Daphne Du Maurier - Softcover

Du Maurier, Daphne; Forster, Margaret

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0099333317 ISBN 13: 9780099333319

Publisher: Arrow, 1994

The definitive biography of Daphne Du Maurier, one of history's greatest psychological thriller novelists

Rebecca, published in 1938, brought its author instant international acclaim, capturing the popular imagination with its haunting atmosphere of suspense and mystery. Du Maurier was immediately established as the queen of the psychological thriller. But the more fame this and her other books encouraged, the more reclusive Daphne du Maurier became.

Margaret Forster's award-winning biography could hardly be more worthy of its subject. Drawing on private letters and papers, and with the unflinching co-operation of Daphne du Maurier's family, Margaret Forster explores the secret drama of her life - the stifling relationship with her father, actor-manager Gerald du Maurier; her troubled marriage to war hero and royal aide, 'Boy' Browning; her wartime love affair; her passion for Cornwall and her deep friendships with the last of her father's actress loves, Gertrude Lawrence, and with an aristocratic American woman.

Most significant of all, Margaret Forster ingeniously strips away the relaxed and charming facade to lay bare the true workings of a complex and emotional character whose passionate and often violent stories mirrored her own fantasy life more than anyone could ever have imagined.

Review:

"Altogether a model biography - human sympathy tempered with honesty and spiced with real intelligence" (Lorna Sage Observer)

"A startlingly good biography" (The Times)

"Convincing throughout ... Margaret Forster's interpretation of her subject is so complete and so persuasive that it leaves nothing for the reader to do except admire and enjoy" (Independent on Sunday)

"Forster's acute and sensitive book succeeds on many levels ... Its most important achievement is to disprove the highbrow assumption that bestsellers are shallow ... and do not ... engage the depths of the psyche" (John Carey Sunday Times)

"Margaret Forster can do no wrong ... The story is as gripping as Rebecca, as full of surprises as My Cousin Rachel ... affectionate, honest, unsentimental and perceptive" (Daily Mail)

From the Publisher:

Meticulously researched, a masterpiece of biography and storytelling where subject and author are perfectly matched...

• Publisher: Arrow
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0099333317
• ISBN 13: 9780099333319
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 480