Now a Netflix film starring Lily James and Kristin Scott Thomas

 

"Last Night I Dreamt I went to Manderley Again..."

With these words, the reader is ushered into an isolated gray stone mansion on the windswept Cornish coast, as the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter recalls the chilling events that transpired as she began her new life as the young bride of a husband she barely knew. For in every corner of every room were phantoms of a time dead but not forgotten—a past devotedly preserved by the sinister housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers: a suite immaculate and untouched, clothing laid out and ready to be worn, but not by any of the great house's current occupants. With an eerie presentiment of evil tightening her heart, the second Mrs. de Winter walked in the shadow of her mysterious predecessor, determined to uncover the darkest secrets and shattering truths about Maxim's first wife—the late and hauntingly beautiful Rebecca.

This special edition of Rebecca includes excerpts from Daphne du Maurier's The Rebecca Notebook and Other Memories, an essay on the real Manderley, du Maurier's original epilogue to the book, and more.

A PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick

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Published Jan 30, 2003

Average rating: 7.78

961 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

What Bookclubbers are saying about this book

✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI

Readers say *Rebecca* by Daphne du Maurier is a gripping gothic romance blending mystery, suspense, and psychological drama. Reviewers praise its atmo...

CeLynasings
Aug 04, 2024
4/10 stars
The pacing for me with the gothic writing left me wanting to skim the pages rather than take in the beauty of the writing. Not to say it isn’t written well, it is just not the style I prefer. I have not ever been a Jane Austin or Frankenstein Fan of that era of writing. It was an interesting take though on the perspective of what would a person do if they found that their spouse had a colored past.
heathertb
Nov 21, 2025
A gothic story of a young bride and the first wife's ghost who haunts her
Josie the book goblin
Aug 22, 2025
8/10 stars
This was a haunting and beautiful story. Reading from the veiw of a young woman who feels as if she is living in the shadow of the woman who came before her. She struggles in a competition and the fear of not being better than her and watching the mystery of the ex wife, Rebecca's life played out and who she was as a person. It made me want to pat her on her back and tell her she is enough and also slap her and tell her to knock it off. When I started this book I thought it was a book about a ghost. It wasn't a haunting I was expecting but more of a mental haunting.
APFielder
Jul 10, 2025
8/10 stars
Classic noir vibes. Believable sneak peek into one woman’s intrusive thoughts and self talk as she navigates a new marriage and residence.
jenmay
May 22, 2025
7/10 stars
A classic gothic novel to a T.

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