Daphne DuMaurier Essay -- Authors

â€Å"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again† is one of the most capturing opening phrases of the famous novel â€Å"Rebecca† written by Daphne Du’ Maurier and published in 1938. After the first two paragraphs the story’s unnamed narrator reminisces about her past, but the narrator's name is never revealed. She is referred to as "my dear", Mrs. de Winter, â€Å"my wife", etc., but her first and last name are never given by the author. This opening line gave form to the entire story â€Å"Rebecca† and for over sixty years audiences around the world have praised Daphne Du’Maurier’s novels for their spellbinding mix of suspense, romance, mystery, and horror. Very similar to writers like the Bronte sisters Daphne Du’maurier’s works stand out as a superb example of melodramatic writing. Daphne Du’Maurier was born on May 13th, 1907 in London, England. The middle of three daughters, Du’Maurier was born into a prominent artistic and literary household. She was the granddaughter of famed caricaturist George du Maurier, and the daughter of actor-manager George du Maurier and actress Muriel Beaumont. With her early introduction to literary and artistic accomplishments it is no surprise that Du’Maurier was fascinated by imaginary worlds and wrote her first short story to be published in a magazine, which led to a literary contract, when she was only in her teens. Daphne Du’Maurier’s father, Gerald Du’Maurier, was an English actor and manager, who married Muriel Beaumont in 1902 and proceeded to have three daughters. Daphne’s sisters Angela and Jeanne Du’Maurier were both writers, but not nearly so well known or accomplished as their sister. In 1931, Du’Maurier wrote her first full length novel, â€Å"The Loving Spirit†. After writing this novel when sh... ..., author, or artist, but above all as an intellectual individual with passion and talent in writing who changed literary history with each one of her works.  Works Cited GradeSaver. "Biography of Daphne Du Maurier | List of Works, Study Guides & Essays". GradeSaver, 13 May 2012 Web. 13 May 2012. Du Maurier, Daphne. Frenchman's Creek . Garden City, New York: Nelson Doubleday Inc., 1941. Print. Du Maurier, Daphne - Richard Kelly (essay date 1987). Short Story Criticism. Ed. Drew Kalasky. Vol. 18. Gale Cengage, 1995. eNotes.com. 14 May, 2012 Auerbach, Nina. Daphne Du Maurier, Haunted Heiress . University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002. Print. Leng, Flavia. Daphne du Maurier: A Daughter's Memoir. Mainstream Publishing, 1999. Print.