Daphne Du Maurier

Daphne du Maurier (1907–89) was edgy. Throughout her life, she teetered on the edge between what was conventionally accepted within the tight-knit circles of the London elite and what was not. Although she was an introvert who preferred isolation, her name skyrocketed into the literary canon due to her hugely successful, suspenseful, and haunting Gothic tales, including Jamaica Inn (1936) and Rebecca (1938).

Daphne du Maurier is a key 20th-century novelist and writer. She published almost forty works over her lifetime, a number of which remain well-known and well-loved today.

Fig. 1 - Daphne Du Maurier was a popular English novelist known for her gothic tales.

Daphne du Maurier: biography

Let's take a look at Daphne du Maurier's biography from the beginning to the end.

Growing up

On 13 May 1907, Daphne du Maurier was born in London, England, to Sir Gerald du Maurier and Muriel du Maurier (Beaumont). She grew up with two sisters in a wealthy and established family. The du Maurier family name was notable for its long line of successful creatives, and, although her parents' names may not be widely-familiar today, they were well known for their acting careers at the time.

Daphne stood out as an introvert in the du Maurier family. She was an avid reader from early childhood and read an array of books by authors including the Brontë sisters and Robert Louis Stevenson.¹ Her love of writing was inspired by the books she read, the imaginative games she played with her sister, and the encouragement from her governess.

During her early life, Daphne spent extensive periods of time in Cornwall and France. In 1925, du Maurier attended finishing school near Paris in France.

Adulthood

A year later, in 1926, the du Mauriers bought a holiday home called Ferryside in Cornwall. If Daphne became financially independent, her parents said, she'd be able to stay there alone. Daphne was motivated to secure this independence, and she succeeded. In 1931, Daphne published her first novel, The Loving Spirit.

After reading The Loving Spirit, the army officer Frederick ('Boy') Browning came to Cornwall to find out more about its author. He and Daphne's relationship quickly developed; Daphne proposed to Boy, and they were married just months after their first meeting. They went on to have three children together, but enjoying motherhood did not come easily to Daphne.

Daphne spent time in London before moving back to Cornwall in a house called Menabilly, which she had already fallen in love with during her time at Ferryside. While Boy remained mostly in London, their relationship became distant.

Fig. 2 - Daphne du Maurier spent a lot of time in Fowey in Cornwall during her life.

Later life

After suffering from a nervous breakdown and illness, Boy died at Menabilly in 1965. Daphne moved into Kilmarth, a smaller home close by.

Daphne continued to write, and, as she became more successful, many of her works were turned into films (three of which were directed by Alfred Hitchcock). In 1969. she was awarded a DBE (Dame Commander in the Order of the British Empire), and in 1977 she published an autobiography.

Aged 81, Daphne passed away peacefully in April 1989.

Over Daphne du Maurier's lifetime, she published nearly 40 books, including both fiction and non-fiction short stories, plays, novels, and essays.

Du Maurier's non-fiction works include a biography of her father, Gerald: A Portrait (1934), which she wrote after his death, and Vanishing Cornwall (1967), a reflection on the place she loved most.

Her short story collections included The Birds and Other Stories (1952), Breaking Point (1959), and The Apple Tree (1963). The latter two collections were written during a dark 'breaking point' period in du Maurier's life, reflected in the unnerving, psychological tones of many of her short stories.

Du Maurier was also a playwright. As well as adapting Rebecca for the stage, she wrote two other original plays titled The Years Between (1945) and September Tide (1948).

Daphne du Maurier: novels

Although Daphne Du Maurier was also a playwright and a non-fiction writer, she is most famous as a novelist. Her novels are full of romance, mystery, melodrama, and often death. Rebecca and Jamaica Inn remain two of her most famous Gothic novels.

Fig. 3 - Daphne du Maurier fell in love with Menabilly house, which became the inspiration for Manderly in Rebecca.

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier: summary

Published in 1938, Rebecca has since become Daphne Du Maurier’s most famous work and has been made into multiple film adaptations. The novel is a reflection on the powers of female jealousy. It follows an unnamed protagonist after she marries a wealthy widower. After moving into his estate, Manderley, the narrator, realises that her new husband's first wife still has a dominating, haunting influence over her husband, the house, and even herself.

Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier: summary

Inspired by du Maurier's own stay at the Jamaica Inn in Cornwall, the 1936 novel Jamaica Inn tells the story of Mary Yellan, who, according to her mother's dying wish, moves to stay at the inn with her aunt and uncle. However, her stay there quickly becomes a chilling experience. Sinister things are happening there, and her abusive uncle is a part of them.

Daphne du Maurier: facts

Daphne du Maurier remains as fascinating as the characters she wrote about in her novels. Let's take a look at some more facts about her that reflect this.

• Daphne du Maurier's father had always wanted a son, which motivated du Maurier to create an alter ego for herself – a boy called Eric Avon. This was not merely down to her father's influence, however. Many of du Maurier's books had male narrators, and she once expressed that she had always wished that she had been born a boy.

• Daphne du Maurier faced multiple accusations of plagiarism over her career. An American author, Edwina Macdonald, claimed that du Maurier had copied a book of hers called Blind Windows (1927) when writing Rebecca. A lawsuit was started; however, the claim was never proven.

• Many of Daphne du Maurier's short stories and novels were adapted into plays and films. Most notably, Alfred Hitchcock directed the films Jamaica Inn (1939), Rebecca (1940), and The Birds (1963) based on du Maurier's works of the same titles. Although du Maurier liked the adaptation of Rebecca, she was unhappy with Hitchcock's interpretation of 'The Birds' (1952) and Jamaica Inn as she felt they were not true to the original stories.

¹ Margaret Forster. Daphne du Maurier. Chatto & Windus Ltd. 1993.