Rebecca - Book review

 "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again... I came upon it suddenly; the approach masked by the unnatural growth of a vast shrub that spread in all directions... There was Manderley, our Manderley, secretive and silent as it had always been, the gray stone shining in the moonlight of my dream, the mullioned windows reflecting the green lawns and terrace. Time could not wreck the perfect symmetry of those walls, nor the site itself, a jewel in the hollow of a hand." 

The opening lines of Rebecca.

If you've never read Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, can I suggest it as a fantastic read, guaranteed to blow you out of the water?

The story is an unusual one, although in some ways it’s a simple remake of the Cinderella story at the start. But if you take the Cinderella story through, into its next phase, how do you think a girl who had acted as a servant all her life might behave when she marries a prince and takes over the running of the castle? Do you think that will go smoothly for her, or will there be bumps and obstacles along her way?

The end of the Cinderella story is where Rebecca starts. Our protagonist is an orphan, of so little consequence that she doesn't even have a name in the book. She must make a living for herself in the world, so she acts as companion to one Mrs Van Hopper, a selfish nasty woman who treats our heroine like a slave girl. We meet the unlikely pair in Monte Carlo, where Mrs Van Hopper is having a holiday. Monte, they find is quite dead, although Mrs. Van Hopper spots Maximilian De Winter, a famous widower grieving the loss of his wife.

When Mrs Van Hopper becomes ill, our protagonist is taken driving by Max (as he has now asked her to call him) or the course of the week, seeing the couple fall in love. When Max does propose it is almost on the spur of the moment, because Mrs Van Hopper wants to leave Monte and her companion must go with her. The departure is changed and Mrs Van Hopper goes off alone, while the new Mrs De Winter and Max marry in Monte and go on a brief happy honeymoon.

However everything changes when they go to Manderley, his stately family home. The new Mrs De Winter is expected to run a household that the very young woman has no qualification for, and is in fact nervous and afraid of everything. Worse than this, is the specter of the first wife, whom Mrs De Winter believes her husband loved to distraction (as she is repeatedly told by everyone) hovers over this new world, her monograms, her clothing, her managerial style is in everything and the new Mrs De Winter can’t compete with the stylish, supremely confident Rebecca even though she’s dead.

As if all of this isn't enough, the house keeper, Mrs Danvers, was Rebecca's personal maid and a woman who arrived with Rebecca when she married Max. In the book she is matronly, protective of the memory of Rebecca who was like a child to her.

One of the few changes Hitchcock made to the script was to make Mrs Danvers younger and more mysterious, abandoning the maternal overtones for lesbian ones, the implication being there was some sort of affair between she and Rebecca. This is more in line with who Daphne Du Maurier was, a bi-sexual woman forced to keep her sexuality under wraps. Hitchcock's clever changes make Mrs Danvers that much more mysterious and terrifying as she seeks to further undermine the confidence of the new Mrs De Winter.

As if all this suspense and thrill seeking isn't enough, Rebecca contains one of the greatest Hollywood twists at the end of the novel, one of those stunning story moments when revelation upon revelation round out the book and casts a new light on the plot points. Rebecca is a thrillingly suspenseful novel, one that surely only a master of suspense could appropriately translate into film.

If you have’t read Rebecca, you simply must get your hands on a copy. It's one of those books that it for everyone, it’s a romance, a thriller, a mystery and against it all is some very creepy scenes that turn into a horror book at the end. It is timeless  and gripping. You won’t be able to put it down.

Please note - These images have been collected from various websites to show the novel's cover changes through the years, with an intention to encourage people to read the novel. If you see an image here that you believe has been inappropriately used for whatever reason, please feel free to contact the author to have the image removed. 

Why We Love Hitchcock.

The famous dream sequence in Spellbound designed by Slavador Dali.

There is something very special about Alfred Hitchcock that makes him not just one of the most celebrated and revered directors of all time, but also one of the most popular.

Part of Hitchcock’s popularity was connected to his savvy business sense. Its now legend that when he bought the right to Psycho, he bought all the books in circulation so that no one could buy it in order to read it before seeing the film and thereby get a heads up on that now so famous surprise ending. Psycho was also one of the first films to use that famous “nurse” story – there will be a registered nurse on hand in the cinema to rouse people from their expected fainting away in terror. This idea has been used so many times now, its lost its meaning, but Hitchcock knew people. He knew how to write them, how to direct them, how to tease them with suspense and how to appeal to them.

Mrs Danvers haunts the new bride. Daphne du Maurier had Mrs Danvers as matronly, but Hitchcock paints her younger, and with erotic overtones, in homage to du Mauriers bi-sexuality.

Or perhaps our love of Hitchcock is based in his non-educated roots? Hitchcock exemplifies the idea that anyone, if they work hard enough, can achieve anything. Even in 1926, after he’d made his first successful film titled The Lodger (Hitchcock wasn't even twenty at this stage) he knew he’d need  publicist and he started to create a persona for Alfred Hitchcock the director that he honed and worked on all his life. He was a gifted publicist and a man passionately devoted to his own intuitive vision.

Another incredible shot from Spellbound. Chance, fate and the turn of a friendly card.

But then, if we think hard, possibly one of the most beloved things about him, is his invented persona. That lovely, funny way he had of communicating, that dry clever wit applied to all his films and above all, his charming ability to laugh at himself. He knew he was not handsome, but he also knew he was clever, and both those things would have to be hidden to a certain extent in order to bring people on side.

Spellbound is a book devoted to Hitchcock, his methods of suspense and his constant examinations of certain themes, such as thwarted love and the idea of the wrong man. In many ways it is a book and a series of books that celebrates the pleasure films bring us, not just to provide us with pleasure, but also to inspire us to be greater and do greater in our day to day lives. Films have so much power to inspire, and so much of that emotional intensity started with Alfred Hitchcock.

Marnie - A little Hitchcock love.

I am currently editing Spellbound, due for release through Steam eReads in February, and one of the great pleasures of going through this book again, is brushing up on my Hitchcock. Marnie was fifty years old the other day, so I had a wonderful time going back and watching it again.

It is still as romantic as I remember, plus it has the addition of Sean Connery, slap bang in the middle of his James Bond years, as the romantic lead. Think, James Bond falls madly in love and decides to devote everything to saving the woman he loves, and you have Marnie. All that sex appeal, charm and charisma devoted to one woman that he can't forget. (sigh)

And then there is those kisses...

Oh la la - who says the 1960's weren't hot on film?
Not Alfred Hitchcock. He knew how sexy Marnie was. Check out his trailer below, and if your appetite is whetted enough, follow that up with a viewing of the film. I promise you won't be sorry.