Rebecca

The novel begins in Monte Carlo, where our heroine is swept off her feet by the dashing widower Maxim de Winter and his sudden proposal of marriage. Orphaned and working as a lady’s maid, she can barely believe her luck. It is only when they arrive at his massive country estate that she realizes how large a shadow his late wife will cast over their lives - presenting her with a lingering evil that threatens to destroy their marriage from beyond the grave.

Daphne du Maurier (1907-1989) was born in London. Her first novel appeared in 1931, but it would be her fifth novel, Rebecca, that established her as one of the most popular writers of her day. She spent most of her life in Cornwall, the setting for many of her books, and was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1969.