January 2013 Host: Jennie
(at California Pizza Kitchen)
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Summary
This novel (published in
1938) is a timeless classic, it is a mystery as well as a ghost story and is
certainly one of the best one hundred books of all time. The story begins as the unnamed narrator
reminisces about her former home, the grand English Estate called Manderley. She was young and shy when she married the
much older Maxim de Winter and moved in to Manderley. She became immediately overwhelmed with the
responsibilities of running the house as well as the memories of Maxim’s first
wife, Rebecca, who had drowned years ago. Rebecca was portrayed as beautiful,
sophisticated, and very confident, and this served to heighten the narrator’s
insecurities in her new home. Also, Rebecca’s friend and (somewhat creepy) maid
continues working at Manderley and is herself obsessed with Rebecca. The characters
are compelling and especially the narrator who often confuses what she believes
with reality. Although there is little
action in the story, it is spooky and leaves the reader throughout the book with
an impending sense of doom, much like the typical horror movie.