"Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier

Daphne du Maurier, "Rebecca", Virago Modern Classics, 2003 (orig. publ. 1938), 4/5 stars

The novel begins in Monte Carlo, where our heroine is swept off her feet by the dashing widower Maxim de Winter and his sudden proposal of marriage. Orphaned and working as a lady's maid, she can barely believe her luck. It is only when they arrive at his massive country estate that she realizes how large a shadow his late wife will cast over their lives - presenting her with a lingering evil that threatens to destroy their marriage from beyond the grave. (Goodreads)

This weekend, I finished reading "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier; a well-loved classic that seems to have stolen a lot of people's hearts. I was obviously very intrigued to read it for myself and see if it would steal my heart as well.

This book immediately grabbed my attention because it has a very dark and sinister tone to it. It deals with Manderley, a great estate in England housing Max de Winter and his household. However, the story starts at a different place and with other characters who slowly become involved with Manderley and its mysteries.

This story is very Victorian and I loved it. It gradually became darker and darker, and it kept the reader guessing at what would happen next. I loved how Daphne du Maurier played with setting and gothic elements in this story, and especially her way of writing and conveying stories thrilled me. I often found myself underlining passages even though that's something I rarely do.

However, this perfectly dark story also raised a lot of serious questions in my mind when it came to the main characters' behavior and attitude to different scenarios, and the ending was kind of vague in my opinion. Nevertheless, I very much enjoyed this book, and I will definitely return to it when I need a mysterious, creepy and dark story set in windy and rainy England.