Rebecca

Book is excellent. I own it. The old version of the movie beats the new version

I can't believe that I had never read this book. I think I was put off by thinking that it was more of a romance novel than a pseudo ghost story/gothic novel. Although there isn't an actual ghost, there is an overbearing presence and there are enough chilling scenes to make you shiver. There is a lot of psychological drama and the no name narrator is necessarily intimidated by her circumstances. Loved it.

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.

Really excellent story but I did not like the main characters. They lacked in the likability department.

On a trip to Monte Carlo, the narrator and her employer, Mrs Van Hopper, accidentally meet Max De Winter, a recently widowed rich land owner. Van Hopper arranges a dinner between the two but Max De Winter insists she bring her companion, which he is smitten with, to the dinner. Van Hopper prefers to dine with Max alone but reluctantly agrees. The narrator is instructed by her boss to play low profile and be on her best behaviour. The dinner is a success and Max arranges to meet with the narrator privately for coffee later much to the dismay of Van Hopper who tries to keep the two apart. Fate will have its way when Van Hopper is stricken with a high fever and becomes bed ridden for a while, giving the two the freedom to meet on a regular basis and form a relationship. In short course and to her great surprise the narrator receives a marriage proposal from Max which she happily accepts, ignoring the warnings from her boss. When she arrives at her husband’s famous home, Manderley, a change comes over Maxim which fills the young bride with dread. She is treated like a young child, not a wife. She does not get any support or recognition from her husband and is not well liked by the staff who are loyal to, and constantly compare her to Maxim’s fabulous, beautiful socialite first wife, Rebecca. The narrator is forced to live in Rebecca’s shadow. The décor, the paintings, the landscaping all have Rebecca's signature. The staff, especially the head housekeeper, Mrs Danvers (Danny) show undying loyalty to Rebecca. The narrator gets very little support from Maxim despite her pleas for help. Maxim refuses to open up to her. To formally introduce the narrator to his friends Max plans a costume ball where the all the townsfolk can attend. Unbeknownst to Max, the second wife follows the advice of the cunning Mrs Danvers who tricks her into wearing one of Rebecca’s fine dresses. She wants to put her best foot forward at the gala. It all backfires, Max is furious and Mrs Danvers is secretly pleased. During the gala Rebecca’s capsized boat is discovered, with her severely decayed body trapped inside. Truth is Max murdered his wife in a fit of rage after she cruelly taunts him. She reveals she is pregnant with another man’s child and plans to pass him as the legitimate heir of Manderley. The woman buried in Rebecca's grave is actually a second female body washed ashore many months after the murder and mistakenly identified as Rebecca. Luckily for Max, the newly found body of Rebecca is too decayed to give evidence and it was determined that she was suffering of cancer, making the suicide motive plausible and releasing Max of any guilt. After the discovery of the body, the second wife has many questions and Max finally opens out and confesses, in confidence, the truth to his second wife. It is very hard to keep his secret now. He has held this secret for over a year (since her murder) and has refused to disclose anything to his wife, thinking this would affect their marriage. To his surprise she is very supportive and pledges to stand by Max and keep the secret. This, now shared secret actually brings the couple closer together, finally making them a team. The second Mrs. De Winters now finds out that Max’s first marriage was not as ideal as everyone was made to believe. No longer haunted by the ghost of Rebecca, the second wife “grows up”, gains a sense of power and the confidence to finally run Manderley and its staff. Quote from “The Covenant of Water” by Abraham Verghese: ‘Families are defined by the secrets they hold’. Drawn by her fervent loyalty to Rebecca, Mrs. Danvers burns Manderley down to the ground. She cannot stand to see anyone other than Rebecca gracing the halls of the famous Manderley. It is a great novel; easy to read and follow. A suspense with a twist. The author works up the characters and the plot so well that even the twist fits in perfectly.