The private world of Daphne du Maurier - Hardcover

SHALLCROSS, Martyn

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0860516695 ISBN 13: 9780860516699

Publisher: Robson Books, 1991

Synopsis

Dame Daphne du Maurier is the creator of some of the most memorable stories of the twentieth century--and a few of the most remarkable tales ever committed to film, among them Hitchcock's Rebecca and The Birds. In her time, she was lauded as "the Gentle Romantic"; yet, as Martyn Shallcross reveals in this unique and involving biography, Daphne du Maurier was much more than a simple writer of stories.
The Private World of Daphne du Maurier brings us closer than we have ever been to understanding the woman behind the fiction, a woman whose own story is as rich and colorful as any she invented. Her circle included luminaries from the world of letters, and stars of stage and screen from Sir John Gielgud to Douglas Fairbanks, Jr; her unsatisfying marriage led her to seek solace in a number of deep and lasting friendships with women, including Gertrude Lawrence; and her home, Menabilly--the basis for Rebecca's celebrated Manderley--hosted members of the British royal family.
Martyn Shallcross, du Maurier's friend and confidant for over twenty years, was regarded by her as the only person qualified to tell her story. In this fascinating book, Shallcross draws on confidences she shared throughout their friendship, on his knowledge of her literary career, and on interviews with many of the glamorous figures who were a part of her private world. There will be no more intimate, no more telling account of the life of this singular figure of our time.

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews

A bare-bones biography of the popular British author of Rebecca, etc. Born in 1907, du Maurier, Shallcross tells us, was educated at home. Her uncle, a magazine editor, published one of her stories when she was a teenager and got her a literary agent. Her second novel, Jamaica Inn, was bought for the movies, and young Alfred Hitchcock was asked to direct. Du Maurier's next novel, Rebecca, was her most resounding hit, with producer David Selznick hiring Hitchcock to make the movie and Laurence Olivier to star as Maxim de Winter. Casting de Winter's mousy second wife proved more difficult: Joan Fontaine finally beat out Margaret Sullavan and Anne Baxter. According to Shallcross, Fontaine and Olivier didn't get along (he'd wanted Vivien Leigh in the role), and a crucial element of the plot had to be changed to meet censorship codes. But the film won an Oscar, and even du Maurier was pleased with the adaptation. Married to a military man, she resided for years in the Cornish countryside she loved (and wrote about in Enchanted Cornwall, 1989), producing further novels and short stories (The Birds and Don't Look Now both being made into films) until her death in 1988. Here, Shallcross, who was a casual acquaintance toward the end of du Maurier's life, seems most interested in the movies, and the sections devoted to the making of the films (with which du Maurier had minimal involvement) are his most substantial and engrossing. But despite the title, little of the author's ``private world'' is revealed. There are suggestions that du Maurier's marriage was shaken by her husband's infidelities, but little of her style or personality emerges. Frustratingly slim pickings, even for devoted fans. (Illustrations--not seen.) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Robson Books
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0860516695
• ISBN 13: 9780860516699
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224