attempt to get the parental approval she would have had, had she been born a boy.
In correspondence that her family released to biographer Margaret Forster, du Maurier explained to a trusted few people that she felt her personality comprised two distinct people – the loving wife and mother side she showed to the world, and the lover side, a "decidedly male energy", hidden from virtually everyone, which was the power behind her artistic creativity. According to Forster's biography, du Maurier believed the "male energy" propelled her writing.[17]
After du Maurier's death in 1989, some writers speculated about her alleged intimate physical relationships with a number of women,[9] including Ellen Doubleday, the wife of her U.S. publisherNelson Doubleday, and the actressGertrude Lawrence, as detailed in the 2007BBC Two film,Daphne.[10][a] The children of both du Maurier and Lawrence have objected strongly to the stories about the alleged relationship between their mothers.
Two years after Lawrence died, a biography of her written by her widower, Richard Aldrich, went into detail about a friendship between her and du Maurier that had begun in 1948 when Lawrence had accepted the lead role in du Maurier's new playSeptember Tide.[20] Aldrich said that Lawrence had toured Britain in the play in 1948 and continued with it in London'sWest End theatre district through 1949, and that later du Maurier visited them at their home in the United States.[20] Aldrich made no mention of a possiblesame-sex relationship.[20]
Du Maurier died from heart failure in her sleep on 19 April 1989, aged 81, at her home in Par, Cornwall,[3] which had been the setting for many of her books. Her body was cremated in private and without a memorial service (at her request)[21] and her ashes scattered off the cliffs around Kilmarth and Menabilly, Cornwall.[3][22]
Her family connections helped her establish her literary career, and she published some of her early work in her great uncle Comyns Beaumont'sBystander magazine. Her first novel,The Loving Spirit, was published in 1931.
The novelRebecca (1938) was du Maurier's most successful work. It was an immediate hit, selling nearly 3 million copies between 1938 and 1965. The novel has never gone out of print. In the United States, du Maurier won theNational Book Award for favourite novel of 1938, voted by members of theAmerican Booksellers Association.[23] In the UK, it was listed at number 14 of the "nation's best-loved novel"s on theBBC's 2003 surveyThe Big Read.[24]
Du Maurier was often categorised as a "romantic novelist", a term that she deplored,[25] given that her novels rarely have a happy ending, and often have sinister overtones and shadows of the paranormal. In this light, she has more in common with the "sensation novels" ofWilkie Collins and others, which she admired.[11] The criticKate Kellaway wrote: "Du Maurier was mistress of calculated irresolution. She did not want to put her readers' minds at rest. She wanted her riddles to persist. She wanted the novels to continue to haunt us beyond their endings."[26]
Du Maurier's short stories are darker: "The Birds", "Don't Look Now", "The Apple Tree", and "The Blue Lenses" are finely crafted tales of terror that shocked and surprised her audience in equal measure.[citation needed] As herbiographer Margaret Forster wrote, "She satisfied all the questionable criteria of popular fiction, and yet satisfied too the exacting requirements of 'real literature'."[28]
The discovery, in 2011, of a collection of du Maurier's forgotten short stories, written when the author was 21, provides some insight into her mature style. One of them, "The Doll", concerns a young woman's obsession with a mechanical male sex doll; it has been deemed by du Maurier's son Kit Browning to be "quite ahead of its time".[29]
She also wrote non-fiction, including several biographies such asGerald, her father's biography.The Glass-Blowers traces her FrenchHuguenot ancestry and vividly depicts theFrench Revolution.The du Mauriers traces the family's move from France to England in the 19th century.[30]
The House on the Strand (1969) combines elements of "mental time-travel", a tragic love affair in 14th-century Cornwall, and the dangers of using mind-altering drugs. Her final book,Rule Britannia (1972), was not well-received, her biographer, Margaret Forster, considering it to be the author's poorest novel.[31]
Rebecca has been adapted for both stage and screen several times, most notably byAlfred Hitchcock in his 1940 filmRebecca. Several of du Maurier's other novels have also been adapted for the screen, includingJamaica Inn,Frenchman's Creek,Hungry Hill, andMy Cousin Rachel in both1952 and2017. The Hitchcock filmThe Birds (1963) is based on a treatment of the short story of that name, as is the filmDon't Look Now (1973). Of the films, du Maurier often complained that the only ones she liked were Hitchcock'sRebecca andNicolas Roeg'sDon't Look Now.[citation needed]
Hitchcock's treatment ofJamaica Inn was disavowed by both director and author, due to a complete re-write of the ending to accommodate the ego of its star,Charles Laughton. Du Maurier also felt thatOlivia de Havilland was wrongly cast as the anti-heroine ofMy Cousin Rachel (1952).[32]Frenchman's Creek fared better in a lavish Technicolor versionreleased in 1944. Du Maurier later regretted her choice ofAlec Guinness as the lead in thefilm ofThe Scapegoat, which she partly financed.[11]
Du Maurier wrote three plays. Her first was an adaptation of her novelRebecca, which opened at theQueen's Theatre in London on 5 March 1940 in a production byGeorge Devine, starringCelia Johnson andOwen Nares as the De Winters andMargaret Rutherford as Mrs. Danvers. After 181 performances, the production transferred to theStrand Theatre, withJill Furse taking over as the second Mrs. De Winter andMary Merrall as Mrs. Danvers, with a further run of 176 performances.
In 1943 she wrote the autobiographically inspired dramaThe Years Between about the unexpected return of a senior officer, thought killed in action, who finds that his wife has taken his seat asMember of Parliament (MP) and has started a romantic relationship with a local farmer. It was first staged at theManchester Opera House in 1944 and then transferred to London, opening atWyndham's Theatre on 10 January 1945, starringNora Swinburne andClive Brook. The production, directed by Irene Hentschel, became a long-running hit, completing 617 performances. It was revived by Caroline Smith at theOrange Tree Theatre inRichmond upon Thames on 5 September 2007, starring Karen Ascoe andMark Tandy.[33]
Her third play,September Tide, portrays a middle-aged woman whosebohemian artist son-in-law falls in love with her. Again directed by Irene Hentschel, it opened at theAldwych Theatre on 15 December 1948 withGertrude Lawrence as Stella. It closed in August 1949 after 267 performances.
Shortly afterRebecca was published inBrazil, criticÁlvaro Lins and other readers pointed out many resemblances to the 1934 book,A Sucessora (The Successor), by Brazilian writerCarolina Nabuco. According to Nabuco and her editor, not only the main plot, but also situations and entire dialogues had been copied.[34] Du Maurier denied having copied Nabuco's book, as did her publisher, pointing out that the plot elements said to have been plagiarised were quite common.[35]
The controversy was examined in a 2002 article byLarry Rohter inThe New York Times.[36] According to Nabuco's memoirs, when the Hitchcock filmRebecca was first shown in Brazil,United Artists wanted Nabuco to sign a document stating that the similarities were merely a coincidence but she refused.[37] Rohter quotes Nabuco's memoirs as saying,
When the film version of 'Rebecca' came to Brazil, the producers' lawyer sought out my lawyer to ask him that I sign a document admitting the possibility of there having been a mere coincidence. I would be compensated with a quantity described as 'of considerable value.' I did not consent, naturally.[36]
Rohter remarked: "Nabuco had translated her novel into French and sent it to a publisher in Paris, who she learned was also Ms. du Maurier's [publisher] only afterRebecca became a worldwide success. The novels have identical plots and even some identical episodes."[36]
AuthorFrank Baker's second novel,The Birds, was published byPeter Davies in 1936. Baker stated that it bore some resemblance toThe Terror byArthur Machen (first published 1917).[38] WhenAlfred Hitchcock'sThe Birds was released in 1963, based on "The Birds" (1952) by du Maurier, Baker considered litigation againstUniversal Studios[39][40] but his legal counsel stated: "The treatment of the general idea of attacks by birds in the two works is as different as it could be."[41]
Du Maurier denied that she had ever read Baker's book. Some sources claim that Du Maurier was a reader for Davies in 1936,[42] but she was already a successful author by then, and spent most of 1936 in Alexandria with her family.[43]
Du Maurier's love of the outdoors and walking were written about inAnnabel Abbs's bookWindswept: Walking in the Footsteps of Remarkable Women (Two Roads, 2021) as she retraced the writer's walk along theRhône river in France, accompanied by her Cornish neighbour and friendClara Vyvyan.
Daphne du Maurier was one of five "Women of Achievement" selected for a set of British stamps issued in August 1996.[44]
English Heritage caused controversy in June 2008 by denying an application to commemorate her home in Hampstead with aBlue Plaque. In 2011 a plaque was mounted on Cannon Cottage in Well Street, Hampstead, put up by the Heath and Hampstead Society.[45]
In 2013, grandson Ned Browning released a collection of men's and women's watches based on characters from the novelRebecca, under the brand namedu Maurier Watches.[46]
In the 2014 novelThe House at the End of Hope Street,[47] du Maurier is featured as one of the women who has lived in the titular house.[48]
The character ofBedelia Du Maurier in the television seriesHannibal was named in part after du Maurier because its creatorBryan Fuller is a fan of Alfred Hitchcock, who had adapted three of du Maurier's books to film.[49]
Daphne du Maurier appears as a character in the short story "The Housekeeper" byRose Tremain. The story imagines a lesbian affair between du Maurier and a Polish housekeeper, who is then fictionalised as Mrs Danvers inRebecca.
The 2024 novelThe Mischief Makers by Elisabeth Gifford is inspired by du Maurier's relationships with Barrie and the Llewelyn Davies brothers.[50]
Maroon beret – She was said to have chosen the colour which is now an international symbol of airborne forces; however, in a letter, kept by the British Airborne Assault Archive, she wrote that it was untrue.[55]
^Bret, David (1 January 1998).Tallulah Bankhead: a scandalous life. London/Jersey City, NJ: Robson Books; Parkwest Publications. p. 34.ISBN1861051905.OCLC40157558.
^Wilson, Scott.Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Location 13209). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.
^"Book About Plants Receives Award: Dr. Fairchild's 'Garden' Work Cited by Booksellers",The New York Times, 15 February 1939, p. 20. ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851-2007).
^"The Big Read", BBC (April 2003). Retrieved 18 October 2012.
^"Rebecca seria brasileira" [Rebecca would be Brazilian].Os Filmes (in Portuguese). Archived fromthe original on 15 September 2007. Retrieved26 October 2007.
^Baker, Frank (1968).I Follow But Myself. Peter Davies. p. 185.
^van, Praag, Menna (2014).The house at the end of Hope Street : a novel. New York.ISBN978-0143124948.OCLC852829959.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Dictionary of National Biography. London, Oxford University Press, 1887– : Du Maurier, Dame Daphne (1907–1989); Browning, Sir Frederick Arthur Montague (1896–1965); Frederick, Prince, Duke of York and Albany (1763–1827); Clarke, Mary Anne (1776?–1852).
Rance, Nicholas. "Not Like Men in Books, Murdering Women: Daphne du Maurier and the Infernal World of Popular Fiction". In Clive Bloom (ed.),Creepers: British Horror and Fantasy in the Twentieth Century. London and Boulder, CO: Pluto Press, 1993. pp. 86–98.
