Author Description

"... the first comprehensive critical and analytical evaluation of her (Daphne du Maurier's) fiction" (Preface). Chapter One: her little known life. Chapter Two: her early novels and dramatic presence of her father therein. Chapter Three: her masterpiece, REBECCA. Chapter Four: du Maurier's development as foremost writer of romantic fiction. Escapist hemes during the turbulent 1940s and 1950s include "love, adventure and rebellion" (Preface). Chapter Five: her introspective novels +/- 1946 - 1976. Chapter Six: short stories emphasizing "the supernatural and the macabre" (Preface). Chapter Seven: du Maurier's "character as a writer and her unique contribution to literature and popular culture" (Preface).