Blog Tour: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Title: Rebecca
Author: Daphne du Maurier
Published: July 16rh 2015 by Virago (New YA Editions)
Amazon | Amazon UK

Blurb: The novel begins in Monte Carlo, where our heroine is swept off her feet by the dashing widower Maxim de Winter and his sudden proposal of marriage. Orphaned and working as a lady's maid, she can barely believe her luck. It is only when they arrive at his massive country estate that she realizes how large a shadow his late wife will cast over their lives--presenting her with a lingering evil that threatens to destroy their marriage from beyond the grave.

First of all I would like to thank the publishers for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

Review: Virago has reissued Daphne Du Maurier’s books in stunning new covers both for an adult and a YA audience and given that I had never read the highly acclaimed Rebecca, I decided to give it a go and see what all the fuss was about. I have to admit though that it had been a while since I had read a classic. I went through a classics phase when I was younger and devoured some of the most famous works in English literature but lately, I was more focused on all the many amazing books being published every month. So the first thing I noticed when I started reading Rebecca was how slow it was. I guess I'm used to books where a lot of things happen at once with twists and unexpected turns.

The first half of Rebecca is very descriptive and slow-paced. Which is not bad, once you get used to it. But it took me a while to really care about the story and its characters. I felt like the narrator, an unnamed young girl who married an older rich man and ended up in the massive and magnificent Manderley, was too shy and had the irritating habit of overthinking everything. So when I expressed my doubts about the novel, everyone told me to persevere, that soon my thoughts about it would completely change. How true that was!

Once some of the secrets started being revealed and the pieces of the puzzle started fitting, I saw the story and its characters in a brand new light. I felt like the first half of the story was like a slow tension builder, preparing you for the big finale. Without even realising, I found myself gripping the book, with my heart in my mouth wanting to know more about Manderley and especially Rebecca. I think the disturbing Ms Danviers will be one of those characters I won't be able to forget in a long time.

I am glad that I persevered with this novel because once I finished it, I saw the beauty of it. Sometimes I even forgot it was written in the 30s as Daphne du Maurier managed to capture me and take me to Manderley so easily! I have been told that now I need to see the movie Hitchcock made based in this story as it is another masterpiece on its own. I can't wait to see it, and also check the other books written by Daphne du Maurier, I am really curious about Frenchman's Creek.

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