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Rebecca deserves its place amongst the classics of 20th century English-language literature, and as a favourite novel for many readers. I first read Daphne du Maurier's 1938 masterpiece in my late teenage years, at around the same time that I also read Charlotte Brontë's classic Jane Eyre. The parallels between the two are evident, and du Maurier has done a masterful job exploring the common themes through the lens of modern social mores and gender politics. Reading the book over 30 years later I certainly felt that I had greater insight into some of the experiences of the second Mrs. de Winter and a greater understanding of the motivations of Mrs. Danvers, beyond the superficial characterisation of her as being a villain.

My reading was enhanced by the fact that our local independent cinema was screening Alfred Hitchcock's much acclaimed 1940 adaptation of du Maurier's novel, starring Joan Fontaine, Laurence Olivier and Australian actress Judith Anderson as Mrs. Danvers. My enjoyment of the film was much enhanced by having so recently re-read the book.

I read Rebecca via a combination of the beautiful 2003 Virago paperback edition and the Audible audiobook edition read by British actress Anna Massey, who was perfectly cast. She played a convincingly sinister Mrs. Danvers in a later television adaptation of the novel.