Gothic Suspense—Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier

Reviewed by Kristin

Rebecca has been one of my favorite novels since I was a teenager.  “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again…” remains one of the most memorable first lines ever written.  When I graduated from the young adult series featuring Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew, and Cherry Ames up to the dusty aisles of adult fiction at my hometown library, I found Elisabeth Oglivie, Mary Stewart, Eugenia Price, and Daphne du Maurier.  Characters who were often moodily walking across bracken filled moors or strolling on sun-dappled beaches were appealing to the landlocked Midwesterner that I was.  I’m sure I didn’t know what a moor was (until I looked it up in the encyclopedia) but it seemed to be a fine place to take brisk walks with the wind whipping across my face.

Rebecca is perhaps the best known of du Maurier’s novels, selling almost 3 million copies in the first three decades after its 1938 publication.  The unnamed narrator is the second Mrs. de Winter, the first being Rebecca—the dead first wife whose presence overshadows the Manderley estate.  Maxim de Winter and his young second wife return home to Cornwall after meeting and marrying abroad in Monte Carlo.  The narrator is fearful of not living up to the elegance and sophistication of Rebecca, a fear strongly reinforced by housekeeper Mrs. Danvers.  Not surprisingly, not all is as it seems.  What kind of gothic suspense would this be if it was predictable?  Events unfold and rise to a crescendo, teasing and tantalizing readers from the original publication to today.

Alfred Hitchcock directed the film rendition of Rebecca in 1940, which won two Academy Awards for Best Picture and Cinematography.  Featuring Sir Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, and Dame Judith Anderson, the movie remains a classic well worth remembering.

Mysterious, complicated women seemed to be a favorite of du Maurier.  Recently I decided to pick up another of her titles:  My Cousin Rachel.  Confirmed bachelor Ambrose Ashley lives on a Cornwall estate and has raised his young cousin Philip as a son and heir.  Ambrose goes abroad for his health and meets Rachel, a young widow in Italy, falling in love and marrying her.  When Ambrose falls suddenly ill and dies, Philip is prepared to intensely dislike his cousin’s bride.  Rachel comes to visit the Ashley estate; Philip holds his distance as long as he is able, but soon becomes captivated by her charms.  Is Rachel what she seems?  Du Maurier is a grand dame of drawing out the suspense as the characters take actions which will change their lives forever.

What’s next?  I certainly have my choice of several novels as well as works of non-fiction set in du Maurier’s beloved Cornwall.  Her works have inspired other novelists to imagine sequels to Rebecca, including Mrs. de Winter by Susan Hill and Rebecca’s Tale by Sally Beauman.  Du Maurier’s works remain relevant today, with devotees maintaining a website at dumaurier.org and a Twitter account @D_DuMaurier.  Who says I can’t have one foot on those Cornish moors while I also browse the internet in search of more to read?

Nevermore: Triple Agent, Sam Houston, Kristin Lavransdatter, more

Reported by Kristin

Nevermore began with a serious book: The Triple Agent: The al-Qaeda Mole who Infiltrated the CIA by Joby Warrick.  Humam Khalil al-Balawi was a Jordanian who had worked his way to the inner circles of al-Qaeda as well as into the CIA.  Published in 2012 by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Warrick, this chronicles a betrayal of the CIA at a time when they were most focused on avenging 9/11.  Our reader was very surprised by the façade that al-Balawi was able to maintain, fooling even his own father.

Another reader was currently enjoying the story of Sam Houston: The Life and Times of the Liberator of Texas, an Authentic American Hero by John Hoyt Williams.  With only about a year of formal education, Houston read law and passed the bar to become an attorney.  A military man and politician, he held such titles as the Governor of Tennessee, the 1^st and 3^rd President of Texas, a United States Senator from Texas and the Governor of Texas.  Our reader exclaimed about Houston, “What a conman!” and also “A fascinating life.”  Another history buff in the room responded, “You have been too kind to him.”

Kristin Lavransdatter, a classic trilogy written by Sigrid Undset, is about a 14^th century Norwegian woman.  Kristin, a devout Catholic, nonetheless falls in love with Erlend, although she has already been promised to Simon.  Our reader loved the imagery presented in the prose; the snow and the sky seemed so vivid.  Although written in the 1920’s, the books have had periodic resurgences and are popular still today.  Undset received the 1928 Nobel Prize in literature, partially for this Middle Ages saga.  The trilogy is sometimes published separately as The Wreath, The Wife, and The Cross.

Continuing in fiction, another reader enjoyed The Last Place You Look by Kristen Lepionka.  Private investigator Roxane Weary is digging fifteen years into the past to when teenager Sarah Cook’s parents were brutally murdered, and Sarah disappeared the same night.  Sarah’s African-American boyfriend Brad Stockton was convicted of the murders and is still awaiting his sentence of execution.  Our reader said that it was a very good book and that it fooled her because it didn’t end the way she thought it would.

October Sky (aka Rocket Boys) by regional author Homer Hickam has been read and enjoyed by several readers, and also was a BPL Book Club pick in October.  A story of a young West Virginia boy dreaming of space in 1957, Hickam decided that he wanted to build rockets.  He eventually became a NASA engineer, fulfilling his childhood dream.  Our reader said that she loved this book and that there were many poignant moments.

Jamaica Inn by Daphne duMaurier is the BPL Book Club’s pick for December, but our reader found the classic novel exhausting.  Set in 1832, young lady Mary Yellan is traveling to live with her Aunt Patience at the titular Jamaica Inn in Cornwall.  However, the crossing of the moors with everything black and raining distressed our reader.  Not every book is for every reader!  For a new selection every month, join the BPL Book Club on the 3^rd Thursday at 6:00 p.m in the Frances E. Kegley Conference Room.

Nevermore: Hello Girls, Girl on the Train, My Cousin Rachel, Long Black Veil, Taduno's Song, St. Louie Slow Drag, Hot Zone, Sapiens

Reported by Jeanne

Nevermore opened with praise for Jennifer Boylan’s Long Black Veil.  The story revolves around six college students who sneak into an abandoned prison on a lark.  The situation turns deadly, and the survivors find their lives forever changed. Thirty years later, a police officer arrests one of the former students, and another is faced with revealing secrets that could ruin her life.  The story moves back and forth from 1980 to the present day, and one thing our reader found most intriguing was simply realizing how much social norms have changed in that relatively small period of time.  She said it was a good, scary book that reminded the reader that secrets will come out.

The Hot Zone by Richard Preston was the next book up.  Our reader had lived near Reston, Virginia at one point, so the implications hit home for her.  The story is divided between a history of how the ebola virus was discovered and a frightening incident that occurred in a Reston lab in 1989.  Our reader said it a thrilling, terrifying book, and she recommended it to the others.

A Nigerian musician in exile receives a letter from his girlfriend that causes him to return home in the debut novel Taduno’s Song by Odafe Atogun.  Once there, he discovers no one remembers him, that his identification is all gone, and his girlfriend is missing.  It’s a Kafkaesque situation, in which the protagonist is powerless to do anything except play his music. Our reader enjoyed the book.

Sapiens by Yuval N. Harari details a number of different theories about mankind’s evolution, but he shows little or favoritism for any particular theory.  The author, a professor of history at Hebrew University, discusses the various human species whose remains have been found while describing the way our species has developed.  There’s an overwhelming amount of information packed into each page, which makes for slow reading; but the Nevermore member is finding it well written and quite good.

More recent history is covered in The Hello Girls by Elizabeth Cobbs Hoffman. World War I saw the first telephone lines used as a means of communication, and the first American women soldiers sent to France to operate them.  Their path was not an easy one.  They had very little respect, either from the male soldiers or the female nurses; they were in war zones; and both food and shelter were deplorable.  Our reviewer was impressed with General John “Black Jack” Pershing, who championed the women. She thought the book was quite an eye-opener, and thought more people should know about that particular part of WWI.

Our next reader was engrossed in Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.  It’s the story of three different women whose lives become intertwined. Rachel takes the train to and from work every day.  She begins watching a couple who seem to be living perfect lives, including the perfect marriage— something that attracts Rachel, unhappily divorced and upset over her ex’s new wife.   Then an apparent crime draws together the lives of these three women, surprising the reader with twists and turns.  Our reviewer hasn’t finished the book, but is finding it to be intriguing, entertaining, and well written, with especially strong characterization.

St. Louie Slow Drag, the second in the Julia Nye series by Jo Allison, is a historical mystery set in St. Louis in 1910. Julia works as a typist in the local police department, which is not her only unconventional activity.  She’s also a suffragette and is willing to go on a date to a seedy part of town to hear ragtime great Scott Joplin play.  An explosion and fire sends the club-goers fleeing—and the kerosene can says this was no accident.  Our reader was impressed with the amount of historical detail in the book.  Allison creates a vivid portrait of life at the time, including race relations, the calls for women’s suffrage, and the march for Prohibition. She recommends the entire series.

Finally, a reader picked up My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier.  A young man is intrigued by his late cousin’s beautiful widow in a complex romantic-suspense novel set in Cornwall.  Our reader gave up on it early, saying that she had just read Jamaica Inn and that was a hard act to follow.  She may try it again later.

Nevermore: Gaiman, Vowell, Du Maurier, Perotta, Bergner

Reported by Ambrea

Nevermore kicked things off with Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman.  In Neverwhere, readers meet Richard Mayhew, a plain man with a good heart and an ordinary life—until he helps an injured girl he finds bleeding on a London sidewalk.  Now, Richard is caught up in a world he never knew existed, a dark and shadowy world beneath the streets of London.  A world that could be the death of him.  Our reader admitted he didn’t care much for Gaiman’s novel, noting “it’s totally fiction, purely fantasy.”  While he thought Gaiman was a decent writer, he simply wasn’t a fan of the content.  Since he enjoyed Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, he decided he had probably read the wrong author—and he would soon pick up a book by Terry Pratchett to see how they compare.

Next, Nevermore checked out Lafayette in the Somewhat United States by Sarah Vowell, which explores the history of the Marquis de Lafayette—General Lafayette to a fledgling America—and his incredible contribution to the Revolutionary War.  Vowell also explores the roots of the United States, shining a light on both the bickering and infighting of America’s past and the unexpected friendships that developed between the Americans and their French allies.  Our reader praised Vowell’s book highly, saying, “[The author] tells it so well, writes so well.  She is just so witty.”  She recommended it to her fellow historians, calling it a delightful and insightful look at the United States that is “on target” for historical accuracy.

Nevermore also looked at a classic tale of romance and suspense by Daphne Du Maurier:  Jamaica Inn.  Mary Yellan travels to the cold, rainswept Cornish coast on a mission to honor her dying mother’s wish that she join her Aunt Patience and Uncle Joss Merlyn at the Jamaica Inn.  But when Mary arrives, she has a sinking suspicion that the Jamaica Inn will only bring her trouble.  Our reader, who received Jamaica Inn as a recommendation, had nothing but praise for Du Maurier’s novel.  Darkly gothic and chillingly suspenseful, Jamaica Inn is an incredible novel by an author who has a real talent with descriptions—and ways to keep readers on their toes.  Our reader said of this novel, “You can tell who is bad, but not who is good.  So who can you trust?”

In The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta, the world is in the midst of a crisis.  Reeling from the “Sudden Departure,” in which thousands of people simply disappeared—suddenly and with no explanation, no rhyme or reason—the citizens of Mapleton are struggling to repair the damage.  Kevin Garvey, Mapleton’s new mayor, wants to help his community; however, he’s not sure where to begin now that his family lies in ruins.  His wife, Laurie, has left him to join the Guilty Remnant, a homegrown cult whose members take a vow of silence; his son, Tom, has dropped out of college and taken off to follow a sketchy prophet named Holy Wayne; and while his daughter, Jill, remains in town, she’s not the happy young girl she used to be—and Kevin fears he’ll soon lose her too.  Uncertain what to do or where to turn, Kevin tries to make the best of a very bad situation and heal the wounds that the “Sudden Departure” has left on all of them.  Our reader said The Leftovers was an interesting, if slightly bizarre, novel.  Although she didn’t love it, she liked it enough to finish the story and find out what happens to Kevin and his family as they struggle with their own personal demons.

Last, but certainly not least, Nevermore shared Sing for Your Life:  A Story of Race, Music, and Family by Daniel Bergner.  Bergner’s book tells the story of Ryan Speedo Green, who, despite the hardships he endured as a child, eventually became a member of the New York’s Metropolitan Opera.  In Sing for Your Life, Bergner chronicles Ryan’s incredible journey from an abusive childhood in southeastern Virginia to his winning performance, at the age of twenty-four, for the Metropolitan Opera.  Our reader definitely enjoyed learning about Ryan Green.  She said it was “such an uplifting, [inspirational] story,” and she gushed that Bergner was a wonderful writer.  She highly recommended it to her fellow Nevermore members.