Book description
Rebecca, published in 1938, brought its author instant
international acclaim, capturing the popular imagination with its
haunting atmosphere of suspense and mystery. du Maurier was
immediately established as the queen of the psychological thriller.
But the more fame this and her other books encouraged, the more
reclusive Daphne du Maurier became.
Margaret Forster's award-winning biography could hardly be more
worthy of its subject. Drawing on private letters and papers, and with
the unflinching co-operation of Daphne du Maurier's family, Margaret
Forster explores the secret drama of her life - the stifling
relationship with her father, actor-manager Gerald du Maurier; her
troubled marriage to war hero and royal aide, 'Boy' Browning; her
wartime love affair; her passion for Cornwall and her deep friendships
with the last of her father's actress loves, Gertrude Lawrence, and
with an aristocratic American woman.
Most significant of all, Margaret Forster ingeniously strips away
the relaxed and charming facade to lay bare the true workings of a
complex and emotional character whose passionate and often violent
stories mirrored her own fantasy life more than anyone could ever have imagined.
Altogether a model biography - human sympathy tempered with honesty
and spiced with real intelligence -- Lorna Sage Observer A startlingly
good biography The Times Convincing throughout ... Margaret Forster's
interpretation of her subject is so complete and so persuasive that it
leaves nothing for the reader to do except admire and enjoy Independent
on Sunday Forster's acute and sensitive book succeeds on many levels ...
Its most important achievement is to disprove the highbrow assumption
that bestsellers are shallow ... and do not ... engage the depths of the
psyche -- John Carey Sunday Times Margaret Forster can do no wrong ...
The story is as gripping as REBECCA, as full of surprises as MY COUSIN
RACHEL ... affectionate, honest, unsentimental and perceptive Daily Mail
Born in Carlisle, Margaret Forster is the author of many successful
novels - including
Lady's Maid
,
Have the Men Had Enough?
,
The Memory Box
,
Diary of an Ordinary Woman
,
Keeping the World Away
and most recently
Over
- as well as bestselling memoirs, and biographies of Elizabeth Barrett
Browning and Daphne du Maurier. She is married to writer and journalist
Hunter Davies and lives in London and the Lake District.
