Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning,
[ (; 13 May 1907 – 19 April 1989) was an English novelist, biographer and playwright. Her parents were actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and his wife, actress Muriel Beaumont. Her grandfather was ]George du Maurier
George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier (6 March 1834 – 8 October 1896) was a Franco-British cartoonist and writer known for work in ''Punch'' and a Gothic novel ''Trilby'', featuring the character Svengali. His son was the actor Sir Gerald ...
, a writer and cartoonist
A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...
.
Although du Maurier is classed as a romantic novelist, her stories have been described as "moody and resonant" with overtones of the paranormal
Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...
. Her bestselling works were not at first taken seriously by critics, but they have since earned an enduring reputation for narrative craft. Many have been successfully adapted into films, including the novels '' Rebecca'', '' Frenchman's Creek'', ''My Cousin Rachel
''My Cousin Rachel'' is a Gothic novel written by English author Daphne du Maurier, published in 1951. Bearing thematic similarities to her earlier and more famous novel '' Rebecca'', it is a mystery-romance, set primarily on a large estate in ...
'' and ''Jamaica Inn
The Jamaica Inn is a traditional inn on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall in the UK, which was built as a coaching inn in 1750, and has a historical association with smuggling. Located just off the A30, near the middle of the moor close to the hamlet ...
'', and the short stories " The Birds" and "Don't Look Now
''Don't Look Now'' ( it, A Venezia... un Dicembre rosso shocking, lit=In Venice... a shocking red December) is a 1973 English-language film in the thriller genre directed by Nicolas Roeg, adapted from the 1971 short story by Daphne du Mauri ...
". Du Maurier spent much of her life in Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
, where most of her works are set. As her fame increased, she became more reclusive.
Biography
Early life
Daphne du Maurier was born at 24 Cumberland Terrace
Cumberland Terrace is a neoclassical terrace on the eastern side of Regent's Park in the London Borough of Camden, completed in 1826. It is a Grade I listed building.
History
It was one of several terraces and crescents around Regent's Park de ...
, Regent's Park
Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...
, London, the middle of three daughters of prominent actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and actress Muriel Beaumont. Her paternal grandfather was author and ''Punch
Punch commonly refers to:
* Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist
* Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice
Punch may also refer to:
Places
* Pun ...
'' cartoonist George du Maurier
George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier (6 March 1834 – 8 October 1896) was a Franco-British cartoonist and writer known for work in ''Punch'' and a Gothic novel ''Trilby'', featuring the character Svengali. His son was the actor Sir Gerald ...
, who created the character of Svengali
Svengali () is a character in the novel ''Trilby'' which was first published in 1894 by George du Maurier. Svengali is a man who seduces, dominates and exploits Trilby, a young half-Irish girl, and makes her into a famous singer.
Definition
...
in the 1894 novel ''Trilby
A trilby is a narrow-brimmed type of hat. The trilby was once viewed as the rich man's favored hat; it is sometimes called the "brown trilby" in Britain Roetzel, Bernhard (1999). ''Gentleman's Guide to Grooming and Style''. Barnes & Noble. and ...
''. Her paternal uncle Guy du Maurier
Guy Louis Busson du Maurier DSO (18 May 1865, London, England – 9 March 1915, Kemmel, Flanders, Belgium) was an English army officer and playwright. He was the son of the writer George du Maurier and brother of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies and ...
was a playwright. Her mother was a paternal niece of journalist, author, and lecturer Comyns Beaumont. Her elder sister, Angela du Maurier
Angela Busson du Maurier (1 March 1904 – 5 February 2002) was an English actress and novelist who also wrote two volumes of autobiography, ''It's Only the Sister'' (1951) and ''Old Maids Remember'' (1965). Her sister was the novelist Daphne du ...
, became an actress and later also a writer, and her younger sister Jeanne du Maurier
Jeanne du Maurier (27 March 1911 – 12 January 1997) was an English artist. She was the third daughter of Sir Gerald du Maurier and Muriel Beaumont, and sister of writers Daphne and Angela du Maurier.
Life
Jeanne du Maurier was born on 27 Ma ...
was a painter.[Dunn, Jane ''Daphne du Maurier and her Sisters''HarperPress (2013)] She was a cousin of the Llewelyn Davies boys, who were J. M. Barrie
Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succ ...
's inspiration for the characters in the play ''Peter Pan; or, The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up
''Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'' or ''Peter and Wendy'', often known simply as ''Peter Pan'', is a work by J. M. Barrie, in the form of a 1904 play and a 1911 novel. Both versions tell the story of Peter Pan, a mischievous li ...
''.
As a young child, du Maurier met many prominent theatre actors, because of the celebrity of her father. On meeting Tallulah Bankhead
Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 – December 12, 1968) was an American actress. Primarily an actress of the stage, Bankhead also appeared in several prominent films including an award-winning performance in Alfred Hitchcock's '' L ...
, du Maurier was quoted as saying that Bankhead was the most beautiful creature she had ever seen.
Du Maurier spent her childhood at Cannon Hall, Hampstead, the family's London residence, and summers at their home in Fowey, Cornwall, where they also lived during the war years.
Personal life
Du Maurier married Major (later Lieutenant-General) Frederick "Boy" Browning in 1932. They had three children:
* Tessa (b. 1933), who married Major Peter de Zulueta. After they divorced, she married David Montgomery, 2nd Viscount Montgomery of Alamein
David Bernard Montgomery, 2nd Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, (18 August 1928 – 8 January 2020) was a British politician and businessman. He was the son of Bernard Montgomery.
Early life and education
Montgomery was the only child of Field ...
, in 1970.
* Flavia (b. 1937), who married Captain Alastair Tower. After they divorced, she married General Sir Peter Leng.
* Christian (b. 1940), a photographer and filmmaker. He married Olive White (Miss Ireland
Miss World Ireland is a national Beauty pageant in Ireland. Winners of the competition represent Ireland at Miss World. Among the winners are Rosanna Davison, who went on to win Miss World 2003, and Pamela Uba, who in 2021 became the first ...
1961).
Biographers have noted that du Maurier's marriage was at times somewhat chilly and that she could be aloof and distant to her children, especially the girls, when immersed in her writing.Margaret Forster
Margaret Forster (25 May 1938 – 8 February 2016) was an English novelist, biographer, memoirist, historian and critic, best known for the 1965 novel ''Georgy Girl'', made into a successful film of the same name, which inspired a hit song by T ...
, ''Daphne du Maurier: The Secret Life of the Renowned Storyteller'', Chatto & Windus. Her husband died in 1965 and soon after Daphne moved to Kilmarth, near Par, Cornwall, which became the setting for ''The House on the Strand
''The House on the Strand'' is a novel by Daphne du Maurier, first published in the UK in 1969 by Victor Gollancz, with a jacket illustration by her daughter, Flavia Tower. The US edition was published by Doubleday.
Like many of du Maurier's no ...
''.
Du Maurier has often been painted as a frostily private recluse who rarely mixed in society or gave interviews.[ An exception to this came after the release of the film '' A Bridge Too Far'', in which her late husband was portrayed in a less-than-flattering light. Incensed, she wrote to the national newspapers, decrying what she considered unforgivable treatment. Once out of the public spotlight, however, many remembered her as a warm and immensely funny person who was a welcoming hostess to guests at ]Menabilly
Menabilly ( kw, Men Ebeli, meaning ''stone of colts'') is a historic estate on the south coast of Cornwall, England, situated within the parish of Tywardreath on the Gribben peninsula about west of Fowey.
It has been the seat of the Rashle ...
,Oriel Malet
Lady Auriel Rosemary Malet Vaughan (20 January 1923 – 14 October 2014) was a Welsh-born author of literary fiction and biographies, who wrote under the name of Oriel Malet.''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage'', 107th edition, 3 volum ...
(ed.), ''Letters from Menabilly'', Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1993. the house which she had leased for many years (from the Rashleigh family
Rashleigh is a surname of a prominent family from Devon and Cornwall in England, which originated in the 14th century or before at the estate of Rashleigh in the parish of Wembworthy, Devon. The principal branches were:
*Rashleigh of Rashleigh, ...
) in Cornwall.
She appeared as a castaway in the BBC Radio programme ''Desert Island Discs
''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942.
Each week a guest, called a "castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usua ...
'' broadcast on 3 September 1977. Her chosen book was ''The Collected Works of Jane Austen
Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...
'', and her luxury was whiskey and ginger ale.
Du Maurier was an early member of Mebyon Kernow
Mebyon Kernow – The Party for Cornwall (, MK; Cornish for ''Sons of Cornwall'') is a Cornish nationalist, centre-left political party in Cornwall, in southwestern Britain. It currently has five elected councillors on Cornwall Council, and s ...
, a Cornish nationalist party.
Personal names, titles and honours
She was known as Daphne du Maurier from 1907 to 1932, when she married Frederick Browning
Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Arthur Montague "Boy" Browning, (20 December 1896 – 14 March 1965) was a senior officer of the British Army who has been called the "father of the British airborne forces". He was also an Olympic bobslei ...
. Still writing as Daphne du Maurier during her marriage, she was also known as Lady Browning after her husband was knighted in 1946. When she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1969, she was titled Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, DBE, but she never used the title.
According to her biographer Margaret Forster
Margaret Forster (25 May 1938 – 8 February 2016) was an English novelist, biographer, memoirist, historian and critic, best known for the 1965 novel ''Georgy Girl'', made into a successful film of the same name, which inspired a hit song by T ...
, she told no one about the honour, so that even her children learned of it only from the newspapers. "She thought of pleading illness for the investiture, until her children insisted it would be a great day for the older grandchildren. So she went through with it, though she slipped out quietly afterwards to avoid the attention of the press."
Alleged relationships
After du Maurier's death in 1989, some writers speculated about her alleged relationships with a number of women,[ including the actress ]Gertrude Lawrence
Gertrude Lawrence (4 July 1898 – 6 September 1952) was an English actress, singer, dancer and musical comedy performer known for her stage appearances in the West End of London and on Broadway in New York.
Early life
Lawrence was born Gertr ...
and Ellen Doubleday, the wife of her U.S. publisher Nelson Doubleday
Nelson Doubleday (June 16, 1889 – January 11, 1949) was a U.S. book publisher and president of Doubleday Company from 1922–1946. His father Frank Nelson Doubleday had founded the business. His son Nelson Doubleday Jr. followed hi ...
.[ Du Maurier stated in her memoirs that her father had wanted a son;][ being a ]tomboy
A tomboy is a term for a girl or a young woman with masculine qualities. It can include wearing androgynous or unfeminine clothing and actively engage in physical sports or other activities and behaviors usually associated with boys or men. W ...
, she wished to have been born a boy.
''The Daphne du Maurier Companion'', edited by Helen Taylor, includes Taylor's claims that du Maurier confessed to her in 1965 that she had had an incestuous
Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adopti ...
relationship with her father and that he had been a violent alcoholic.
In correspondence that her family released to biographer Margaret Forster
Margaret Forster (25 May 1938 – 8 February 2016) was an English novelist, biographer, memoirist, historian and critic, best known for the 1965 novel ''Georgy Girl'', made into a successful film of the same name, which inspired a hit song by T ...
, du Maurier explained to a trusted few people her own unique slant on her sexuality: her personality comprised two distinct people – the loving wife and mother (the side she showed to the world); and the lover (a "decidedly male energy") hidden from virtually everyone and the power behind her artistic creativity. According to Forster's biography, du Maurier believed the "male energy" propelled her writing. Forster wrote that du Maurier's denial of her bisexuality
Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whic ...
unveiled a "homophobic
Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, m ...
" fear of her true nature.[
The children of both du Maurier and Lawrence have objected strongly to the stories about their mothers' alleged intimate relationship. Two years after Lawrence died, a biography of her authored by her widower, Richard Aldrich, went into detail about a friendship between her and du Maurier that had begun in 1948 when Lawrence had accepted the lead role in du Maurier's new play ''September Tide''.] Aldrich said that Lawrence had toured Britain in the play in 1948 and continued with it in London's West End theatre district through 1949, and that later du Maurier visited them at their home in the United States. Aldrich made no mention of a possible same-sex relationship.
Death
Du Maurier died from heart failure in her sleep on 19 April 1989, aged 81, at her home in Par, Cornwall, which had been the setting for many of her books. Her body was cremated in private and without a memorial service (at her request)Gibraltar Chronicle
The ''Gibraltar Chronicle'' is a national newspaper published in Gibraltar since 1801. It became a daily in 1821. It is Gibraltar's oldest established daily newspaper and the world's second oldest English language newspaper to have been in pri ...
newspaper; 21 April 1989; Page 7 and her ashes scattered off the cliffs around Kilmarth and Menabilly, Cornwall.[
]
Writing career
Novels, short stories, and biographies
Her family connections helped her establish her literary career, and she published some of her early work in her great uncle Comyns Beaumont's '' Bystander'' magazine. Her first novel, '' The Loving Spirit,'' was published in 1931.
The novel '' Rebecca'' (1938) was one of du Maurier's most successful works. It was an immediate hit, selling nearly 3 million copies between 1938 and 1965. The novel has never gone out of print. In the United States, du Maurier won the National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors.
The Nat ...
for favourite novel of 1938 for the book, voted by members of the American Booksellers Association. In the UK, it was listed at number 14 of the "nation's best-loved novel"s on the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
''. The last is set in Cornwall during the
perspective.
Du Maurier was often categorised as a "romantic novelist", a term that she deplored, given her novels rarely have a happy ending, and often have sinister overtones and shadows of the paranormal. In this light, she has more in common with the "
and others, which she admired.