About the Author

Daphne du Maurier was born May 13, 1907, in London, England. Her grandfather, George du Maurier, wrote the popular novel Trilby (1894). Her parents, Gerald […]

Overview

Rebecca chronicles the nameless narrator’s marriage to Maxim de Winter, a marriage which is overshadowed by the memory of Maxim’s first wife, Rebecca, who was […]

Setting

With the exception of the opening chapters in Monte Carlo, Rebecca takes place at the country estate of Manderley. The now famous first sentence, “Last […]

Themes and Characters

In Rebecca, du Maurier explores the relationship between past and present. For Maxim and his second wife, the past and the present are inextricably linked. […]

Literary Qualities

Du Maurier excels at first-person narration. Rebecca is written from the point of view of Maxim’s second wife, whose name is never revealed. This deliberate […]

Social Sensitivity

Rebecca gradually presents the facts and the conflicts that are central to the plot. By basing the story in the Gothic tradition, the novel is […]