Rebecca’s Tale A Novel
Rebecca’s Tale A Novel by Sally Beauman, published by HarperCollins on October 2, 2001, is a captivating exploration of the legacy left by Rebecca, the enigmatic first wife of Maxim de Winter. Set in April 1951, twenty years after Rebecca’s controversial death, the narrative unfolds with the arrival of an anonymous parcel containing a black notebook and photographs that reignite interest in her life and demise. The story centers around Colonel Julyan, who receives the parcel, and a young scholar named Terence Gray, whose investigation into Rebecca’s past stirs the quiet coastal town and its residents.
Readers will find themselves drawn into a web of intrigue as Ellie, Gray, and the Colonel delve into the complexities surrounding Rebecca’s character and the circumstances of her death. The narrative raises questions about Rebecca’s true nature—was she a manipulative femme fatale or a tragic heroine? The book invites readers to reconsider the events that led to her demise, exploring themes of memory, identity, and the impact of the past. With 448 pages, this Book Club edition presents a rich and immersive experience for those interested in fiction that revisits classic tales with a modern perspective.
Official synopsis Publisher
April 1951. It is twenty years since the death of Rebecca, the hauntingly beautiful first wife of Maxim de Winter. It is twenty years since the inquest, which famously — and controversially — passed a verdict of suicide. Twenty years since Manderley, the de Winters’ ancient family seat, was razed to the ground.
But Rebecca’s tale is just beginning.
Family friend Colonel Julyan receives an anonymous parcel in the post. It contains a black notebook with two handwritten words on the first page — Rebecca’s Tale — and two pictures: a photograph of Rebecca as a young child and a postcard of Manderley.
A mysterious young scholar by the name of Terence Gray has also appeared in town, looking for clues to Rebecca’s life and death. His presence causes a stir in the quiet hamlet, and the tongues that had wagged about Rebecca years before now attend to the close ties Gray has formed to the Colonel and his single daughter, Ellie.
Amid the intrigues of this small coastal town, Ellie, Gray, and the Colonel begin a search for the real Rebecca. Was she the manipulative, promiscuous femme fatale her husband claimed, or the Gothic heroine of tragic proportions that others have suggested? Was her death really suicide, or was it murder?
Sally Beauman has taken Daphne du Maurier’s celebrated twentieth-century classic, Rebecca, and crafted a compelling companion for the twenty-first century. Haunting, evocative, mesmerizing, Rebecca’s Tale is for anyone who has ever dreamed of going back to Manderley.
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