I've never read a book that feels as steeped in that feeling of being an imposter as Daphne DuMarier's Rebecca. Our heroine is a never-named middle-class young English woman, in her early 20s, who's earning her living as a traveling companion to an crude older woman. On a stop in Monaco, she meets Maxim deWinter, who her employer is all too happy to repeat gossip about and try to kiss up to: he's the owner of the famous and magnificent country estate of Manderly, and his beautiful, stylish wife Rebecca recently died tragically. The young lady and Maxim have a whirlwind courtship, and before she knows it, she's married and honeymooned and off to her new home and new life as the mistress of a great house.

But when they get to Manderly, things go quickly south. Being middle-class, she's barely been in a place like this, and hasn't the slightest idea how to make it her own. Her husband is suddenly distant and moody. Her only real friend is the spaniel dog that she takes her walks with. The head housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers, all but openly sneers at her and constantly reminds her that she's not anything like the charming and passionate Rebecca. And it's not just Mrs. Danvers...even the locals she goes to visit tell her over and over again how exciting things were when Rebecca was around, how beautiful she was, how delightful. The shy, quiet second Mrs. deWinter begins to despair of ever being good enough for the role she's been handed, and is talked into putting on a costume ball (like the ones Rebecca used to have!) that changes everything.

If you've ever heard about super fast marriages Back In The Day and wondered if people even really knew each other when they go married, Rebecca answers that question with a resounding no. A major part of the drama comes from the fact that the young wife can't understand why Maxim married her and is afraid to share her fears and feelings of inadequacy because, well, she barely knows him. She tortures herself by imagining that he's constantly comparing her to Rebecca, and she's sure she comes up short. She can't even hide from the imposter syndrome that's consuming her...the very place she lives reminds her of the ways in which she feels inadequate. This book is often billed as a gothic romance, and while the former is accurate, the latter isn't really, in my opinion: there's a marriage at the center of it, but not really a romance per se.

Instead, I'd call this a psychological suspense novel. We know from the beginning that the deWinters no longer live at Manderly, that something bad happened there. How exactly this happens unwinds over the course of the book, with the inner lives of the characters and their relationships with each other being driving the action. And the story is well-told and well-paced, but it's still a classic rather than a modern-day thriller, so while it's certainly gripping it's not really a page-turner that'll keep you up all night. And for me, that's preferable anyways. I really enjoyed reading it and plan to add more duMaurier to my list of books to read. I'd recommend Rebecca to just about anybody, it's a tightly crafted and engaging story that'll appeal to anyone who's ever felt like they were playacting at being a grown-up. ( )

Read it over 10 years ago and loved it.

Read it now and not so much.
It’s an easy gothic read but my god, the “new wife” is an idiot. Why you would stay with such a condescending mean man after finding THAT out is beyond me. It’s honestly baffling. Besides the awful romance there’s not a whole lot going for it plot-wise. I should have just let this stay a good book in my memories. ( )

I thought I should return to my reading of Rebecca, begun five months ago and paused one month ago at 38%, noticing my heavy feeling as I reached for it.

Du Maurier's writing is wonderful and atmospheric, and if it was all descriptive of the gothic Cornish environs in which she set her story, I'd be happy with that, but I don't give a fig* about any of the characters and really don't care how it ends (which I know, anyway, from film adaptations). So, 👋📔🚮

* I changed my original word choice to "fig", then realised that this is probably a euphemism for that original word, looked it up to see that this is a misapprehension as it comes from "to give the fig", an insulting Spanish gesture of placing the thumb between the second and third finger, so reminiscent if the British V-sign and American "flip the bird" that, actually, I think I was right in the first place!🖕 ( )

Emblazoned on the front of my copy of Rebecca are the words “The Classic Tale of Romantic Suspense.” Romantic? I would debate that. The suspense part they definitely got right. I’ve also heard it described as the perfect example of a modern gothic tale. That I could also agree with. But before I get into all that… a bit about the story. It centers primarily around a young, unnamed woman, who meets Maxim de Winter – a handsome and seemingly charming man, though twice her age. He proposes to her rather abruptly, just a few weeks after meeting her, to which she accepts. She is however his second wife – his first having died nearly a year before. Soon she and Maxim return to England, to his beautiful and mysterious seaside estate called Manderley. Next to nothing is known or revealed about the first wife, except her name is Rebecca, and she seems to have left in her wake an ominous and imposing presence.

When I first heard about this book, I honestly thought it was going to be a ghost story. There is actually nothing supernatural at all in this book. Needless to say, the leftovers of Rebecca’s seemingly indomitable personality pervade every aspect of Manderley, and consequently our main character’s life. That is truly the primary source of suspense in this story – and it works really well. Perhaps even better than if it had been a ghost story. Du Maurier certainly knew how to build up an almost suffocating sense of terror. It’s especially relatable (I think) if you happen to be a twenty-something young woman with anxieties or who is often unsure of oneself. Many of the things that the main character thought about, felt, or became paranoid about, I could really relate to. That right there probably made it scarier for me.

Another aspect I particularly liked is the way du Maurier sets the mood. The way she describes Manderley and the grounds had me particularly enthralled. I can see where it gets the description as being a gothic story. All the rain, the gloom, the fog, the forest smells, (yes I could practically smell them), were perfect. (Being from the Pacific Northwest, I am a big fan of forest smells, rain, fog, and gloom. ;))

People keep raving about how this book is a romance... I didn’t get that feeling at all. In the beginning of the story, when the main character first meets Maxim, I could see it as being romantic. But after that… not so much. As soon as they arrive to Manderley, Maxim just seems annoyed with his new wife, and mocks her nearly throughout the story. OK surely it could be excused as him being guilt-ridden about stuffing up what happened concerning Rebecca… but I digress. I just didn't get the romantic "feels". Additionally, at the end of the book, (or the beginning if you don’t have an edition with the original epilogue), the main character seems to be more of a caretaker to Maxim rather than a lover. It honestly just seemed very one-sided to me. This issue of it not feeling very romantic, and my being annoyed with both the main character's and Maxim's behaviors/attitudes made some parts of the novel a bit tedious for me.

Besides that, I would completely recommend Rebecca to almost anyone. But especially if you love gothic stories, stories set in England, or if you are a fan of mysteries. In the end I would give Rebecca a rating of 3.5 stars. ( )

I really liked how this book started. The famous line "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again". She writes in beautiful detail about what she sees in the dream and then talks a bit about the present before going back to the beginning of the story. I really enjoyed the writing style and I loved - or loved to hate - all the main characters, even Beatrice who was so relatable. I feel like we all know someone like her who really means well but just goes about it all the wrong way.
The description of Mrs. Danvers gave me the creeps but that's exactly what the author was going for. My only complaint was that the abrupt ending left me unsatisfied.
There was some blasphemy and other mild profanity.
This book was reviewed on the Literary Club Podcast episode 57
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1984185 ( )