FOREST PARK HOTEL PLATRES 7 june 2015
DISCUSSION OF "REBECCA" BY DAPHNE DU MAURIER
MEMBERS' COMMENTS
Daphne du Maurier wrote some of "Rebecca" at the Forest Park Hotel, Platres so we decided to hold our book club meeting in the very place where it was created:)
Du Maurier's father was a matinee idol and the family was stationed in Alexandria. Daphne probably came to stay at the Forest Park Hotel in Platres to get away from the heat. The hotel is high up in the mountains with tremendous views - it must have been an amazing place to sit and create "Rebecca". Du Maurier loved Cornwall and several of her novels were situated there. "Last night I went to Manderley" are some of the most famous opening words in English literature and the rest of writing continues in the same vein - beautifully constructed sentences which convey the building tension and intrigue of the story. Interestingly, Du Maurier was accused of plagiarism but won the case. Some of us felt that the novel was reminiscent of "Jane Eyre" - the poor girl who falls in love with an older man who has a secret past life which is slowly revealed to the reader. We wondered why Maxim wanted to marry such a young girl and why she agreed but it probably had a lot to do with the times and the fact that the writer - we never learn her name!! - needed to be supported in her life. We found Mrs Danvers to be a charismatically evil character who groomed her charge, Rebecca, to use and control men. The tension in the story continues right up to the final scenes and the overall opinion is that this novel is a great classic. The owner of the Forest Park informed us that he can show us the film of the book and so we are planning another trip up during the summer:) |