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I have Elizabeth von Arnim’s novel, Vera, to thank for directing me to Rebecca. Vera was published in 1921 and Rebecca in 1938. In both books, a young girl married a widower twice her age and was thrust into life in an opulent mansion with a husband shackled to an unmentionable past.

For both young ladies, worse than straining to be loved by their husbands is the pain of living in the shadow of the deceased first wife whose presence continues to be keenly felt. Unlike the heroine in Vera who had a name (Lucy), the heroine in du Maurier’s book is an unnamed narrator. It is poignant that the title in both books bears the name of the first wife.

My heart broke a million times for the orphaned young girl married to Max De Winter, the master of Manderley, a stately country mansion. That she is ‘hopeful and eager, handicapped by a rather desperate gaucherie and filled with an intense desire to please�� made me long for her to succeed as the new mistress of Manderley. Of course, that is not to be.

Rebecca, the first wife, was loved by all. She was very beautiful and ‘had a gift of being attractive to people.�� Rebecca did a lot of entertaining on the estate and was the life-wire of the party. The new Mrs de Winter, by contrast, has lanky hair, cut in a childish bobbed style, and dresses poorly. She is surrounded by servants who hold her in contempt, especially Mrs Danvers who adores Rebecca. Even lighting a fire in the library to stay warm is not encouraged because the previous mistress spends mornings in the ‘morning room.��

The new Mrs de Winter is struck by how Rebecca used to sign her name: �� ‘Rebecca,�� the tall sloping R dwarfing its fellows.�� What an eloquent expression of her disempowerment! In her own words: ‘I could fight the living, but I could not fight the dead.��

Max de Winter is emotionally unavailable and his new wife cannot help but feel she is loved only as much as the family dog. As the story unfolded, we began to piece together the reasons for his emotional distress. What a horrific tale! As in Vera, there is an inquest into the death of the first wife.

Rebecca has a plot that kept me glued to its pages and revelations that shocked me. I wanted very much for Max to have a second chance at happiness and for this innocent young girl to win the love she deserves.

The prose is beautiful and does justice to the beauty of Manderley, its terraces and lawns, the woods, and the sea. Read Rebecca. It is unreservedly worthy of five brilliant stars.