Daphne du Maurier

Daphne du Maurier (1907-1989), British romantic novelist and short story writer of tales of adventure and mystery, often set against a Cornish background. Born in London and educated at home with her sisters, du Maurier had, by the age of 18, begun writing the short stories that later would be published in 1952 as The Apple Tree. In 1932 she married Major-General Sir Frederick Browning and in 1943 settled at Menabilly house in Cornwall with their three children.

Commercial success came with Jamaica Inn (1936), a melodramatic tale of smuggling along the Cornish coast. In it du Maurier portrayed the uneven relationship that she perceived between the sexes; it was turned into a film directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1939. However, it was her novel of suspense Rebecca (1938), and the subsequent film of the novel (1940), also directed by Hitchcock, that brought both critical and popular acclaim. In it du Maurier described the imbalance of power between the sexes and the innate subservience of women within marriage. It was followed by Frenchman's Creek (1941), a novel of smuggling and romance inspired by a brief love affair.

Although du Maurier's style has been criticized as melodramatic, she nevertheless attracted literary attention because of her gift as a story-teller. Her novel My Cousin Rachel (1951) claimed some popularity and was also filmed (1953). Her short stories The Birds (1952), and Don't Look Now (1971) were produced as films in 1963 and 1973 respectively. These stories, along with The Rendezvous (1980), began to show the more unnerving side to du Maurier's ability as a mystery writer, and are attracting increasing literary attention. She also wrote historical fiction, plays, and a biography of her father, the actor-manager Gerald du Maurier.