Daphne du Maurier

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Daphne du Maurier

Born: May 13, 1907 

Died: April 19, 1989  

Life 

Daphne du Maurier was born on May 13, 1907 in London, England. She was born into a talented and artistic family. Both her parents were actors and her grandfather was a writer. From a young age she enjoyed writing and was often in the company of celebrities. She was homeschooled and also attended elite schools in London and Paris.  

At the age of 24, her first novel The Loving Spirit was published and met with praise. After reading the novel, her future husband Tommy "Boy" Browning, sailed to London to meet with her. They married a year later stayed married for 33 years despite du Maurier's secret bisexuality and strong preference for women.  

She fell in love with Ellen Doubleday, the wife of her American publisher. The two became great friends though Doubleday never reciprocated du Maurier's romantic affections. Later, du Maurier suggested Doubleday was the inspiration for Rachel in her novel My Cousin Rachel. Rebuffed by Doubleday, du Maurier had an affair with actress Gertrude Lawrence. In her play September Tide, Lawrence was playing Stella, another character inspired by Ellen.  

Despite her lesbian love affairs, du Maurier often played the part of dutiful army wife. She would entertain and host parties though she preferred to be alone and write. While a dutiful wife, being a mother didn't come naturally and she was distant with her children. Her closest relationship was with her son.  

Du Maurier was a fanatical walker and loved the English countryside. She was fond of Cornwall and it became the backdrop to many of her novels. Even during his husband's posting in Egypt, she still wrote about England. Her main focus was always the atmosphere of the novel and how to create an atmosphere.  

She died on April 19th, 1989 in her home in Cornwall at the age of 81.  

Influence  

Though du Maurier was referred to as a romance novelist during her life, she hated the term. She received the Grand Master Awards from the ‘Mystery Writers of America’ in 1978. Many of her contemporaries and fans describe her as a master of suspense and tension.  

Alfred Hitchcock turned three of her works into films and it's argued that Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins wouldn't exist without du Maurier's Rebecca.  

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