I am currently reading
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. This book has been on my to read list for a long time, and I am excited to finally get to it!
Rebecca was originally published in the late 1930s and has been reprinted multiple times over the years. This novel follows the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter as she begins her life as the young bride to a man she barely knows. She soon finds herself ill at ease in her new home, and she begins to dig into the past to find out what really happened to her husband's first wife, Rebecca.
Daphne Du Maurier is the author of numerous works including the novels listed below.
The Loving Spirit
I'll Never Be Young Again
Julius
Jamaica Inn
Rebecca
Frenchman's Creek
Hungry Hill
The King's General
The Parasites
My Cousin Rachel
The Scapegoat
Castle Dor
The Flight of the Falcon
The House on the Strand
Rule Britannia
If you have already finished
Rebecca, you may enjoy some of these works as well.
The Little House by Philippa Gregory - This is the story of Ruth Cleary. Ruth and her husband, Patrick, live in Bristol where she works for a radio station, and he is a TV reporter. Every weekend they visit Patrick's parents at their old farmhouse. When the house at the end of her in-laws' lane comes up for sale, Ruth and Patrick make the move from the city to the country.
Haunted Ground by Erin Hart - In Ireland, two farmers discover the severed head of a young woman and immediately contact the local police. However, the police department is already busy investigating the disappearance of the wife and son of the local land baron, Hugh Osborne, and since peat bogs prevent decay it is hard to tell how long ago the woman died. So, they call in archaeologist Cormac Maguire and Nora Gavin.
The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton - During a summer party at the family farm, Laurel Nicolson escapes to her childhood tree house when she sees a stranger coming up the road to the farm, and before the day is over, Laural will witness a shocking crime. Fifty years later, Laurel is a successful actress living in London and her family is gathering for her mother's 90th birthday. Laural realizes that this may be her last chance for answers, and she dives into her mother's past to find them.
Dragonwyck by Anya Seton -
Dragonwyck was published a few years after
Rebecca and is a classic gothic romance. The reader follows Miranda Wells as she falls under the spell of a mysterious old mansion and its master.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte -This classic of British literature follows Jane Eyre, an orphan, who is engaged as the governess at Thornfield Hall by Mr. Rochester. Her character is tested as her love for Mr. Rochester grows and the secrets of his past come to light.
Rebecca's Tale by Sally Beauman - This novel continues the story created by Daphne Du Maurier. It is twenty years after since the death of Rebecca and the inquest which passed a verdict of suicide. Colonel Julyan receives an anonymous parcel in the mail containing a notebook and two pictures pertaining to Rebecca. Meanwhile, Terence Gray has also come to town looking for clues about Rebecca's life and death. Was Rebecca the manipulative woman her husband claimed? Was her death really a suicide?
Picture from
http://syndetics.com/index.php?isbn=0380730405/lc.jpg&client=arrowheadlbs&type=rn12
In February, our book club will be reading Vanessa and Her Sister by Priya Parmar. This novel looks into the lives of Vanessa Bell, her sister Virginia Woolf, and the circle of intellectuals known as the Bloomsbury Group. Vanessa and Her Sister was very well reviewed upon its release, receiving starred reviews in both Publishers Weekly and Kirkus.
