A classic written in 1938 and set in England. It is the story of a second wife determined to uncover secrets about the first wife...
"Last Night I Dreamt I Went To Manderley Again."
So the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter remembered the chilling events that led her down the turning drive past the beeches, white and naked, to the isolated gray stone manse on the windswept Cornish coast. With a husband she barely knew, the young bride arrived at this immense estate, only to be inexorably drawn into the life of the first Mrs. de Winter, the beautiful Rebecca, dead but never forgotten...her suite of rooms never touched, her clothes ready to be worn, her servant -- the sinister Mrs. Danvers -- still loyal. And as an eerie presentiment of evil tightened around her heart, the second Mrs. de Winter began her search for the real fate of Rebecca...for the secrets of Manderley.
Discussion led by club member Anne Sloan:
1. Classified as a Gothic Romance, think about the reasons for this classification and how it perhaps differs. How does it follow the formula for both of these types of writing.
2. Rebecca has been compared to Jane Eyre, and the similarities are certainly there. DuMaurier has been called the twentieth century Charlotte Bronte. In fact, Rebecca has been sneeringly called Jane Lite. How would you defend Rebecca, or do you agree with this assessment?
3. Why does the heroine rename nameless?
4. DuMaurier stated her book’s theme is jealousy. Loyalty has been called another of Rebecca’s themes. Discuss these.
5. Which of the characters were really guilty and which were really innocent?
6. Did you like the narrator? Would you have acted differently if you had been in her shoes?
7. The character Jack Favrell serves an important purpose in this book. Discuss the author’s reason for including him.
8. Did you enjoy the book which was written 7 decades ago?
