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Margaret Forster
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Daphne Du Maurier Kindle Edition

by Daphne Du Maurier (Author), Margaret Forster (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 386 ratings
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The definitive biography of Daphne Du Maurier, one of history's greatest psychological thriller novelists

Rebecca, published in 1938, brought its author instant international acclaim, capturing the popular imagination with its haunting atmosphere of suspense and mystery. Du Maurier was immediately established as the queen of the psychological thriller. But the more fame this and her other books encouraged, the more reclusive Daphne du Maurier became.

Margaret Forster's award-winning biography could hardly be more worthy of its subject. Drawing on private letters and papers, and with the unflinching co-operation of Daphne du Maurier's family, Margaret Forster explores the secret drama of her life - the stifling relationship with her father, actor-manager Gerald du Maurier; her troubled marriage to war hero and royal aide, 'Boy' Browning; her wartime love affair; her passion for Cornwall and her deep friendships with the last of her father's actress loves, Gertrude Lawrence, and with an aristocratic American woman.

Most significant of all, Margaret Forster ingeniously strips away the relaxed and charming facade to lay bare the true workings of a complex and emotional character whose passionate and often violent stories mirrored her own fantasy life more than anyone could ever have imagined.

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  1. Print length
    498 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Cornerstone Digital
  4. Publication date
    31 Oct. 2012
  5. File size
    1.8 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Product description

Review

Margaret Forster can do no wrong ... The story is as gripping as Rebecca, as full of surprises as My Cousin Rachel ... affectionate, honest, unsentimental and perceptive ― Daily Mail

Convincing throughout ... Margaret Forster's interpretation of her subject is so complete and so persuasive that it leaves nothing for the reader to do except admire and enjoy ― Independent on Sunday

A startlingly good biography ― The Times

Forster's acute and sensitive book succeeds on many levels ... Its most important achievement is to disprove the highbrow assumption that bestsellers are shallow ... and do not ... engage the depths of the psyche -- John Carey ― Sunday Times

Altogether a model biography - human sympathy tempered with honesty and spiced with real intelligence -- Lorna Sage ― Observer

From the Publisher

Meticulously researched, a masterpiece of biography and storytelling where subject and author are perfectly matched...

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B009AT7F0A
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cornerstone Digital; New Ed edition (31 Oct. 2012)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.8 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 498 pages
  • Customer reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 386 ratings

About the author

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Margaret Forster

Margaret Forster

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
386 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book informative and well-researched. They describe the narrative style as compelling and riveting, with fascinating facts and quotes. Readers appreciate the author's skill in making a lengthy biography thoroughly readable.

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InsightNarrative styleInterest
16 customers mention ‘Insight’16 positive0 negative

Customers find the book informative, well-researched, and interesting. They appreciate the fascinating facts and quotes that enhance their understanding of the author's writings. The biography provides a strong discussion and adds to their knowledge about Rebecca.

"This was eye opening and fascinating she has long been one of my favourite authors and as a writer myself I connected with this on some levels but..." Read more

"Margaret Forster does not spare detail and the book is superbly written. I was quite gripped through to the end...." Read more

"...Excellent and diligent scholarship combined with a fluent style." Read more

"I read this very dense biography which is much more pleasurable and interesting than the latest one (badly) written in French by de Rosnay...." Read more

14 customers mention ‘Narrative style’14 positive0 negative

Customers find the biography engaging and well-written. They appreciate the insightful life story, thorough research, and interesting details from letters and documents. The author provides a deep insight into Daphne du Maurier's psychology and character.

"...of those letters have allowed another fine author to create a compelling life story." Read more

"...A really good biography." Read more

"Excellent. Margaret Forster knew how to make quite a lengthy biography thoroughly readable. It seems a shame that her books aren't better known...." Read more

"Well written and pacy biography which has one flaw, it’s subject. DdM is not a particularly sympathetic subject ...." Read more

10 customers mention ‘Interest’10 positive0 negative

Customers find the book interesting and enjoyable. They describe it as a thrilling and riveting read.

"This was eye opening and fascinating she has long been one of my favourite authors and as a writer myself I connected with this on some levels but..." Read more

"...However its well written and interesting, throws a strong light onto the books. I was surprised at how interesting it was." Read more

"...I just couldn't stop reading it, very thrilling, and it induced me to buy books by DDM I had never heard of before, including her short stories." Read more

"Interesting book if you want to know about her, or if you're doing an essay on her like I was, came in useful." Read more

Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • Amelia
    5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 May 2018
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    This was eye opening and fascinating she has long been one of my favourite authors and as a writer myself I connected with this on some levels but was surprised to learn that she was somewhat tortured and unsure of her sexuality who does not love Rebbeca ,Frenchmans Creek and Jamaica Inn a new discovery for me was My Cousin Rachel and I still have not made up my mind about the ending .Although I rarely read short stories her collection The Doll are a must read I hope you enjoy.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Fairlyrecently
    4.0 out of 5 stars A careful and insightful life
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 September 2024
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    What a complicated and tortured person Daphne du Maurier turns out to have been but her lifelong habit of letter writing and the widespread retention of those letters have allowed another fine author to create a compelling life story.
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  • K.E.C
    5.0 out of 5 stars Superbly written, but what a STRANGE woman!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 December 2018
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    Margaret Forster does not spare detail and the book is superbly written. I was quite gripped through to the end. I had always thought of Daphne Du Maurier as interesting, independent and creative, however the book reveals her as a rather unlikeable character. I find her constant secret "baby" language irritating, but nowhere near as irritating as her obsessions. She is wastefully obsessed by Manderley, but also by her father, her own upbringing and various sexual( are they/are they not?) partners. Her husband must have been incredibly patient, in tolerating his wife's inability to fit in with his army and later his prestigious royal job. Excellent and revealing.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • JM
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating and easy read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 May 2018
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    We are travelling to Cornwall in October and I wanted to learn about Daphne Du Maurier before going. This book is a fascinating easy read. Note that the book (at least mine did) has a much nicer cover than the blue and black one depicted in the product image.
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  • Ann
    4.0 out of 5 stars INTERESTING AND INSIGHTFUL
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 January 2014
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    I felt this was a truthfully written biography which provided the reader with insight into another age and another lifestyle - one where you had servants and were not expected to keep house yourself. No wonder such people have the time to be creative and thus illuminate the world for others. The fact that boy children were appreciated more than girls was brought across forcefully and it was heartening to realise that the girls still reached some potential and were not crushed by this. I thought it generous of Du Maurier's children to allow a true portrait to be revealed of their mother, you could imagine yourself there in the home as an observer.
    A really good biography.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • R. Wilson
    5.0 out of 5 stars I loved this book
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 October 2009
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    I loved Daphme Du maurier books ever since I was kid and my sister and I and our mother watched 70's adaptation of rebbeca. I was drawn to this book after reading Justine Picardie' Daphne. After reading this book I can truely say I feel as if I know Du Maurier, foster paints such a vivid picture of the woman and her complexed charector. This is very good read for anyone seeking the truth behind the woman of all those wonderful novels.
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Mary Gladman
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent. Margaret Forster knew how to make quite a ...
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 31 July 2018
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    Excellent. Margaret Forster knew how to make quite a lengthy biography thoroughly readable. It seems a shame that her books aren't better known. One day I may choose one for the book group I belong to..
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  • P. STACE
    5.0 out of 5 stars HIDDEN DEPTHS
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 August 2010
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    A VERY SPOOKY READ - STRANGE RELATIONSHIPS, WEIRD SEX AND A WRITER DRIVEN TO KEEP GOING TO SURVIVE FINANCIALLY.
    I DID NOT KNOW ABOUT THE MARRIAGE TO "BOY" BROWNING OF "A BRIDGE TOO FAR" FAME. THEY CERTAINLY DESERVED EACH OTHER. IF THIS HAD BEEN WRITTEN AS FICTION THE PLOT WOULD HAVE BEEN LAUGHED AT. SUCH A GREAT TALENT BUT SUCH A SPOOKY WOMAN!!! I THINK THAT "REBECCA" IS STILL ON MY TOP TEN LIST OF NOVELS, WITH "JAMAICA INN" NOT FAR BEHIND.
    2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • avid reader
    5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book
    Reviewed in Canada on 24 September 2020
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    If you like Daphne Du Maurier's books, this is a wonderful addition. Margaret Forster is a wonderful writer and she makes this as hard to put down as Du Maurier's books and helps the reader understand what Du Maurier writes about and why.
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  • Cesare D
    5.0 out of 5 stars Un ritratto realistico.
    Reviewed in Italy on 12 February 2020
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    Ottima biografia, ricca di notizie e notiziole su Daphne, la sua famiglia, la sua casa, le sue opere.
    Una donna normale col talento del racconto. Il materiale presentato è anche di prima mano!
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  • Tracesprite
    5.0 out of 5 stars a superb biography of a complex author
    Reviewed in the United States on 19 July 2013
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    All her life, Daphne du Maurier felt that she was acting and was only able to be herself when completely alone, a fact which partly explained why she suffered from such a deep sense of exhaustion and repeated attacks of depression. Margaret Forster's biography of Daphne du Maurier - the Secret Life of the Renowned Storyteller, gives great insight into how du Maurier became such a person.

    Du Maurier's father had a hugely magnetic personality. He almost hypnotized his children. They utterly adored him for his entertaining, witty, brilliant style. However one of his very amusing behaviors was to talk mockingly of the people they knew, mimicking them behind their backs while being scrupulously polite to them to their faces.

    This might seem harmless fun but it could also send a strong message. Mockery shows a complete contempt for those mocked. It's a way of saying, "You just don't belong in our circles." This may well have created a great sense of unease in the young Daphne. After all if her father could be so polite to their friends but mock them so mercilessly, might he not do the same to anyone including to her? Was there anything or anyone that he genuinely respected?

    Perhaps the worst form of mockery was that her father maintained his marriage with her mother but had repeated affairs which her mother endured by ignoring them. Perhaps her mother had her own inner perspective that enabled her to maintain her self-respect but as Daphne du Maurier became a teenager she was not party to that perspective and may have felt that her father had a contempt for women and in particular for her mother which was painful for her to endure.

    In fact painful is not strong enough a word. I think du Maurier was tormented all her life by the fact that she adored a man, her father, who she could not trust and who she felt secretly despised anyone and everyone and in particular her mother. Many of her books are her attempt to imagine how a person can relate to such a glamorous, careless, cruel, immoral and yet exciting figure. Sometimes that figure is a woman, - Rebecca or Rachel - and sometimes a man. Sometimes the person relating to the cruel careless figure is utterly crushed by them as was Aunt Patience in Jamaica Inn and sometimes they find a way to negotiate the relationship or even enjoy it as Dona does with her pirate in Frenchman's Creek.

    That attitude of mockery and mimicry is, I believe, the basis of du Maurier's ability to observe closely and minutely the details of behaviour and of relationships. She has an astonishing ability to notice the multitude of tiny changes as a relationship deteriorates or develops. You feel compelled to follow these transformations which are so believable even when the story may be utterly fantastic as in the case of a woman who finds herself 20 years forward in time.

    And yet there is always something cold in the observation. I don't think there are any characters that she feels affection for or even respect for. She relishes describing the humiliation of a slightly pompous character, following his move from disappointment to humiliation to degradation with amused detachment. You, the reader, are certainly interested in what happens to each person but seldom drawn towards any sense of caring what happens to them because the author doesn't care in the slightest either. If anything, she enjoys their discomposure or unhappiness.

    This coldness, I believe, is the result of that endless mockery from the bright star of her life, her father. Mockery destroys trust and respect and encourages contempt. Mockery discourages people from showing their true feelings because they are then open to being mocked and made to feel as foolish as many of du Maurier's characters look as they tread the path to their own demise.

    When the young Daphne tried to have some romance in her life, her father savagely attacked her. At last he wasn't mocking: instead he was ruthlessly hurtful and rejecting, saying the cruelest things he could think of. His harsh anger must have killed within her any ability for real feelings that had not already been destroyed by his mocking and mimicking.

    No wonder that she felt like she was acting for the rest of her life. While brilliantly witty and lively, her ability to be herself had been destroyed, replaced by a world of fantasy that she could enter through her writing. No wonder also that she often felt utterly exhausted. The constant pretense would have felt tiring to maintain and her own self-observation would have mocked at her ceaseless pretending, as she constantly changed her style of letter writing and self-presentation to reflect what was expected by this or that person.

    I am certainly glad that I never met Daphne du Maurier. Like most people, I am easily mocked and easily hurt by that kind of rejection. Like most Australians, I despise those who hurt those who are less powerful than themselves. There is an ugly detail in the final pages of this bibliography which tells a lot about du Maurier. She used to torment those nurses she didn't like by waiting until they settled themselves into a chair and then sending them to fetch something, waiting until they were comfortable again and then doing the same again, over and over. The snobbishness and pettiness of this cruelty makes me despise her. In all those years of success and family life, she was unable to get enough insight and perspective on the effects of her father's personality on her, to overcome that detached nastiness within herself. It was this detachment that gave her such acute powers of observation that her writing is totally compelling, it was this detachment that meant that she was always slyly mocking or disrespecting most of the characters she wrote about and which meant that her family must have had to endure a miserable emotional starvation and it was this detachment which gave her the selfishness necessary to dedicate herself to her writing.

    As with many talented people, it is the decency and loyalty of those around them that ensure that they are able to produce the work they do and sustain themselves despite their personal shortcomings. Forster's biography helps us to meet those people who surrounded and supported this cold but brilliant woman as she made her often ruthless way through life.
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  • Elgin
    5.0 out of 5 stars interessante Geschichte
    Reviewed in Germany on 31 December 2013
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    Daphne du Maurier, was eine sehr interessante Persönlichkeit. Sie hat Weltruhm erlangt, durch die Verfilmung von, "Die Vögel" und "Rebecca". Ich fand dieses Buch sehr interessant, weil es nicht nur ihr Leben beschrieb, sondern auch wie es ist ein Schriftsteller zu sein, und Bücher zu schreiben auch als Beruf.

    Very interesting book, not only describing the personality of Daphne du Maurier and her times, but also giving us a view of how it is to have the passion to write and the agony of writers block that accompanies this passion and how from this passion she also learned to her surprise the she could also make quite a good living, a good example to follow your dreams.
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  • Pascale S.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Une Biographie Exemplaire
    Reviewed in France on 22 July 2013
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    D'une lecture aisée (en anglais), cet ouvrage, riche en détails, apporte de nouvelles facettes sur la vie de la troublante Daphné du Maurier. Margaret Forster s'est longuement entretenue avec l'entourage de Du Maurier et nous livre ici une superbe biographie qui vous donnera l'envie de vous plonger dans l'incontournable Rebecca ainsi que dans l'Auberge de la Jamaique sans oublier des ouvrages moins connus (mais tout aussi surprenants) tels que La Maison sur le Rivage, le Bouc Emissaire, la Poupée...

    Un must à ne pas manquer !
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