Rebecca (English) Add a review

Rebecca is a 1938 Gothic novel by the English author Daphne du Maurier. It depicts an unnamed young woman who impetuously marries a wealthy widower, before discovering that both he and his household are haunted by the memory of his late first wife, the title character.

A bestseller which has never gone out of print, Rebecca sold 2.8 million copies between its publication in 1938 and 1965. It has been adapted numerous times for stage and screen, including a 1939 play by du Maurier herself, the film Rebecca (1940), directed by Alfred Hitchcock, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and the 2020 remake directed by Ben Wheatley for Netflix. The story has been adapted as a musical.

The novel is remembered especially for the character of Mrs. Danvers, the West Country estate Manderley, which du Maurier's editor noted "is as much an atmosphere as a tangible erection of stones and mortar", and its opening line: "Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderley again."