Rebecca
Rebecca is the New Testament spelling of Rebekah, see Romans 9:10.
Rebecca is a novel by Daphne Du Maurier, published in 1938 and probably the author's best-known work. It has become a modern classic of English literature, though it is clearly inspired by the Victorian tradition, and particularly by Jane Eyre. Rebecca may also have been influenced by Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey.
Warning: Plot details follow.
The story concerns an innocent orphaned young woman - we never find out her name - who, while working as a companion on the French Riviera, is swept off her feet by a wealthy Englishman, Max de Winter, marries him, and becomes mistress of his house, Manderley. Only on their return to England does she realise how difficult it will be to lay the ghost of his first wife, the eponymous Rebecca, who was drowned in a sailing accident. The domineering housekeeper, Mrs Danvers, is one of the best-known female villains in literature.
Mrs Danvers, who was devoted to Rebecca, does her best to undermine the new mistress, although others, such as Frank, the estate manager, show friendship towards her. The morning after a humiliating experience at a costume ball at Manderley, a boat is washed up on the nearby beach. The new Mrs de Winter discovers that Rebecca was not the paragon she had seemed, and Max confesses to having murdered her and sunk her boat, with the body in it, in order to prevent discovery. The investigation into Rebecca's death reveals that she was suffering from a terminal illness, and it is generally believed that she committed suicide. While Max and his wife are away from home, Manderley burns down.
The novel has inspired many dramatisations and adaptations. A mediocre "sequel", Mrs de Winter, was written in the 1980s by Susan Hill. A "prequel", Rebecca's Tale, was written by Sally Beauman. And a modern version, The Other Rebecca, by Maureen Freely.
Alfred Hitchcock directed a 1940 film of the novel with David O. Selznick as producer, which won two Academy Awards:
- Best Picture - David O. Selznick, producer
- Best Cinematography, Black-and-White - George Barnes
- Best Actor in a Leading Role - Laurence Olivier
- Best Actress in a Leading Role - Joan Fontaine
- Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Judith Anderson
- Best Art Direction, Black-and-White - Lyle R. Wheeler
- Best Director - Alfred Hitchcock
- Best Effects, Special Effects -Jack Cosgrove (photographic), Arthur Johns (sound)
- Best Film Editing - Hal C. Kern
- Best Music, Original Score - Franz Waxman
- Best Writing, Screenplay - Joan Harrison, Robert E. Sherwood