Une longue allée serpente entre des arbres centenaires, la brume s'accroche aux branches et, tout au bout, niché entre la mer et les bois sombres, un château splendide :
Manderley, le triomphe de Rébecca, la première Mme de Winter, belle, troublante, admirée de tous.
Un an après sa mort, le charme noir de Rébecca tient encore en son pouvoir le domaine et ses habitants. La nouvelle épouse de Maxim de Winter, jeune et timide, pourra-t-elle échapper à cette ombre inquiétante, à son souvenir obsédant qui menacent jour après,jour de plonger Manderley dans les ténèbres ?
Le chef-doeuvre de Daphné du Maurier, immortalisé au cinéma par Alfred Hitchcock, a fasciné depuis sa parution plus de trente millions de lecteurs à travers le monde. Comme Les Hauts de Hurlevent ou Jane Evre, Rebecca est devenu un des plus grands mythes de la littérature mondiale.
Orpheline et pauvre, Mary Yellan n'a pas d'autre ressource que de quitter le pays de son enfance pour aller vivre chez sa tante, mariée à un aubergiste, sur une côte désolée de la Cornouailles. Dès son arrivée à l'Auberge de la Jamaïque, Mary soupçonne de terrifiants mystères.... Petite-fille de l'illustrateur George du Maurier, l'auteur du livre-culte Peter Ibbetson, fille du grand acteur Gerald du Maurier, Daphné du Maurier nait à Londres en 1907 et s'installe en 1932 dans le manoir de Menabilly, en Cornouailles. Elle meurt en 1989 après une vie consacrée à l'écriture. Adulée par des millions de lecteurs, elle a publié 29 romans et de nombreuses nouvelles, dont trois ont inspiré Hitchcock : L'Auberge de la Jamaïque, Les Oiseaux et Rebecca.
Dans la Cornouailles du XIXe siècle, Philip Ashley, un riche héritier, s'apprête à accueillir Rachel, la veuve de son cousin. Mais d'étranges rumeurs courent sur la disparition de celui-ci. Tombé à son tour follement amoureux de la jeune femme, Philip est déchiré entre sa passion et ses soupçons... Petite-fille de l'illustrateur George du Maurier, l'auteur du livre-culte Peter Ibbetson, fille du grand acteur Gerald du Maurier, Daphné du Maurier nait à Londres en 1907 et s'installe en 1932 dans le manoir de Menabilly, en Cornouailles. Elle meurt en 1989 après une vie consacrée à l'écriture. Adulée par des millions de lecteurs, elle a publié 29 romans et de nombreuses nouvelles, dont trois ont inspiré Hitchcock : L'Auberge de la Jamaïque, Les Oiseaux et Rebecca.
Armino est guide touristique dans l'Italie des années soixante. Un jour, au cours d'une visite, il croise une vieille femme en qui il pense reconnaître une domestique qui s'occupait de lui enfant. Le lendemain, celle-ci est retrouvée assassinée. Armino décide alors de retourner à Ruffano, sa ville natale, pour vérifier ses intuitions. Jadis, quelque cinq cents ans auparavant, cette cité fut gouvernée par les Malebranche, et en particulier par le duc Claudio, surnommé le Faucon, qui la soumit à une terrible tyrannie. À l'arrivée d'Armino, Ruffano s'apprête à célébrer son célèbre festival, lors duquel un événement historique est reconstitué avec le plus de réalisme possible. Cette année, le thème en est la révolte populaire qui mena à la mort de Claudio. Mais tandis les festivités approchent, des menaces du passé refont surface...
Enquête familiale, suspense virtuose au temps de la Renaissance, Le Vol du Faucon nous plonge dans un monde empreint de mystère. On y retrouve la plume envoûtante et la grande finesse psychologique de l'auteure de Rebecca.Traduit de l'anglais par Maurice Bernard Endrèbe.
Daphné Du Maurier excelle lorsqu'elle traite de sujets qui la touchent de près. De Mary Anne Clarke, qui fut sa trisaïeule, les dictionnaires nous apprennent qu'elle fut l'une des grandes courtisanes de son temps - et qu'elle incarne aujourd'hui encore l'une des formes les plus pathétiques de la révolte féminine.
Nous sommes à Londres, dans les dernières années du XVIIIe siècle, et nous assistons à l'ascension d'une gamine que son intelligence et sa volonté vont porter au premier rang : jusqu'entre les bras du duc d'York, fils du roi et chef des armées britanniques en lutte contre Napoléon. Trahie, elle défraiera la chronique à la faveur d'un procès mettant en cause son amant, sera traînée dans la boue par les bien-pensants, se battra la rage au coeur pour faire reconnaître ses droits.
John, un historien anglais en vacances en France, rencontre au Mans par hasard son sosie parfait, Jean de Gué. Les deux hommes font connaissance : l'un est solitaire, sans famille, l'autre, épicurien désinvolte, se plaint de la sienne qui l'étouffe. Le lendemain matin, John se réveille, vêtu des affaires de Jean, qui a disparu. À la porte, le chauffeur l'attend pour le ramener au château. John prend alors la place de Jean... Comme dans Rebecca, on retrouve dans ce livre la cruauté, l'étrangeté et l'art du suspense de Daphné du Maurier.« Une oeuvre plus ambitieuse et plus riche qu'il n'y paraît, possédée par les thèmes du bien et du mal, de la rédemption et de l'identité. » (Christine Jordis, Le Monde)
Au XVIIe siècle en Angleterre la guerre civile fait rage, divisant les familles. Honor Harris, jeune fille de l'aristocratie provinciale éprise de liberté, fait la connaissance lors d'un banquet, le jour de ses dix-huit ans, de sir Richard Grenvile. Honor tombe amoureuse du colonel Grenvile, stratège de génie, bel homme, amateur de femmes, couvert de dettes, mais plein d'ambition. En lui sont réunis les qualités et les vices les plus flamboyants. Nul doute : Honor est faite pour lui. Mais les choses ne sont jamais simples en cette terre de Cornouailles où la tempête est l'élément ordinaire de la vie...
Fuyant les mondanités londoniennes, Dona St. Columb, une jeune lady au caractère rebelle, s'est réfugiée au bord de la Manche dans sa résidence de Narvon. Là, elle rencontre l'homme qui saura la séduire : un pirate français du nom de Pierre Blanc... Petite-fille de l'illustrateur George du Maurier, l'auteur du livre-culte Peter Ibbetson, fille du grand acteur Gerald du Maurier, Daphné du Maurier nait à Londres en 1907 et s'installe en 1932 dans le manoir de Menabilly, en Cornouailles. Elle meurt en 1989 après une vie consacrée à l'écriture. Adulée par des millions de lecteurs, elle a publié 29 romans et de nombreuses nouvelles, dont trois ont inspiré Hitchcock : L'Auberge de la Jamaïque, Les Oiseaux et Rebecca.
Dans le premier roman de Daphné du Maurier, qui parut en France en 1950 sous le titre La Chaîne d'amour, la mer, fascinante et cruelle, occupe une place centrale. Elle lie tous les membres de la famille Coombe, installée à Plyn, un port de la côte sud des Cornouailles ; sur un siècle et quatre générations, se déroule le destin de femmes insoumises et d'hommes sauvages, navigateurs ou charpentiers de marine, qui tous ont le visage tourné vers les flots... Amours, haines, vengeances et trahisons, Daphné du Maurier excelle dans la peinture des passions humaines.
FROM THE BESTSELLING WRITER OF REBECCA
'The House on the Strand is prime du Maurier . . . ' NEW YORK TIMES
'She wrote exciting plots . . . a writer of fearless originality' GUARDIAN
'No other popular writer has so triumphantly defied classification . . . ' MARGARET FORSTER
When Dick Young's friend, Professor Magnus Lane offers him an escape from his troubles in the form of a new drug, Dick finds himself transported to fourteenth-century Cornwall. There, in the manor of Tywardreath, the domain of Sir Henry Champerhoune, he witnesses intrigue, adultery and murder.
The more time Dick spends consumed in the past, the more he withdraws from the modern world. With each dose of the drug, his body and mind become addicted to this otherworld and his attempts to change history bring terror to the present and put his own life in jeopardy.
FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF REBECCA
With an Introduction by 'Britain's most sophisticated film critic' David Thomson, THE TIMES
'A remarkable imagination continually provokes both pity and terror' OBSERVER
'One of the last century's most original literary talents' DAILY TELEGRAPH
'She wrote exciting plots . . . a writer of fearless originality' GUARDIAN
'How long he fought with them in the darkness he could not tell, but at last the beating of the wings about him lessened and then withdrew . . .'
A classic of alienation and horror, The Birds was immortalised by Hitchcock in his celebrated film. The five other chilling stories in this collection echo a sense of dislocation and mock man's sense of dominance over the natural world.
A COMING-OF-AGE TALE OF ADVENTURE AND LOVE, FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF REBECCA
'She wrote exciting plots . . . a writer of fearless originality' GUARDIAN
'One of the last century's most original literary talents' DAILY TELEGRAPH
'Amazingly vivid' SATURDAY REVIEW
'The iron of the bridge felt hot under my hand. The sun had been upon it all day. Gripping hard with my hands I lifted myself on to the bar and gazed down steadily on the water passing under . . . I thought of places I would never see, and women I should never love.'
As far as Richard's father, a famous poet is concerned, his son has no talent as a writer and will never amount to anything. In a moment of crisis, Richard decides to end his life, but is saved by Jake, a passing stranger. The two men, both at turning points in their lives, set out for adventure, jumping aboard a ship to Norway.
Their travels take them through Europe and they form a passionate friendship. But in bohemian Paris, Richard meets Hesta, a music student who inspires him to follow his artistic dreams.
THE CLASSIC THRILLER FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF REBECCA
'What a magnificent thriller this is' NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
'She wrote exciting plots . . . a writer of fearless originality' GUARDIAN
'Tinged with nightmare' TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT
'He turned and stared at me and I at him, and I realised, with a strange sense of shock and fear and nausea all combined, that his face and voice were known to me too well. I was looking at myself.'
By chance, two men - one English, the other French - meet in a provincial railway station. Their resemblance is uncanny, and they spend the evening talking and drinking. It is not until John wakes the next morning that he realises his French companion has stolen his identity and disappeared. So John steps into the Frenchman's shoes, and faces a variety of perplexing roles - as owner of a chateau, director of a failing business, head of a fractious family, and master of nothing.
FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF REBECCA.
'She wrote exciting plots, she was highly skilled at arousing suspense' GUARDIAN
'One of the last century's most original literary talents' DAILY TELEGRAPH
'Du Maurier employs well the assured balancing of uncanny possibilities ... and the bitterly wry sense of absurdity that were to characterise her finest fiction' HELEN TAYLOR, INDEPENDENT
'I want to know if men realise when they are insane. Sometimes I think that my brain cannot hold together, it is filled with too much horror - too much despair . . . I cannot sleep, I cannot close my eyes without seeing his damned face. If only it had been a dream.'
This collection showcases the budding talent and fierce imagination of Daphne du Maurier, before she went on to write one of the most beloved novels of all time. In these tales of human frailty and obsession, a waterlogged notebook washes ashore, revealing a dark story of jealousy and passion; a vicar coaches a young couple divided by class issues and an older man falls perilously in love with a much younger woman. Each tale demonstrates du Maurier's extraordinary storytelling gifts and her deep understanding of human nature.
FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF REBECCA
'One of the last century's most original literary talents' DAILY TELEGRAPH
'A magician, a virtuoso' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
'There is an intense and exhilarating fusion of feeling, landscape, climate, character and story' GUARDIAN
'Mary Farren went into the gun room one morning about half-past eleven, took her husband's revolver and loaded it, then shot herself. The butler heard the sound of the gun from the pantry ... '
The fourteen haunting stories in this collection span the whole of Daphne du Maurier's writing career and explore every human emotion: an apparently happily married woman commits suicide; a steamer in wartime is rescued by a mysterious sailing-ship; a dull husband breaks loose in a surprising fashion; a con woman plays her game once too often; and a famous novelist looks for romance, only to meet with bitter disappointment.
Each meticulously observed tale shows du Maurier's mastery of the genre.
THE CLASSIC THRILLING ROMANCE FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF REBECCA
'A writer of fearless originality' GUARDIAN
'One of the last century's most original literary talents' DAILY TELEGRAPH
'A pure, exhilarating adventure story - a swashbuckling tale of exquisite danger and tangled love' JULIE MYERSON
Lady Dona St Columb seems to revel in scandal: she is involved in every intrigue of the Restoration Court. But secretly, the shallowness of Court life disgusts her, and in her heart she longs for freedom and honest love. Retreating to Navron, her husband's Cornish estate, she seeks peace and solitude away from London. But Navron is being used as the base for a French pirate, an outlaw hunted all over Cornwall.
Instead of feeling fear, Dona's thirst for adventure has never been more aroused; in Jean-Benoit Aubéry she finds a sensitive man who would, like her, gamble his life for a moment's joy. Together they embark upon a quest rife with danger and glory, one which will force Dona to make the ultimate choice: will she sacrifice her lover to certain death, or risk her own life to save him?
FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF REBECCA.
'In this collection, Daphne du Maurier's peerless craftmanship, her eerie sense of the macabre, her gift for sheer story telling come to full fruition' KIRKUS REVIEWS
'She wrote exciting plots ... a writer of fearless originality' PATRICK MCGRATH, GUARDIAN
'The appeal of romance and the clash of highly-charged emotions' NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE
'The apathy of Sunday lay upon the streets. Houses were closed, withdrawn.
"They don't know," he thought, "those people inside, how one gesture of mine, now, at this minute, might alter their world. A knock on the door, and someone answers - a woman yawning, an old man in carpet slippers, a child sent by its parents in irritation; and according to what I will, what I decide, their whole future will be decided . . . Sudden murder. Theft. Fire." It was as simple as that.'
In this collection of suspenseful tales in which fantasies, murderous dreams and half-forgotten worlds are exposed, Daphne du Maurier explores the boundaries of reality and imagination. Her characters are caught at those moments when the delicate link between reason and emotion has been stretched to the breaking point. Often chilling, sometimes poignant, these stories display the full range of Daphne du Maurier's considerable talent.
« L'idée me plaît, bien qu'elle soit assez extravagante et folle. » Dans ses carnets, Daphné du Maurier évoque ainsi l'une de ses premières nouvelles, La Poupée. Publié dans une revue mais refusé par les éditeurs, le texte avait disparu jusqu'à ce qu'une libraire de Cornouailles, passionnée par la romancière anglaise, ne le retrouve avec d'autres récits de jeunesse, dont cinq totalement inédits.
Une extraordinaire découverte, car ces nouvelles, écrites alors que l'auteur avait à peine vingt ans, donnent les clefs de ses grands romans. Et quelles clefs ! Qu'elle mette en scène la perversité d'une jeune femme aux moeurs mystérieuses, campe le portrait d'un pasteur corrompu et mondain, radiographie le délitement d'un couple, ou s'attache à suivre les déambulations d'une prostituée londonienne, l'auteur de Rebecca manifeste, à travers un imaginaire très singulier, une curieuse attirance pour les obscures manifestations de l'inconscient...
Ces inquiétants récits révèlent une jeune femme très en avance sur son temps, critique de l'hypocrisie sociale, avec cette maîtrise du suspense et de la narration qui feront d'elle, en précurseur du thriller psychologique, l'inspiratrice d'Hitchcock et, tout simplement, une des plus brillantes romancières du XXe siècle.
FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF REBECCA
'Daphne du Maurier told of Britain leaving the EU fifty years ago' LUCY SCHOLES, THE TIMES
'The spirit of Britannia embodied' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
'She wrote exciting plots ... a writer of fearless originality' GUARDIAN
'It is rather awful, Emma thought as she walked across the fields down to the farm, how this business is leading us all into subterfuge and deception, and we can't really tell who is friend and who is enemy ... '
Emma wakes up one morning to an apocalyptic world. The cosy existence she shares with her grandmother, a famous retired actress has been shattered: there's no telephone, no radio and an American warship sits in the harbour. England has withdrawn from the European Common Market and, on the brink of bankruptcy has decided that salvation lies in a union - political, military and economic - with the United States. Theoretically it is to be an equal partnership, but it soon begins to look like a takeover bid.
As the two women piece together clues about the 'friendly' military occupation on their doorstep; family, friends and neighbours come together to resist the interlopers.
'She wrote exciting plots, she was highly skilled at arousing suspense' GUARDIAN
'Daphne du Maurier is an excellent storyteller' KIRKUS REVIEWS
'One of the last century's most original literary talents' DAILY TELEGRAPH
As a tour guide, Armino Fabbio leads a pleasant, if uneventful life - until he becomes circumstantially involved in the death of a peasant in Rome. The woman, he gradually learns, was his family's beloved servant many years ago before, in his native town of Ruffano. Fabbio returns to his birthplace, and finds it is haunted by the phantom of his brother, Aldo, who was shot down in flames during the war.
Over five hundred years before, the sinister Duke Claudio, known as The Falcon, lived his twisted, brutal life, preying on the people of Ruffano. The town seems to have forgotten its violent history, but have things really changed? The parallels between the past and present become ever more evident.
FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF REBECCA
'One of the last century's most original literary talents' DAILY TELEGRAPH
'Wickedly readable . . . every woman instinctively wants to read her' NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
' Somehow more personal than Daphne du Maurier's other novels' KIRKUS REVIEWS
'When people play the game: Name three or four persons whom you would choose to have with you on a desert island - they never choose the Delaneys. They don't even choose us one by one as individuals. We have earned, not always fairly we consider, the reputation of being difficult guests . . . '
Maria, Niall and Celia have grown up in the shadow of their famous parents. Their father is a flamboyant singer and their mother is a talented dancer. Now pursuing their own creative dreams, all three siblings feel an undeniable bond, but it is Maria and Niall who share the secret of their parents' pasts.
Alternately comic and poignant, The Parasites is based on the artistic milieu its author knew best and draws the reader effortlessly into that magical world.
FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF REBECCA
'Daphne du Maurier has no equal' DAILY TELEGRAPH
'Miss du Maurier has brought to the art of the biography the narrative urgency' NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
' . . . she is unravelling a long distorted mystery' KIRKUS REVIEWS
Pursued by the twin demons of drink and madness, Branwell Bronte created a private world that was indeed infernal. As a bold and gifted child, his promise seemed boundless to the three adoring sisters over whom his rule was complete. But as an adult, the precocious flame of genius distorted and burned low. With neither the strength nor the resources to counter rejection, unable to sell his paintings or publish his books, Branwell became a spectre in the Bronte story, in pathetic contrast with the astonishing achievements of Charlotte, Emily and Anne.
Daphne du Maurier concentrates all her biographer's skill on the shadowy figure of Branwell Bronte. No reader could fail to be intensely moved by Branwell's final retreat into laudanum, alcohol and death.
BY THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF REBECCA
'Daphne du Maurier has no equal' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
'A rapturous celebration of the beauties of the Cornish landscape' MICHELE ROBERTS
'Miss du Maurier's book is a grand one' CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Janet Coombe longs for adventure and the freedom of the sea. She feels herself pulled fast under its spell, but in her heart she knows she must sacrifice her dreams; she is a woman, and her place is in the home. So she married Thomas, a boat-builder, and her restless spirit is passed down through her son, and on to his descendants.
In her acclaimed debut, Daphne du Maurier weaves a compelling tale of heartbreak, courage and love. The Loving Spirit, an inimitable blend of romance, history and adventure, established her reputation as one of the finest writers of her generation.
FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF REBECCA
'Daphne du Maurier has no rival' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
'du Maurier is a magician, a virtuouso' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
'A storyteller of cunning and genius' SALLY BEAUMAN
'I tell you your mine will be in ruins and your home destroyed and your children forgotten . . . but this hill will be standing still to confound you.' So curses Morty Donovan when 'Cooper John' Brodrick builds his mine at Hungry Hill.
The Brodricks of Clonmere gain great wealth by harnessing the power of Hungry Hill and extracting the treasure it holds. The Donovans, the original owners of Clonmere Castle, resent the Brodricks' success and consider the great house and its surrounding land theirs by rights. For generations the feud between the families has simmered, always threatening to break into violence . . .
