Rebecca (novel)

"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again" is the book's opening line, and from here its narrator â€" who is never named, except as "Mrs. de Winter" after her marriage â€" recalls her past, recounting the tale of an innocent orphaned young woman who, while working as the companion to a society grande dame vacationing on the French Riviera, is swept off her feet by a wealthy Englishman, Maximilian de Winter, marries him, and becomes mistress of his house, the splendid Cornish estate Manderley.

Only after their return to Manderley does the new bride realize how difficult it will be to lay to rest the memory of her husband's first wife, Rebecca, who drowned just off the coast but whose spirit seems to pervade the estate and all its inhabitants, especially its domineering housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers, one of the best-known female villains in literature.

Mrs. Danvers, who was profoundly devoted to Rebecca, does her best to undermine the second Mrs. de Winter, suggesting to her that she will never attain the grace and elegance and charm that Rebecca possessed. Lacking self-confidence and overwhelmed by her new life, the protagonist commits one faux pas after another, until she is convinced that Max regrets his impetuous decision to marry her and is still deeply in love with the seemingly perfect Rebecca. The climax comes when, at Manderley's annual fancy dress ball, Mrs. Danvers tricks the protagonist into wearing the same costume worn by Rebecca the year before she died.

Pan UK paperback edition cover

Later that night, a storm leads to the remains of Rebecca's boat being discovered. This unexpected event leads Max to confess the truth to his new wife (the narrator of the novel) about how the willful and adulterous Rebecca taunted him with a series of love affairs. She claimed to be pregnant by another man and threatened to burden Max with the responsibility of raising the child. Max, truly hating her, shot her and disposed of her body on her boat, which he sank at sea. The narrator, rather than being frightened by the revelation that her husband is capable of murder, is instead relieved to hear that Max did not love Rebecca.

During the following inquest into Rebecca's death, it is revealed that she had been suffering from cancer, and would have died within a few months. The implication is that, knowing she was destined to die, Rebecca lied to Max that she had been impregnated by another man, a secret paramour, because she wanted Max to kill her. During the inquest, the narrator faints at a critical moment while incriminating evidence against Max is being revealed, due to the pressure.

Upon returning to Manderley after a verdict of suicide is read, Maxim and his bride discover the house in flames, probably set on fire by the deranged Mrs. Danvers.

Allusions/references from other works

The novel inspired three additional books, all approved by the du Maurier estate. A sequel, Mrs. de Winter, was written in the 1980s by Susan Hill.Rebecca's Tale, was written by Sally Beauman and is the narratives of 4 characters effected by Rebecca it is often mistakenly referred to as a prequel. A contemporary version, The Other Rebecca, was authored by Maureen Freely.

In addition the character of Mrs. Danvers is alluded to numerous times throughout Stephen King's Bag of Bones. In the book, Mrs. Danvers serves as something of a boogy-man for the main character Mike Noonan.

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

Rebecca has been adapted several times. The most notable of these was the Academy Award winning 1940 Alfred Hitchcock film version Rebecca. The film (which starred Laurence Olivier as Maxim, Joan Fontaine as the Heroine, and Dame Judith Anderson as Mrs. Danvers) was based on the novel. The production code of the day required that if Maxim had murdered his wife, he would have to be punished for his crime, so the key turning point of the novel (i.e., the revelation that Maxim, in fact, murdered Rebecca) was altered so that it seemed Rebecca's death was accidental. At the end of the film version, Mrs. Danvers perishes in the fire. The film quickly became a classic and, at that time, was a major technical achievement in film-making.

Rebecca has been adapted for television by both BBC (the book cover pictured on this page shows Joanna David as "Mrs de Winter") and ITV. The latter version starred Emilia Fox (Joanna David's daughter) in the same role, and was shown in Masterpiece Theatre's 1998/9 season.

In September of 2006, a musical version of Rebecca will premiere at the Raimundtheater in Vienna, Austria. It is written by Michael Kunze (book and lyrics) and Sylvester Levay (music). Direction will be provided by renowned American director Francesca Zambello. The cast includes Uwe Kröger as Maxim de Winter, Wietske van Tongeren as "Ich" ("I", the narrator) and Susan Rigvava-Dumas as Mrs Danvers.

{|Rebecca¦¦Masterpiece Theatre|}