Daphne du Maurier

Lore & Background

Daphne du Maurier was born in London, the middle of three daughters of actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and actress Muriel Beaumont. Her grandfather was writer and cartoonist George du Maurier. She spent her childhood at Cannon Hall in Hampstead and summers in Fowey, Cornwall, where she later lived much of her life. As her fame increased, she became more reclusive.

Her literary career was aided by family connections; she published early work in her great-uncle's magazine. Her first novel, The Loving Spirit, appeared in 1931. Rebecca (1938) was her most successful work, selling nearly 3 million copies by 1965 and never going out of print. She won the National Book Award for favourite novel of 1938 in the United States. Other significant works include Jamaica Inn, Frenchman's Creek, My Cousin Rachel, and The House on the Strand. She also wrote biographies, including one of her father.

Du Maurier deplored being categorized as a "romantic novelist," as her novels rarely have happy endings and often contain sinister or paranormal elements. Her short stories, such as "The Birds" and "Don't Look Now," are darker tales of terror. She was critical of most screen adaptations of her work, approving only Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca (1940) and Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now (1973).

Reader's Guide

Daphne du Maurier's significance lies in her enduring influence on Gothic and suspense fiction, bridging popular and literary acclaim. Her novel Rebecca remains a cultural touchstone, adapted multiple times for film and television, and her short stories provided source material for iconic films by Alfred Hitchcock and Nicolas Roeg. Despite her commercial success, she resisted the label of romantic novelist, crafting narratives with ambiguous endings and psychological depth. Her works often explore themes of identity, obsession, and the supernatural, set against the atmospheric backdrop of Cornwall. Critics have noted her mastery of "calculated irresolution," leaving readers haunted beyond the final page. Her legacy includes a body of work that continues to be adapted and studied, with her stories retaining their power to unsettle and intrigue.

Did You Know?

• Du Maurier's grandfather George du Maurier was a Punch cartoonist and author of the novel Trilby.
• She was a first cousin of the Llewelyn Davies boys, who inspired J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan.
• Du Maurier approved of only two film adaptations of her work: Hitchcock's Rebecca (1940) and Roeg's Don't Look Now (1973).

A Career Defined by Gothic Ambiguity

Daphne du Maurier's literary output spans novels, short stories, and biographies, yet she is best remembered for a body of work that resists easy categorisation. Her first novel, The Loving Spirit, appeared in 1931, but it was the 1938 publication of Rebecca that transformed her into a household name. That Gothic novel sold nearly three million copies between 1938 and 1965, never went out of print, and earned her the National Book Award for favourite novel of 1938, voted by members of the American Booksellers Association. In Britain, the BBC's 2003 Big Read survey placed it at number fourteen among the nation's best-loved novels. Beyond Rebecca, her fiction includes Jamaica Inn, Frenchman's Creek, Hungry Hill, My Cousin Rachel, The Scapegoat, The House on the Strand, and The King's General. She also produced shorter, darker pieces such as "The Birds," "Don't Look Now," "The Apple Tree," and "The Blue Lenses." Du Maurier actively rejected the label "romantic novelist," noting that her stories rarely end happily and frequently carry sinister or paranormal undertones. Biographer Margaret Forster observed that she met the expectations of popular fiction while also fulfilling the exacting standards of serious literature.

A Creative Dynasty

Daphne du Maurier was born into a family where artistic talent ran in the blood. Her father, Sir Gerald du Maurier, was a prominent actor-manager, and her mother, Muriel Beaumont, was an actress. Her paternal grandfather, George du Maurier, had made his name as a Punch cartoonist and as the author of the 1894 novel Trilby, while her paternal uncle Guy du Maurier worked as a playwright. Her mother was a paternal niece of the journalist and author Comyns Beaumont, whose magazine Bystander gave the young Daphne a platform for some of her earliest published work. Among her siblings, elder sister Angela went on to act and write, and younger sister Jeanne became a painter. The family's theatrical connections meant that as a child Daphne mingled with celebrated stage performers; she later recalled meeting Tallulah Bankhead and calling her the most beautiful creature she had ever seen. The du Maurier children also occupied an unusual place in literary history: Daphne was a first cousin of the Llewelyn Davies boys, the real-life children who inspired J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan. This dense web of creative kinship provided both early encouragement and a natural network that helped launch her own writing career.

From Page to Silver Screen

Few authors of the twentieth century have seen their fiction so thoroughly claimed by cinema. Daphne du Maurier's stories were adapted for the screen beginning in 1939, when Alfred Hitchcock directed Jamaica Inn, starring Maureen O'Hara and Charles Laughton. The following year, Hitchcock returned to her work with Rebecca, featuring Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine, and in 1963 he made a third adaptation from her pages with The Birds, starring Tippi Hedren and Rod Taylor. Between and beyond those three Hitchcock films, a steady stream of directors brought her novels to life: Mitchell Leisen helmed Frenchman's Creek in 1944, Brian Desmond Hurst directed Hungry Hill in 1947, Henry Koster made My Cousin Rachel in 1952 with Olivia de Havilland and Richard Burton, and Robert Hamer adapted The Scapegoat in 1959 with Alec Guinness and Bette Davis. Nicolas Roeg's 1973 film Don't Look Now, drawn from du Maurier's short story, added another layer to her screen legacy. More recently, Roger Michell directed a new My Cousin Rachel in 2017, and Ben Wheatley offered a fresh Rebecca in 2020, demonstrating that her narratives continue to attract filmmakers across generations.

Cornwall and the Retreat from the World

Cornwall was not merely a backdrop for Daphne du Maurier; it was the emotional and geographical centre of her adult life. The family spent summers at their home in Fowey, and during the war years the household lived there permanently. Most of her works are set in this part of England, from the world of Jamaica Inn to the atmospheric setting of The House on the Strand, which weaves a tragic love affair in fourteenth-century Cornwall with elements of mental time-travel and the dangers of mind-altering drugs. The King's General, another novel rooted in Cornwall, is set during the English Civil War and written from the Royalist perspective. Yet as her public profile grew, particularly following the success of Rebecca, du Maurier withdrew further into private life. She became increasingly reclusive, preferring the quiet of her home to the demands of fame. This retreat from the public eye shaped her writing as much as her surroundings did: her stories often turn on isolated settings, secretive families, and the slow unraveling of a character's sense of safety. The Cornish landscape became inseparable from the psychological terrain she explored on the page.