I always put off reading this story because I thought it was a romance. Granted, I based this solely off the book cover, so imagine my delight as I got older and heard that it was instead, decidedly Gothic and creepy.

The entire story is told through a flashback of events that occurred when the unnamed narrator is a hired companion for Mrs. Van Hopper, a gossipy brute of a woman. While traveling through Monte Carlo, they meet Maxim de Winter, whose story is one that Mrs. Van Hopper willingly offers up. Maxim's recent loss of his first wife Rebecca is a sad fate, and as the young narrator spends more time with him, they decide within only a few weeks that they will get married and move to his estate, entitled Manderley.

But upon arriving to Maxim's estate, it becomes quite a different experience than she anticipated. The mansion is huge, with a full staff to keep up the house and grounds, and the ever-present ghost of the beautiful, social, and popular Rebecca is behind everything that is desirable about Manderley, and even the parties she's hosted are still talked about. But not only is she a part of Manderley's past, she is very much a part of a creepy and sinister presence about the house. Rebecca is everywhere that the new bride finds herself in - from the beautiful landscape of the grounds, the cove where Rebecca lost her life, the little cottage down by the sea that she used to rest in after she would go sailing. Rebecca is everywhere, and the new Mrs. De Winter, meek, quiet, and shy, cannot keep up. Even the housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers is cold and intimidating, harboring secrets that make the new bride fearful. She knows she is being compared by the housekeeper, the visitors to the house on their social calls, and she can't quite help feeling like even Maxim is doing the same, ultimately wondering if he is contemplating if he made the right choice to marry her.

I loved this story. I've read Du Maurier's short stories last year and enjoyed them, but this struck me much more than anything else and was much, much creepier. It is beautiful and dark and perfect for autumn. I absolutely recommend this story, and offer you up the introduction...

Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again. It seemed to me I stood by the iron gate leading to the drive, and for a while, I could not enter, for the way was barred to me. There was a padlock and a chain upon the gate. I called in my dream to the lodge-keeper, and had no answer, and peering closer through the rusted spokes of the gate I saw that the lodge was uninhabited.

No smoke came from the chimney, and the little lattice windows gaped forlorn. Then, like all dreamers, I was possessed of a sudden with supernatural powers and passed like a spirit through the barrier before me. The drive wound away in front of me, twisting and turning as it had always done, but as I advanced I was aware that a change had come upon it; it was narrow and unkept, not the drive that we had known. At first I was puzzled and did not understand, and it was only when I bent my head to avoid the low swinging branch of a tree that I realised what had happened.

This is my third selection for the RIP VI Challenge hosted by Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings. I plan to watch the film adaptation soon for the challenge as well. You can read more RIP reviews from other participants by clicking here.

Did you know? Apparently, the author of The Woman in Black by Susan Hill (the film is soon to be released with Daniel Radcliffe in the lead!) wrote the sequel to Rebecca, entitled Mrs. De Winter. It was published in 1994, and reviews across Amazon and Barnes and Noble are varied. Have you read it?




About the Author

Daphne du Maurier was a British author and playwright, and was born in 1907 and passed in 1989. Her stories have been adapted for films, including The Birds and Don't Look Now, both done by Alfred Hitchcock.

For a full bio of this incredible author, please click here. There are absolutely beautiful pictures of the author on that site, and it's clear that there will always be an established following of Daphne du Maurier.

Although I'm horrible with maintaining my commitments to challenges, this is one I've been eagerly anticipating since it will be my first year joining. For the sixth year in a row, founder and host of the RIP Challenge, Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings' annual challenge runs from September 1, 2011 through October 31, 2011. It celebrates all books and films that are creepy, mysterious, Gothic, and ghoulish...

Anyone can join, so if you enjoy reading everything from Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier to a contemporary crime and mystery novelist, why not jump in?

Peril the First is the level I think I'll join. I'll be reading four books of any length that fits into R.I.P. literature. As Carl writes, "It could be Stephen King or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Ian Fleming, or Edgar Allan Poe...or anyone in between."

Here are my options. What do you think? Is there one on here that you've read and you know I have to read it? Let me know!

• Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier
• The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton, by Edith Wharton
• The Keeper of Lost Causes, by Jussi Adler-Olsen
• The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher, by Kate Summerscale
• The Devouring, by Simon Holt (YA)
• The Meaning of Night, by Michael Cox
• A Discovery of Witches, by Deborah E. Harkness
• Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs
• The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova (I've read this twice. Once, when it first came out in 2005, and then last year for my On the Ledge Readalongs site. This year, I'm considering the audiobook because I've heard such accolades on the production).
• Her Fearful Symmetry, by Audrey Niffenegger
• In the Woods, by Tana French
• The Woman in Black, by Susan Hill. (Daniel Radcliffe will soon be starring in the film version).
• The Gallows Curse, by Andrew Hammond (YA)

Carl is also hosting a few readalongs as well, and I'm definitely going to dive into The Lantern, by Deborah Lawrenson. I've read a few reviews already that have me chomping at the bit to read it.

Side Note: I made it to Virginia Beach! The husband, the dog, the cat and me finally made it to our new home, received our furniture and we are slowly unpacking.

Dinner in Virginia Beach

So surprising to me that a year and a half flew by since my last post, and oh my, the events that have unfolded. I got married, which was a flippin' achievement in and of itself, and now my life is caught up flying from one business meeting to another this year (literally, Southwest is my current favorite airline, strictly due to no bag charges and open seating.  Take that first classers!), and coming home to tend to the "kids." A dog and a cat, who have really not figured out just yet who actually runs the house. My husband and I try to reinforce (at least with each other) that we, the humans, lead this pack. Sadly, the two "kids" feel otherwise and remind us pretty frequently...

I've read so much and so often, that I almost don't know where to begin...I've become a slacker in my original goal of being regular with this site... So, I'll start with the most recent novel that took no more than 2 days to finish (or 2 airline flights, I should say) -- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson. Gentlemen, hear this: Do not be a dork and get swayed by the title, this is most definitely not a typical mystery book about a chick that fights crime. Who knew that a sophisticated suspense thriller set in freezing cold Sweden would be a creepy and twisted "delight" to page through on a ride from Florida to California? Here I was, flying from one gorgeous place to another, and I was stuck in the -6 degree weather of Stockholm and Hedestad, getting caught up in Mikael and Lisbeth's frightening and freaky moments?  Kind of reminded me when I lived in St. Cloud, Minnesota...Okay, I'll admit that I was a little worried that the elderly woman sitting next to me could read some of the pages, and be slightly disturbed by the kind of person I was. For the rest of the flight, my head was bent over and my hair covered the pages. So there!

What follows is a nerve-wracking, disgusting, uncomfortable trip through a magazine publisher/journalist's experience as he is initially found guilty of libel in Stockholm, is subsequently hired by an aging industry millionaire to track down his niece who disappeared 40 years before, and in the middle of this, just a short jaunt to a minimum security prison to serve out his sentence of 2 months.  Oh yeah, Lisbeth is the young and emotionally non-responsive chick who has a photographic memory and is a daggone good hacker.  The things she goes through...I cannot even hint as to what they are.  It's definitely not G-rated.

Originally written in Swedish, the English translation was done by Reg Keeland, and it is a masterpiece. That's right.  A freakin' masterpiece.  Here's why:  Not often does a translated novel work effectively to engage a reader's interest, and this one is absolutely fabulous. Some Swedish words remain, which flow and are interpreted by the reader easily (such as gaol for jail). It ultimately creates an authentic experience that you begin to wonder what Sweden is all about. I love to travel, but I will be honest in that I never once considered visiting Sweden. Quite the contrary now.  And I want to fight crime.

Here's what's sad: Stieg Larsson originally planned this to be a 10-book series. He managed to complete 3 of the first 10, delivered it to his publisher, and then died from a heart attack. Based on his background in always shedding light and exposing those who are corrupt in any way in Sweden, there have been several rumors that he was killed. No one really knows, of course.  But, I'll tell you what I do know...it's a flippin' shame that we won't be able to read any more novels from him.  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo starts off a trilogy of a creepy and fantastic example of suspense writing at its absolute finest.  Lock the door.  Leave the lights on.