Maybe I have a thing for books where love comes hard, but I loved Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. Rebecca has been compared to Jane Eyre and there is good reason for the comparison, but it is NOT Jane Eyre. They are definitely 2 different books with 2 different story lines.
When I read the title I expected the heroine of the story to be named Rebecca, but this is not the case. Rebecca is the first wife of Maxim de Winter, a rich Englishman who runs an estate called Manderly. After Rebecca's death, Maxim flees to southern France in an attempt to escape. There he meets the narrator who after a brief courtship becomes his second wife. The only name she is referred to in the book as is Mrs. de Winter.
The new Mrs. de Winter soon finds that Rebecca, though dead, still controls much of life at Manderly. Mrs. Danvers runs the house and despises the heroine because she is NOT Rebecca and because she came to take Rebecca's place.
Based on the responses of the people in the area and the lack of response from Maxim, our heroine soon feels that Maxim is deeply in love with Rebecca and she's simply a replacement--a failed replacement at that.
The story follows our heroine as she tries to figure out her place in Manderly and win Maxim's aproval and love.
With a surprising twist near the end, Rebecca is, in my opinion, a literary masterpiece. It is probably my favorite book I've read so far on the BBC list.
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