Rebecca
Rebecca,a popular romantic novel by D. du Maurier , published in 1938 . A cinematic adaptation was directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1940 . The unnamed narrator is plucked from obscurity as a lady's companion to become the second wife of the wealthy widower Maxim de Winter, and mistress of Manderley, his Cornish estate. Insecure in the role created by Maxim's glamorous first wife, Rebecca, she is tormented for her failure to match her predecessor's social confidence, especially by the servant Mrs Danvers, who remains obsessively loyal to Rebecca's memory. Having assumed that Maxim too adored his first wife, the narrator discovers that in fact he hated and indeed—provoked by her shameless adultery—murdered Rebecca, disguising her death as a boating accident. The belated discovery of Rebecca's boat threatens to expose Maxim's guilt, but the coroner is led to record a verdict of suicide. The de Winters go into exile after Mrs Danvers sets...
[The entire page is 191 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Oxford University Press Titles
