Skip to content

Daphne du Maurier

Amongst the most enduringly popular and acclaimed writers of the twentieth century, British author Daphne du Maurier remains best-known as the creator of one of literature’s best-loved novels, the taut and suspense-thrilled psychological thriller, Rebecca.

Read more

£22.00
Hardback
Coming soon - 30/09/2025
Awaiting publication
Amid the reflections and twisting alleyways of Venice, a grieving couple are haunted by the past. On a sharp December day, the wind changes - and the birds begin to gather. A group of wartime scientists attempt to capture the power of death, an eye operation reveals a monstrous reality, and a woman returns home to find she doesn't exist.
  • This item has been added to your basket
SEE MORE

Books by Daphne du Maurier

Rebecca
Added to basket
Paperback
£9.99
Rebecca
Added to basket
Paperback
£9.99
Jamaica Inn
Added to basket
Frenchman's Creek
Added to basket
My Cousin Rachel
Added to basket
The Loving Spirit
Added to basket
Julius
Added to basket
Paperback
£8.99
Castle Dor
Added to basket
The King's General
Added to basket
The Parasites
Added to basket
Mary Anne
Added to basket
The Scapegoat
Added to basket
The Glass-Blowers
Added to basket
The Flight Of The Falcon
Added to basket
The House On The Strand
Added to basket
Rule Britannia
Added to basket
The Breakthrough
Added to basket

Daphne du Maurier Gift Editions

Rebecca
Added to basket
Hardback
£16.99
Rebecca
Added to basket
Hardback
£16.99
Jamaica Inn
Added to basket
My Cousin Rachel
Added to basket
Frenchman's Creek
Added to basket
The Birds And Other Stories
Added to basket
Rebecca
Added to basket
Hardback
£25.99

The Du Maurier legacy

Born in London in 1907, Daphne du Maurier grew up in a world immersed in theatre, art and literature. Her father, the actor-manager Sir Gerald Hubert Edward Busson, encouraged Daphne in her ambition to write and held hopes that she would follow in the footsteps of her grandfather, George Du Maurier, the noted author of Trilby. Daphne’s relationship with her father was close but not unproblematic. Although she began writing and publishing short stories and four novels – the first of which, The Loving Spirit, was published in 1931 - it was her frank biography of her father, Gerald, which first established her literary identity. In the mid 1930’s Du Maurier established a close and productive relationship with the publisher Victor Gollancz, who supported her in completing her fourth novel, Jamaica Inn, which became an instant bestseller.

Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again

Having married Major Frederick Arthur Montague (Boy) Browning in 1932, du Maurier was required to follow her husband to Egypt as an army wife in the late 1930’s. Always more comfortable in her own company than a crowd, she found the social hubbub of her Egyptian circle oppressive and was profoundly homesick. Her situation proved the perfect melting pot to inspire one of the greatest psychological thrillers ever written. A story of jealousy, false identity and malevolent secrets, strongly influenced by Jane Eyre, Rebecca became a literary sensation. The book’s success was cemented when Alfred Hitchcock chose to adapt it for the screen in 1940 (he later also made films of her next two novels Frenchman’s Creek and Hungry Hill as well as her short story The Birds, in 1963).

The heart of Cornwall

During the war, du Maurier returned to England, renting Menabilly, a house she had fallen in love with in the Cornish countryside. The distance between Daphne and her husband caused by the war fed a profound estrangement, which she wrote about in the play, The Years Between. Their relationship continued to founder after his return, with Frederick spending much of his time in London as part of the household of Princess Elizabeth and Daphne remaining in Cornwall with their children. Her unease at their relationship fed into much of her writing, including the novels The Apple Tree, The Breaking Point, My Cousin Rachel and The Scapegoat. Although the popularity of her work brought her considerable success, du Maurier was frustrated that her fiction wasn’t given greater critical attention and she felt her works were unfairly side-lined as purely commercial, romantic thrillers. After her husband’s death in 1965 du Maurier suffered a profound psychological breakdown, compounded by having to leave Menabilly. Her depression and anxiety fed into her last works of fiction, in particular The House on the Strand but for much of her later life she found herself unable to write and died of heart failure in 1989.