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redbluemoon's review against another edition
5.0
This year, I read [b:The Invention of Angela Carter: A Biography|28501482|The Invention of Angela Carter A Biography|Edmund Gordon|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1466343851s/28501482.jpg|48654559]. I didn't think I would be so moved by the life of a woman I didn't know, but, at the end, I was crying like I lost a friend of mine. Well, it was the same with Manderley Forever by Tatiana de Rosnay!
I love [b:Rebecca|17899948|Rebecca|Daphne du Maurier|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386605169s/17899948.jpg|46663] and I would like to read more books by Daphne du Maurier; but I also wanted to discover her life, how she came to write her books, what was her inspiration. I was not disappointed! Tatiana de Rosnay swept me away in England, in the twentieth century, during World War II, after the war, and so on! I was in the book, and didn't want to finish it! I discovered Daphne, a solitary woman, completely obsessed by her imaginary world, capable to lock herself in her "office" and write write write until the book is completed! But, the author never judges her, never comments her solitary ways, or the fact that she could have neglected her family: writing was her job, her passion, her way of living. It was like breathing to her, it allowed her to discharge herself of everything inside her.
I loved to discover her family, her friends, her relationship with all of them. She seems to have been a fascinating woman, intimidating sometimes, but also joyous, full of life! She suffered from the lack of recognition she got; she always was considered a romantic author, even if she wasn't at all! Rebecca was both a blessing and a curse; ironically, Mrs. de Winter haunted her all her life after she gave her birth!
Since I read Rebecca, I'm obsessed with finding my own Manderley. To discover Daphne's obsession with Menabilly was both comforting and frightening. This house cast a spell on her, and she can't get rid of it throughout her life! She prefers "Mena" to people, and I can definitely understand her sometimes!
Tatiana de Rosnay doesn't spoil her books - contrary to Edmund Gordon, Angela Carter's biographer! She doesn't speculate; she explains that everything she says is from Daphne's memoirs, or other biographies by different authors, like her own daughter, Flavia Leng ([b:Daphne du Maurier: A Daughter's Memoir|50252|Daphne du Maurier A Daughter's Memoir|Flavia Leng|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1170367923s/50252.jpg|49098]), or the one by Margaret Forster ([b:Daphne du Maurier|559546|Daphne du Maurier|Margaret Forster|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320492390s/559546.jpg|546713]). She travelled to London, to Menabilly, to Kilmarth, in a kind of pilgrimage, and that was also moving. Moreover, I loved her writing!
There were some things that I missed there, even if I don't exactly know what; it's strange to say. Like, sometimes, I was like: "I would like to know how she feels now", or "There is something missing here, and I don't know what!" But it didn't spoil my enjoyment and my pleasure to read this book!
The ending was as moving as for Angela Carter at the beginning of the year; it's like I lost a friend. I cried like a baby: the last years of Daphne du Maurier's life were so hard…
I love [b:Rebecca|17899948|Rebecca|Daphne du Maurier|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386605169s/17899948.jpg|46663] and I would like to read more books by Daphne du Maurier; but I also wanted to discover her life, how she came to write her books, what was her inspiration. I was not disappointed! Tatiana de Rosnay swept me away in England, in the twentieth century, during World War II, after the war, and so on! I was in the book, and didn't want to finish it! I discovered Daphne, a solitary woman, completely obsessed by her imaginary world, capable to lock herself in her "office" and write write write until the book is completed! But, the author never judges her, never comments her solitary ways, or the fact that she could have neglected her family: writing was her job, her passion, her way of living. It was like breathing to her, it allowed her to discharge herself of everything inside her.
I loved to discover her family, her friends, her relationship with all of them. She seems to have been a fascinating woman, intimidating sometimes, but also joyous, full of life! She suffered from the lack of recognition she got; she always was considered a romantic author, even if she wasn't at all! Rebecca was both a blessing and a curse; ironically, Mrs. de Winter haunted her all her life after she gave her birth!
Since I read Rebecca, I'm obsessed with finding my own Manderley. To discover Daphne's obsession with Menabilly was both comforting and frightening. This house cast a spell on her, and she can't get rid of it throughout her life! She prefers "Mena" to people, and I can definitely understand her sometimes!
Tatiana de Rosnay doesn't spoil her books - contrary to Edmund Gordon, Angela Carter's biographer! She doesn't speculate; she explains that everything she says is from Daphne's memoirs, or other biographies by different authors, like her own daughter, Flavia Leng ([b:Daphne du Maurier: A Daughter's Memoir|50252|Daphne du Maurier A Daughter's Memoir|Flavia Leng|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1170367923s/50252.jpg|49098]), or the one by Margaret Forster ([b:Daphne du Maurier|559546|Daphne du Maurier|Margaret Forster|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320492390s/559546.jpg|546713]). She travelled to London, to Menabilly, to Kilmarth, in a kind of pilgrimage, and that was also moving. Moreover, I loved her writing!
There were some things that I missed there, even if I don't exactly know what; it's strange to say. Like, sometimes, I was like: "I would like to know how she feels now", or "There is something missing here, and I don't know what!" But it didn't spoil my enjoyment and my pleasure to read this book!
The ending was as moving as for Angela Carter at the beginning of the year; it's like I lost a friend. I cried like a baby: the last years of Daphne du Maurier's life were so hard…
twylghast's review
slow-paced
2.0
So, where to start with this glorified published fanfiction about the Unmentioned? Feels fitting to not give her a name…if you catch my drift.
I think the author was the wrong person to write this book; she worships the subject so hard, she romanticizes every single action of hers to a weird level that’s annoying and sometimes uncomfortable…a good story has never been made by a goody two-shoes, when will authors realize that? Even the Unmentioned, dislike her work as I do, probably wasn’t a goody two-shoes (‘cause no one is)…so how fair is it to portray her like that?
The least you can give someone whose life story you think you’ve got the right to tell (sketchy premise from the start) is to either pass no judgement (without sugarcoating or picking and choosing what to showcase ‘cause why would you unless you were trying to further your own bs?) or pass judgement if you must, but not so much that it interferes with the story being told. Which is kind of what I feel like she’s doing here, tilted (of course) to the worshipping side, as in, hiding whatever flaws Daphne could have had, romanticizing every inch of her life, making it seem like she had the hots for daddy (did the author have the hots for daddy, perhaps?) and basically living vicariously through the person whose story she thought she’d do well to tell…it’s not that Daphne’s (there, I’ve said her name twice, now let me burn in hell) story doesn’t deserve to be told, it’s actually the opposite.
I don’t like her, or what I perceive of her, but no one deserves to have their life distilled and romanticized the way it’s being done here…if someone did that to my life, I’d haunt them forever for it, would hate to be reduced to a vicarious husk for some useless idiot who isn’t interesting enough to live for herself, and the experience of reading that isn’t any better.
What bothers me most about this, though, isn’t only the bad Mary-Sue fanfic, idealizing aspect of it…it’s also that this is touted by the author as a biography, but it reads like a really bad, cheesy fanfic instead.
Maybe she should have just done what Philippa Gregory did, taken a story that was interesting, done cursory research, and then just taken it wherever she wanted it to go…oh, fuck, wait, isn’t that what she did?!
So, long story short, this is not for me. And not because I don’t like Daphne…but because this is not the way to write somebody’s biography. Should just have called it what it is; historical fanfiction.
I decided to keep going with this, and I actually finished it. It gets a bit better after the first half, but it is still annoyingly blind to Daphne’s flaws - namely that she doesn’t to give a shit about her kids or anything except her books and crushes, which seems to be is something the author admires, instead of having enough brain to consider maybe it - and she - is really not all that, talent (which I’m not sure she has) aside.
I guess I don’t really like Daphne or the author…unlike most of the world, I hate Rebecca, but reading this made me curious to give her (Daphne’s) other books a shot, so it’s not completely useless.
I think the author was the wrong person to write this book; she worships the subject so hard, she romanticizes every single action of hers to a weird level that’s annoying and sometimes uncomfortable…a good story has never been made by a goody two-shoes, when will authors realize that? Even the Unmentioned, dislike her work as I do, probably wasn’t a goody two-shoes (‘cause no one is)…so how fair is it to portray her like that?
The least you can give someone whose life story you think you’ve got the right to tell (sketchy premise from the start) is to either pass no judgement (without sugarcoating or picking and choosing what to showcase ‘cause why would you unless you were trying to further your own bs?) or pass judgement if you must, but not so much that it interferes with the story being told. Which is kind of what I feel like she’s doing here, tilted (of course) to the worshipping side, as in, hiding whatever flaws Daphne could have had, romanticizing every inch of her life, making it seem like she had the hots for daddy (did the author have the hots for daddy, perhaps?) and basically living vicariously through the person whose story she thought she’d do well to tell…it’s not that Daphne’s (there, I’ve said her name twice, now let me burn in hell) story doesn’t deserve to be told, it’s actually the opposite.
I don’t like her, or what I perceive of her, but no one deserves to have their life distilled and romanticized the way it’s being done here…if someone did that to my life, I’d haunt them forever for it, would hate to be reduced to a vicarious husk for some useless idiot who isn’t interesting enough to live for herself, and the experience of reading that isn’t any better.
What bothers me most about this, though, isn’t only the bad Mary-Sue fanfic, idealizing aspect of it…it’s also that this is touted by the author as a biography, but it reads like a really bad, cheesy fanfic instead.
Maybe she should have just done what Philippa Gregory did, taken a story that was interesting, done cursory research, and then just taken it wherever she wanted it to go…oh, fuck, wait, isn’t that what she did?!
So, long story short, this is not for me. And not because I don’t like Daphne…but because this is not the way to write somebody’s biography. Should just have called it what it is; historical fanfiction.
I decided to keep going with this, and I actually finished it. It gets a bit better after the first half, but it is still annoyingly blind to Daphne’s flaws - namely that she doesn’t to give a shit about her kids or anything except her books and crushes, which seems to be is something the author admires, instead of having enough brain to consider maybe it - and she - is really not all that, talent (which I’m not sure she has) aside.
I guess I don’t really like Daphne or the author…unlike most of the world, I hate Rebecca, but reading this made me curious to give her (Daphne’s) other books a shot, so it’s not completely useless.
elegyparks's review against another edition
2.0
I have a problem with biographies where the author writes as if they were inside their subject's head. I also have a problem with novel-like biographies, and poor writing. Manderley forever is poorly written, in my opinion, but Daphne's life was fascinating enough to convince me to push through. More than anything, it made me want to read Du Maurier's entire bibliography. I'll get on with that as soon as I can.
booksuperpower's review against another edition
4.0
Manderley Forever: A Biography of Daphne Du Maurier written by Tatiana de Rosnay and translated by Sam Taylor is a 2017 St. Martin’s Press publication.
This may be one of the most unique biographies I’ve ever read.
Tatiana de Rosnay wrote this biography as though it were a novel, as though Daphne Du Maurier were telling us her life story, giving us access to her personal thoughts and feelings, which is really something, and she pulled it off quite nicely.
As a huge fan of the Gothic genre, you would think I had read more than just a few of Daphne’s novels. But, in all honestly, I have a few of her books in my collection, but I’ve only read two or three. I have never read anything about her life prior to reading this biography either, interestingly enough. But, ‘Rebecca’ is a one my favorite books of all time, and it’s one of the handful of novels I get a craving to re-read from time to time.
This book was first published in France in 2015, but has been translated, very professionally, into the English language by Sam Taylor.
I’m not sure why, perhaps it was the unusual layout and approach the author used, but I felt compelled to do a few Google searches about Du Maurier while reading this book, wondering about the facts conveyed here. There were a few times I felt the author took some liberties, perhaps thinking the ‘novel’ format would gloss over any discrepancies or disputes. There are no outright falsehoods, that I know of, but the nature of at least one relationship Daphne had has been called into question by her family, but was passed off as an equivocal fact in this book.
However, Daphne’s own daughter wrote a ‘blurb’ for the original publication, so I suppose the family was happy with it, and if they are fine with it, so am I, but I still reserve the right to remain skeptical, because it’s just in my nature to question the answers.
(The author does list sources, much of which came from Daphne’s memoirs, personal letters and information procured from the family. But, she also listed other sources and biographies I thought sounded very interesting and hope to add, along with more if Daphne’s novels, to my reading list.)
Otherwise, the author did a very good job of including all the information one would expect from a biography, but not only that, she brought Daphne Du Maurier to life. She became a living, breathing entity, with her own ‘voice’ ringing out loud and clear, which is pretty hard in most cases, because a biographer seldom manages to avoid invoking his or her own opinions, or personal presence somewhere along the way.
I did notice some repetitiveness from time to time and the author may have driven home Daphne’s dual ‘sides’ a bit too much. That point was brought up many times, but I'd gotten the message early on, so I thought it bordered on overkill a time or two.
I had to smile at times because Daphne reminded me of me when it came to enjoying her solitude, favoring it and savoring it to the extent others have a hard time understanding.
But, the thing that struck me most of all was her natural ability to write. Despite the criticism hurled at her, I have to say, I never viewed Du Maurier as a ‘romantic’ author. Certainly, her stories strongly represent that element, but, the few I’ve read were more literary, mysterious, and haunting and I’d struggle mightily to categorize her as a historical romance author. Critics tried to brush her off, piously dismissing her because of her commercial success.
However, Dame Daphne was without a doubt, much more than a storyteller. She was a unique talent, and a pure writer. She took the criticism and delighted in her sucesses. She had many peaks and valleys in her career, but soldiered on no matter which way it went.
Overall, if you are a fan of Daphne Du Maurier you should give this book a try. I wouldn’t depend upon it solely, necessarily, but I think this book will give you a much more personal and vivid accounting of her life, and will compliment any traditional biography on her life.
The book also lists Daphne’s bibliography at the back of the book, as well as a family tree, photographs, maps, notes, sources, and a detailed index.
4 stars
This may be one of the most unique biographies I’ve ever read.
Tatiana de Rosnay wrote this biography as though it were a novel, as though Daphne Du Maurier were telling us her life story, giving us access to her personal thoughts and feelings, which is really something, and she pulled it off quite nicely.
As a huge fan of the Gothic genre, you would think I had read more than just a few of Daphne’s novels. But, in all honestly, I have a few of her books in my collection, but I’ve only read two or three. I have never read anything about her life prior to reading this biography either, interestingly enough. But, ‘Rebecca’ is a one my favorite books of all time, and it’s one of the handful of novels I get a craving to re-read from time to time.
This book was first published in France in 2015, but has been translated, very professionally, into the English language by Sam Taylor.
I’m not sure why, perhaps it was the unusual layout and approach the author used, but I felt compelled to do a few Google searches about Du Maurier while reading this book, wondering about the facts conveyed here. There were a few times I felt the author took some liberties, perhaps thinking the ‘novel’ format would gloss over any discrepancies or disputes. There are no outright falsehoods, that I know of, but the nature of at least one relationship Daphne had has been called into question by her family, but was passed off as an equivocal fact in this book.
However, Daphne’s own daughter wrote a ‘blurb’ for the original publication, so I suppose the family was happy with it, and if they are fine with it, so am I, but I still reserve the right to remain skeptical, because it’s just in my nature to question the answers.
(The author does list sources, much of which came from Daphne’s memoirs, personal letters and information procured from the family. But, she also listed other sources and biographies I thought sounded very interesting and hope to add, along with more if Daphne’s novels, to my reading list.)
Otherwise, the author did a very good job of including all the information one would expect from a biography, but not only that, she brought Daphne Du Maurier to life. She became a living, breathing entity, with her own ‘voice’ ringing out loud and clear, which is pretty hard in most cases, because a biographer seldom manages to avoid invoking his or her own opinions, or personal presence somewhere along the way.
I did notice some repetitiveness from time to time and the author may have driven home Daphne’s dual ‘sides’ a bit too much. That point was brought up many times, but I'd gotten the message early on, so I thought it bordered on overkill a time or two.
I had to smile at times because Daphne reminded me of me when it came to enjoying her solitude, favoring it and savoring it to the extent others have a hard time understanding.
But, the thing that struck me most of all was her natural ability to write. Despite the criticism hurled at her, I have to say, I never viewed Du Maurier as a ‘romantic’ author. Certainly, her stories strongly represent that element, but, the few I’ve read were more literary, mysterious, and haunting and I’d struggle mightily to categorize her as a historical romance author. Critics tried to brush her off, piously dismissing her because of her commercial success.
However, Dame Daphne was without a doubt, much more than a storyteller. She was a unique talent, and a pure writer. She took the criticism and delighted in her sucesses. She had many peaks and valleys in her career, but soldiered on no matter which way it went.
Overall, if you are a fan of Daphne Du Maurier you should give this book a try. I wouldn’t depend upon it solely, necessarily, but I think this book will give you a much more personal and vivid accounting of her life, and will compliment any traditional biography on her life.
The book also lists Daphne’s bibliography at the back of the book, as well as a family tree, photographs, maps, notes, sources, and a detailed index.
4 stars
mxcordelia's review against another edition
5.0
Un énorme coup de cœur pour cette biographie de Daphné Du Maurier. J'ignore si vous connaissez cette écrivaine fantastique à qui nous devons le roman Rebecca, mais vous avez forcément vu (ou au moins entendu parler) du film Les Oiseaux d'Hitchcock, et peut-être également le film Rebecca du même réalisateur. Apprenez qu'Hitchcock n'a fait qu'adapter des écrits de Daphné Du Maurier ! Rendons à César ce qui est à César. Cette écrivaine dont on entend - soyons honnête - jamais parler, était pourtant extrêmement productive et populaire à son époque. Souvent jugée très sévèrement par les critiques qui lui reprochaient d'écrire des romances, des romans trop "légers" et pas assez sérieux, on comprend au fil du roman qu'on l'enfermait dans son rôle d'auteur du célèbre Rebecca et qu'on lui reprochait encore et surtout d'être une femme.
J'ai adoré cette immersion dans la vie de cette femme, écrivaine de génie selon moi. Elle a laissé de nombreux journaux intimes derrière elle qui ont pu servir de sources solides à Tatiana de Rosnay qui retrace la vie de Daphné, quasiment dans son intégralité. J'ai découvert avec étonnement ses amours féminines comme masculines, ses questionnements relatifs à son genre, sa fascination pour de vieilles maisons, ses périodes de rédaction de roman, sa pudeur, sa volonté de protéger sa vie privée... J'ai eu cette étrange impression de me retrouver complètement dans cette femme qui a pourtant vécu bien avant moi, à tel point que c'était perturbant.
Si vous avec lu les romans de Daphné Du Maurier, je vous encourage vivement à lire cette biographie pour découvrir l'auteur derrière les histoires. Si vous n'avez jamais lu Daphné Du Maurier, non seulement je vous invite quand même à lire cette biographie (qui vous donnera à coup sûr envie de découvrir ses livres par la suite), mais également Rebecca, que j'ai pris le temps de relire au mois de juillet. Je vous en reparlerai en temps voulu.
J'ai adoré cette immersion dans la vie de cette femme, écrivaine de génie selon moi. Elle a laissé de nombreux journaux intimes derrière elle qui ont pu servir de sources solides à Tatiana de Rosnay qui retrace la vie de Daphné, quasiment dans son intégralité. J'ai découvert avec étonnement ses amours féminines comme masculines, ses questionnements relatifs à son genre, sa fascination pour de vieilles maisons, ses périodes de rédaction de roman, sa pudeur, sa volonté de protéger sa vie privée... J'ai eu cette étrange impression de me retrouver complètement dans cette femme qui a pourtant vécu bien avant moi, à tel point que c'était perturbant.
Si vous avec lu les romans de Daphné Du Maurier, je vous encourage vivement à lire cette biographie pour découvrir l'auteur derrière les histoires. Si vous n'avez jamais lu Daphné Du Maurier, non seulement je vous invite quand même à lire cette biographie (qui vous donnera à coup sûr envie de découvrir ses livres par la suite), mais également Rebecca, que j'ai pris le temps de relire au mois de juillet. Je vous en reparlerai en temps voulu.
td3's review against another edition
5.0
When I saw that Tatiana de Rosnay was writing a biography about Daphne du Maurier, I was immediately interested in reading it. I can’t say I was necessarily a du Maurier fan, having only read Rebecca and seen Alfred Hitchcock’s adaptation of The Birds. Nevertheless, I found the idea of her biography intriguing, especially in the hands of de Rosnay, who grew up admiring du Maurier’s work .
Born to a life of privilege, du Maurier was exposed to literature and the arts early on. She realized at a young age that she wanted to write. It was in her early twenties that her first novel became published.
I was mesmerized by the story from this point on. Driven by a compulsive need to write and a desire to be self-supporting, du Maurier continued to write short stories, novels and screen-plays throughout her lifetime. There is no doubt that de Rosnay was able to accurately convey her struggles and triumphs along the way--both personally and professionally.
Manderley Forever is a very well written biography. De Rosnay manages to capture du Maurier’s complex and fascinating personality and does it with such respect and objectivity. It was interesting to learn what was happening in du Maurier’s life as she wrote each novel and how she developed her characters and story lines. Thanks to de Rosnay, I am inspired to read several more of du Maurier’s novels, which will be all the more meaningful now that I know what inspired the stories, the characters and the settings.
I highly recommend Manderley Forever for fans of du Maurier and for those who have a desire to learn more about her. With a new movie version of My Cousin Rachel due out this summer, there could not be a better time to read about Daphne du Maurier. Manderley Forever would also be a great pick for book clubs.
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me an advanced copy to read in exchange for an honest review.
Also, a big thank you to Tatiana de Rosnay for offering Manderley Forever as a goodreads giveaway, of which I was lucky enough to be a winner! I was so excited about this, as I would love to lend it to my mother and to have it for my personal library next to du Maurier's other books that I own.
Born to a life of privilege, du Maurier was exposed to literature and the arts early on. She realized at a young age that she wanted to write. It was in her early twenties that her first novel became published.
I was mesmerized by the story from this point on. Driven by a compulsive need to write and a desire to be self-supporting, du Maurier continued to write short stories, novels and screen-plays throughout her lifetime. There is no doubt that de Rosnay was able to accurately convey her struggles and triumphs along the way--both personally and professionally.
Manderley Forever is a very well written biography. De Rosnay manages to capture du Maurier’s complex and fascinating personality and does it with such respect and objectivity. It was interesting to learn what was happening in du Maurier’s life as she wrote each novel and how she developed her characters and story lines. Thanks to de Rosnay, I am inspired to read several more of du Maurier’s novels, which will be all the more meaningful now that I know what inspired the stories, the characters and the settings.
I highly recommend Manderley Forever for fans of du Maurier and for those who have a desire to learn more about her. With a new movie version of My Cousin Rachel due out this summer, there could not be a better time to read about Daphne du Maurier. Manderley Forever would also be a great pick for book clubs.
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me an advanced copy to read in exchange for an honest review.
Also, a big thank you to Tatiana de Rosnay for offering Manderley Forever as a goodreads giveaway, of which I was lucky enough to be a winner! I was so excited about this, as I would love to lend it to my mother and to have it for my personal library next to du Maurier's other books that I own.
rebecca_bc's review against another edition
3.0
A detailed biography about a renowned author and complicated person. I enjoyed the background information on her books, but found myself disliking her as a person and so it was tough to get through parts of this.
juniperpages's review
emotional
funny
medium-paced
5.0
Whilst the author may have taken a few liberties in assuming Daphne’s thought here and there ultimately it paid off. I was so incredibly invested, Daphne’s love of places came across especially vividly.
courtneydoss's review against another edition
3.0
Daphne du Maurier is one of my favorite authors. I own almost all of her books and one of my prized possessions is an autographed copy of Jamaica Inn. However, what I knew about Daphne du Maurier as a person was rather limited up until I read this book. There is always a possibility when you find a public figure that something within their history will be enough to dampen your affection for their work, and honestly I worried about that when it came to du Maurier. Tatiana de Rosnay's biography, though, is full of such genuine affection for her subject that I wasn't bothered by the darker aspects of du Maurier's personality. I think this book handled well the duality of du Maurier and showed empathy in its description of some of du Maurier's more questionable actions.
However, this book was oddly composed. Tied together by the authors visit to different locations from du Maurier's life, the book is written almost as a novelization of her lifetime. There is a lot of present tense language that attributes thoughts and emotions to the characters within du Maurier's life that aren't sourced enough for a reader to determine what is fact backed up by first person accounts and what is conjecture. Because of the way that de Rosnay chose to write this biography, the placing of footnotes to account for sourcing may have appeared out of place, as the whole thing is framed more along the lines of a creative work than an academic biography.
I think that finding a biography that approaches du Maurier as a historical figure and studied academically is not likely for a very long time, as du Maurier is a rather modern author by biography standards. She only died in 1989 and has immediate family members still living. Because of this, her biographies are necessarily inhibited by respect for those that loved her. While this book hardly hides less than honorable parts of her past, there is an embargo on her early journals and of course there are aspects of her life that have not been revealed to the public. They may never be revealed to the public, or may be revealed many years later as was the case with Charlotte Bronte and her love letters to Constantin Heger. We simply don't know.
Either way, I think that Daphne du Maurier is a very interesting figure. The unusual duality of her gender identity, her struggles with her sexual identity, and her internalized homophobia are incredibly interesting, as is her profound love of history and Cornwall. I enjoyed this book, and look forward to the day when another biography of du Maurier is written.
However, this book was oddly composed. Tied together by the authors visit to different locations from du Maurier's life, the book is written almost as a novelization of her lifetime. There is a lot of present tense language that attributes thoughts and emotions to the characters within du Maurier's life that aren't sourced enough for a reader to determine what is fact backed up by first person accounts and what is conjecture. Because of the way that de Rosnay chose to write this biography, the placing of footnotes to account for sourcing may have appeared out of place, as the whole thing is framed more along the lines of a creative work than an academic biography.
I think that finding a biography that approaches du Maurier as a historical figure and studied academically is not likely for a very long time, as du Maurier is a rather modern author by biography standards. She only died in 1989 and has immediate family members still living. Because of this, her biographies are necessarily inhibited by respect for those that loved her. While this book hardly hides less than honorable parts of her past, there is an embargo on her early journals and of course there are aspects of her life that have not been revealed to the public. They may never be revealed to the public, or may be revealed many years later as was the case with Charlotte Bronte and her love letters to Constantin Heger. We simply don't know.
Either way, I think that Daphne du Maurier is a very interesting figure. The unusual duality of her gender identity, her struggles with her sexual identity, and her internalized homophobia are incredibly interesting, as is her profound love of history and Cornwall. I enjoyed this book, and look forward to the day when another biography of du Maurier is written.
piepieb's review against another edition
4.0
This book was excellent. I didn't rush through it, but took my time and savored every memory. I loved how de Rosnay tried to follow in the footsteps of the legendary Daphne du Maurier, to visit places she'd been, to see what she'd seen. I loved how this biography read like a novel, everything in the past tense, and how characters came alive and how they seemed like people you would love to get to know. I enjoyed seeing Daphne get ideas for her stories, put them to paper, and then subsequently see them published and receive reviews. I recently read My Cousin Rachel for the first time, but Rebecca, with its unnamed narrator, is still far and away my favorite. Du Maurier seems to have never understood why Rebecca received such fame.
Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, is definitely an intriguing character. Private, mysterious, a dog lover, maybe a little rough around the edges, I can't help feeling that we would like each other if we were to have met in each other's lifetimes. She met several famous and well-known people, including Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) and Prince Philip, and must have had so many stories to share. Additionally, I'm quite sure that Daphne took some secrets to her grave...
I learned so much through this book's pages, and it's definitely something I will keep. Highly recommended.
Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, is definitely an intriguing character. Private, mysterious, a dog lover, maybe a little rough around the edges, I can't help feeling that we would like each other if we were to have met in each other's lifetimes. She met several famous and well-known people, including Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) and Prince Philip, and must have had so many stories to share. Additionally, I'm quite sure that Daphne took some secrets to her grave...
I learned so much through this book's pages, and it's definitely something I will keep. Highly recommended.