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A review by schnauzermum
Rule Britannia by Daphne du Maurier
2.0
This curious book has received a fair bit of attention over the last couple of years. Du Maurier imagines a world in which there’s a referendum, the UK leaves Europe and forms a new relationship with the US and other English-speaking countries. Supposedly this relationship is one of equals, but in fact it is more like a takeover. The people of the Cornish town of Poldrea find US marines stationed among them. The novel explores their reactions.
The premise is intriguing, but is let down by quite sketchy characterisation. At the centre are an elderly former actress (Mad - short for ‘Madam’), her granddaughter (through whose eyes we see the events) and the six boys that Mad has adopted. None of these had much depth.
This is no Rebecca or My Cousin Rachel. I struggled to finish it because there was little tension and I found that I did not really care what was going to happen next, and the ending rather fizzles out. If we hadn’t had our own referendum in real life in the UK, this novel would probably have remained one for du Maurier completists only.
The premise is intriguing, but is let down by quite sketchy characterisation. At the centre are an elderly former actress (Mad - short for ‘Madam’), her granddaughter (through whose eyes we see the events) and the six boys that Mad has adopted. None of these had much depth.
This is no Rebecca or My Cousin Rachel. I struggled to finish it because there was little tension and I found that I did not really care what was going to happen next, and the ending rather fizzles out. If we hadn’t had our own referendum in real life in the UK, this novel would probably have remained one for du Maurier completists only.