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    Daphne: A Novel
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    Daphne: A Novel
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    Daphne: A Novel
    Ebook396 pages5 hours

    Daphne: A Novel

    By Justine Picardie

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Daphne is a marvelous story of literary fascination and possession; of stolen manuscripts and forged signatures; of love lost, and love found; of the way into imaginary worlds, and the way out again. The book is written in three entwined parts, which follow Daphne du Maurier herself, the beautiful, tomboyish, passionate author of the enormously popular Gothic novel Rebecca; John Alexander Symington, eminent editor and curator of the Brontës' manuscripts, who by 1957 had been dismissed from the Brontë Parsonage Museum in disgrace after being accused of stealing and forging Brontë manuscripts and who became Daphne's correspondent; and a nameless modern researcher on the trail of Daphne, Rebecca, Alexander Symington, and the Brontës.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBloomsbury USA
    Release dateOct 1, 2010
    ISBN9781608196012
    Unavailable
    Daphne: A Novel
    Author

    Justine Picardie

    JUSTINE PICARDIE is the author of four books, including her critically acclaimed memoir, If The Spirit Moves You. The former features director of British Vogue, and contributor to the Sunday Telegraph and Red magazine, she is now Editor in Chief for Harper’s Bazaar. She lives in London with her two sons.

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    Reviews for Daphne

    3.5/5

    116 ratings21 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Okay, I'll admit up front that "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier is one of my favorite books as well as most of the books by the Bronte sisters. So a work of fiction that incorporates du Maurier and the Brontes is going to have to screw up pretty badly for me to not like it. This one didn't. It's really three stories in one--du Maurier's story beginning in 1957 as her marriage begins to unravel and she become obsessed with writing a book on Branwell Bronte; the story of Alex Syminton, a former librarian and curator of Bronte collections, as he develops a relationship with du Maurier in his twilight years; and the story of a young woman whose life is very similar to that of the second Mrs. de Winter in "Rebecca." Occasionally du Maurier's story became repetitive and overwrought, but on the whole it was well researched and well written. The story of the young woman started out so much like "Rebecca" that I wondered why the author had bothered but as the story developed, it became it's own story.
    • 2/5
      Similar setup to A.S. Byatt's Possession: modern day scholars obsessed with dead authors, literary mystery of the past to unravel, lots of correspondence, forgotten manuscripts, life imitates fiction. There's an additional layer to this book--there are the present-day characters, then Daphne du Maurier and J.A. Symington in the middle ground, and finally Branwell Brontë in the most distant past.

      I enjoyed much of the back-and-forth between du Maurier and Symington. What sunk the book for me was the modern day protagonist, who was pretty childish and pathetic. Like the narrator in du Maurier's Rebecca, she never gives her name and is obsessed with her husband's previous wife. There were also a few too many coincidences in the present-day part of the story, which the author attempts to explain away by saying "Hey, there were crazy coincidences in Jane Eyre, too!" But I wasn't convinced.

      In spite of my rather low rating, though, I do think this book is an achievement.
    • 3/5
      I was expecting more of a straight biography of Daphne Du Maurier, but Justine Picardie's biofic of the author is still an interesting introduction. And bonus points for throwing in the Brontes, or Branwell at least - I'm not a fan of the sisters' works, but always feel a sort of affinity for those most famous of 'local' authors. Split between three narratives, each one sounding slightly more bonkers than the last, Daphne is a curious combination of fact - the correspondence between Daphne Du Maurier and disgraced Bronte scholar John Alexander Symington in the late 1950s, when the author of Rebecca was researching her study of Branwell - and fiction. And evenly the purely fictional character is based partly upon the nameless second wife in Rebecca (echoing the novel in a series of none too subtle coincidences), and partly upon Picardie herself. Daphne, Symington and the modern day narrator are all slightly unhinged in different ways, inviting the reader's sympathy and derision in equal parts, but never really coming together to form a satisfying story.As a biography of Daphne Du Maurier, however, Picardie's research into the author's life definitely whetted my appetite, and I have since downloaded Margaret Forster's more conventional study, plus Du Maurier's own account of her family in fictional form, The Du Mauriers. That's my best recommendation, I'm afraid!
    • 2/5
      Two questions:1. Are all artists, musicians and authors completely off their rockers? and 2. Was ANYTHING resolved at the end of this book?What a strange and disturbing book, but it caused me to do historical research on several of the people in the book, so I'll go with 2 stars.
    • 4/5
      My ReadAThing 2011 and DoNothingButReadDay selection. I'm almost certainly this books ideal reader, having read all of Daphne du Maurier, huge amounts of the Brontes' works, a librarian who is fixated on collecting and researching a neglected author. Well written, easy to read, and quite entertaining.
    • 3/5
      Had hoped for more about Daphne du Maurier and Branwell.
    • 3/5
      This was my book club choice after seeing it advertised everywhere on the underground. It is an interesting concept and particularly if you like Daphne Du Maurier but it somehow didn't quite work for me or the rest of my group apart from one member who thought it was the best book she'd read all year. I enjoyed it but wouldn't read it again.
    • 3/5
      As my library on this site shows, I am an avid fan of Daphne du Maurier, so it was with great anticipation that I waited for this new take on Daphne’s life to arrive. It’s a work of fiction that manages to weave a lightweight mystery around Daphne du Maurier’s working on a biography of Branwell Bronte as she tries to uncover the secrets behind some missing Bronte manuscripts. The premise sounded fascinating and I dug in. But, it took me quite a while to warm up to the all the secondary characters—Daphne’s real-life nightmare of a husband, her children, her housekeeper, the renowned but reduced librarian and Bronte scholar John Alexander Symington—and then, about half-way through, the impossible happened: I started to get just a wee bit bored. It was like the author, Justine Picardie, was trying to stretch what should have been a short story or, at most, a novella into a full-fledged novel but there just wasn’t enough interesting material to hold my attention. What I did enjoy and truly appreciate was the author’s homage to du Maurier’s Rebecca in the construct of this book as well as other parallels that if you are a true du Maurier fan you’ll not help but notice. Her research and attention to detail are faultless and you do get the sense that the author truly wanted to do right by Daphne du Maurier and her family with this work; all good things I also appreciate and applaud.Overall, I was hoping for something a bit more gothic, more romantic, and more intense. It was a good book built around real facts and real people but somehow that fact ruled vs. discovering a captivating new fiction I was looking for.
    • 4/5
      Literary mysteries are one of my favorite reading indulgences, and Daphne by Justine Picardie did not disappoint. While I was initially suspicious of a fictional treatment of real literary figures (DuMaurier, Bronte, Barrie), I was soon drawn in by the fun and playful way in which Picardie constructs her novel. The Rebecca send-up, the parallels to Byatt's Possession, the great interaction with Barrie - it was immensely enjoyable! Guilty pleasure and a thrill for someone like me who read a lot of DuMaurier this past year, who loves a light-handed engagement of the gothic, and loves a read where academics assume center stage. Quick read. Loads of fun.
    • 3/5
      I had a hard time staying with this book; the storylines just didn't seem as compelling as I wanted them to be, I guess. I liked Daphne's character, but none of the rest seemed to have any redeeming qualities.
    • 4/5
      I struggled a bit when I first started reading this book. I was distracted by the really long sentences. I kept having to reread sentences to remember where they began. Either it got better or I got used to the style, because I found myself engrossed in the story. I love tales of literary intrigue and this one has it. Picardie did a nice job of intertwining the stories of the narrator, Daphne du Maurier and Mr. Symington across space and time. I was unaware of the connections betwee du Maurier and J.M. Barrie, so that was interesting as well. Finally I appreciated the acknowledgements. When I read a fictional account of real people, I love to know which parts are real. Justine Picardie anticipated this need and wrapped things up nicely. In the end, a very satisfying read.
    • 4/5
      Overall, this novel based on the lives of Daphne DuMaurier, J.A. Symington, and a mostly fictional(and, in a nice touch, nameless until the end, narrator) was very enjoyable. Perhaps not having any read any of the Bronte novels hampered my enjoyment of the first half, but I did find the second half very absorbing as all the characters struggled to overcome their metaphorical ghosts. The portrait of the DuMaurier family and their demons was very well. The interweaving of fictional portrayals of real characters, their creations in novels, and purely fictional characters was very clever too. What this book made me most want to do was reread the novels of Daphne DuMaurier while taking into account her family history, which makes it a success to me.
    • 4/5
      I went into this book with some trepidation: two of the Brontes and one of the du Mauriers are on my top 15 writers list, and I was concerned that a fictionalized account of Daphne du Maurier's work on a biography of Branwell Bronte would just make me angry. The story is told through three points of view: du Maurier while researching the book, J.A. Symington (Bronte expert) during the same time, and a modern-day PhD candidate researching du Maurier researching Bronte. First, the modern-day story: it's like a combination of a very intentional "Rebecca" tribute/knockoff (there is even a strong, impressive first wife named Rachel and a wimpy second wife aka the PhD candidate) and an academic mystery (think "Possession" and the search for the missing manuscript, Emily Bronte's poetry notebook in this case). Like all of these stories, two people search for the same manuscript which is ultimately found by the more minor character resulting in an academic coup and a dissertation that goes straight to a book deal and, of course, getting the guy. Oh wait! No, that isn't how the story ends! Which rescued the book for this reviewer. I was fully expecting the cliched ending almost up to the very end, and was delighted when it turned out to have a much more original ending (for this type of book, anyway). Picardie even tells us the unnamed narrator's name in the very last chapter! Something du Maurier didn't even do!The flashbacks to du Maurier are very interesting. I don't know how much is fictional, event-wise, but I'm guessing not much since Picardie falls all over herself in the credits thanking the du Maurier children for all of their help. Plus, I didn't know all that about the Bronte's manuscripts (I'm being deliberately vague - you'll have to read it yourself!)In short, this book is a great read, and will be particularly enjoyed by anyone who, like me, is a huge Daphne du Maurier fan and a huge Bronte fan.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this novel. Justine Picardie weaves together the lives of her modern fictional protagonist, a PhD student interested in Daphne DuMaurier; DuMaurier; the title character in Rebecca, who haunts DuMaurier; and the Brontes and their works, studied by both the PhD student and DuMaurier. Each "generation" in the novel is a kind of iteration of Jane Eyre. DuMaurier seems aware of the similarities between aspects of her life and the plot of Jane Eyre but is unable to stop it; the same is true of the PhD student and the connections between her life and both Jane Eyre and Rebecca. I thought it was interesting to contemplate the influence of particular books on later generations of writers and also the influence that powerful books have on our own lives--do we sometimes identify too much with certain characters? Or are some authors particularly able to create characters that have universal traits or somehow speak to essential aspects of the human experience? I found the fictionalized DuMaurier very convincing, and the PhD student slightly less so. My only issue with DuMaurier's character is that the description of her extended family and her family's connection to J.M. Barrie, the author of Peter Pan, is a bit confusing and unnecessarily detailed. I didn't think that added much to the story. I did like that Picardie created a fictionalized account of DuMaurier in the context of an original story rather than writing a historical fiction-type book.
    • 3/5
      I found myself rather straddling the fence with this novel. I'm a long-time fan of Rebecca, and have read several of du Maurier's other works, and I've always been fascinated between the links in her personal life to writers such as Henry James and J.M. Barrie. I enjoyed reading the portions that recount her life as she struggles with her ill husband and works on her Bronte research, but I found the writing in this portion, while vivid, pulled me out repeatedly through mere structural issues. It was annoying, and I felt a good copy edit was in order, but obviously it was a stylistic choice, given that I had no trouble with the other portions of the novel.As for the other story lines--the somewhat failing and disgraced Bronte scholar and the modern woman intrigued by all the threads of du Maurier's research with his assistance--I thought the choice of a protagonist who's life and marriage somewhat mirrored the Rebecca plot was intriguing. It could have been an obvious choice, probably was, but Picardie handled it well. I found myself liking that section almost against my will, and in the end found it the best part of the book overall. Which made my disappointment in the flow of the Daphne sections that much more obvious. Maybe it will grow on me once it's sunk in a bit, but as things stand, I'm still of a divided opinion.
    • 2/5
      There are two interleaved narratives in this book, the first that of Daphne du Maurier herself and her correspondence with John Symington about Branwell Bronte. Symington is a dodgy character, a manuscript thief who has built up a collection of Bronte materials over the years. Du Maurier plans an autobiography of Branwell and turns to him for information, research and such books as he will sell her.The second narrative is set some 50 years later, when a young researcher who is obsessed with du Maurier, finds some of the letters. I'm always chary of books that fictionalise real people, and I just couldn't get into it. None of the characters felt real, and the story felt awkwardly contrived. The second narrative in particular put my teeth on edge: spineless young woman (SYW) marries older man with fascinating previous wife named Rachel, and then gets all insecure about it. Even though the narrator herself points out the irony that she, the du Maurier obsessive, is living some sort of poor man's version of the 'Rebecca' story, it doesn't make it any less heavy-handed. Frankly, it's no wonder her husband, Paul, is getting annoyed with her, because she insists on behaving as though she's wandered in from 'Twilight'.And really, nothing happens and I'm really not sure what the point is. Daphne exchanges some dull letters with Symington and writes her biography; SYW mopes around, cries, has brief outing with Rachel during with R apparently swipes some mss. Which is just the sort of thing the stock she would, because it's a stock character trait of her type.Is there supposed to be a literary mystery around the swiped Bronte stuff? Am I supposed to care about du Maurier's collapsing marriage and own episodes of paranoia? I just can't. And now I feel sorry for Daphne du Maurier, who may have been a cast-iron bitch but was a good writer and didn't deserve to be turned into cardboard and stuck in this novel.
    • 4/5
      I had been on a bit of a Daphne Du Maurier reading binge earlier this year after discovering Rebecca I read The Infernal World of Branwell Bronte and her short stories and so I was dubious about what a modern author might do in a fictionalized account of her life and her writing the biography of Branwell Bronte, the lesser-known brother of the famous literary sisters. I am happy to say I was pleasantly surprised. Daphne is an intriguing page-turner and is full of fascinating and well-researched information about Du Maurier and the Brontes as well as J. M. Barrie and the Llewellyn-Davies boys who inspired Peter Pan and were Daphne DuMaurier’s cousins. DuMaurier’s grandfather George Du Maurier was a literary figure and author of Trilby and friend of Henry James. Her father Gerald Du Maurier was an actor who first portrayed both Captain Hook and Mr. Darling in the stage production of Peter Pan. While this nest of literary and family interconnections could be confusing Picardie spins a convincing plot that does not require knowledge the families or their writings. In fact, a key plot point was a bit spoiled for me because I knew about the actual historical figures.The book takes the form of alternate chapters that switch between three perspectives: Daphne DuMaurier, her correspondent, an unreliable former Bronte librarian, John Alexander Symington, and a young female academic who is increasingly losing herself in the writings of DuMaurier and her interest in Branwell Bronte. At first I found the modern academic a bit annoying and too much of an homage to Rebecca and an echo of many other literary mystery books and plays (The Hours, Arcadia, Possession) but I found myself interested in her by the end.The true stories of the real individuals are fascinating enough to merit interest in their own right and I suspect more than one reader will seek out historical materials after they finish the book. Literary and sexual jealousy, paranoia, and depression work their way through all three story lines and at her best Picardie evokes some lovely echoes across the three story lines. The end felt a little precipitous and left some lingering questions but on the whole Picardie navigates confusing histories with some aplomb and creates ample dramatic interest. It was engaging enough I read it in just a few days and I suspect fans of the Du Maurier, the Brontes, or the Gothic genre will find plenty to keep them entertained. Daphne was an enjoyable history, mystery and homage to Daphne Du Maurier.
    • 5/5
      Ah, finally a book that was pure pleasure to read. It tells the story of Daphne du Maurier as she researches the life of Branwell Bronte and deals with her husband's breakdown. du Maurier's story is woven with a sort of modern retelling of Rebecca, in which a shy, unnamed narrator struggles with her dissertation about du Maurier and comes to terms with her husband's relationship with his ex-wife.Both stories are well-told and play nicely off each other. It wasn't a feel good book, being primarily about the end of relationships and how little we know the ones we love, but it was so good that I had a hard time putting it down,
    • 5/5
      I have read this over the weekend, as soon as I started it, I knew I would not want to put it down. Justine Picardie has written a literary mystery which revolves around Daphne Du Maurier who is my favourite author. I do not always like fictionalised accounts of real people but it is evident from the very first page that the author has done painstaking research into her subject. Daphne is based on biographical fact and there are three key strands to the story. Obviously Daphne Du Maurier is the main one and we meet her in 1957 as she begins work on her new book on Branwell Bronte and enlists the help of Alex Symington, a distinguished Bronte scholar. The Brontes, especially Branwell provide the second focus and the many mysteries surrounding the family are explored. The third strand of the book is set in the present day and follows an un-named narrator who is embarking on her thesis concerning Daphne Du Maurier and the Brontes.Justine Picardie weaves her story so well, the basic idea is very simple but it is all the little details and sub-stories she explores that make this book so fantastic. The character of Daphne Du Maurier is perfect, I felt like she had captured this woman so well. Justine Picardie explores Daphne's childhood and relationship with her father Gerald plus the difficult relationship she has with her husband, the great Boy Browning. I also found the connection between Daphne and the Llewelyn Davies brothers (the children that J.M. Barrie adopted and based Peter Pan on) truly fascinating.I felt that perception of one's self was a key theme of the book. Daphne at many points feels she has to act in a certain way as a best-selling author and wife of a war hero rather than truly being herself. Menabilly, the inspiration for Daphne's book Rebecca and her true home in Cornwall is integral to the story. It is at Menabilly that she feels safe and able to relax more. Alex Symington has many secrets to hide and it is through his letters to Daphne that he is able to portray the man he would like to be and who he thinks he should be. Peter Llewelyn Davies features heavily in the book obviously as a family member but more importantly as a confidant of Daphne's; the reader sees his struggle with the legacy that J.M. Barrie placed on Peter and the pressure that he feels from the public who see him as the boy who never grew up. This theme of self-perception continues with the un-named narrator in the present day; she has entered into an unhappy marriage and initially tries to change who she is to please her new husband. It is a chance meeting with the ex-wife that brings these perceptions and beliefs crashing down and ties the whole story together.The book also offers insight into Daphne's inspiration for many of her books but especially Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel. We almost see Daphne being haunted by the character of Rebecca who she greatly identifies with, especially due to the relationship she has with her husband.I can only apologise for this rambling review! What I am trying to show is that Justine Picardie explores so many different avenues in such a short book, the way in which she weaves all these strands together is extremely clever and insightful. I think that Daphne is a book that I could read again many times and still take something new from it. Reading this has definitely made me reach for my books on Daphne Du Maurier and the Brontes and I shall certainly be doing some new reading on J.M. Barrie and the Llewelyn Davies boys. I believe that Justine Picardie has done Daphne Du Maurier proud with this excellent book.
    • 5/5
      In this interesting fact-based novel the author tells the story of how Daphne du Maurier came to write her biography of Branwell Bronte in the early 1960s, The Infernal World of Branwell Bronte.When the novel opens Daphne du Maurier is in her early fifties and is dealing with a host of personal problems. Her husband Tommy has had a breakdown and is temporarily hospitalized. Their relationship is rocky in any case because of Daphne has found out that he had a recent affair. She is portrayed as being rather unstable, she frequently hears the voice of her most famous character, Rebecca, and she can hardly ever bring herself to leave her isolated house, Menabilly.As Daphne becomes enthralled with the Brontes and writing a biography on Branwell, she begins to write letters to J. Alexander Symington who had edited a Collected Works of the Brontes and been the librarian of a large collection. It becomes clear that he has a large collection of original Bronte manuscripts (questionably acquired!) and he offers to sell some of them to her. But since he has planned to write a book himself for many years he only sells her a few unimportant pages, keeping the best back for himself.The story is told from alternating points of view: Daphne du Maurier, Mr. Symington and a young female narrator who is not named. She is a young student who is working on Daphne du Maurier's obsession with the Brontes for her PHD. She discovers the letters between Daphne and Mr. Symington by accident but they end up having quite an impact on her personal life.This novel is packed with facts that make it a fascinating read for any lover of English Literature, Daphne du Maurier or the Brontes. For example, J.M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan, adopted Daphne's five male cousins after they were orphaned in 1910. (That part of the story was made into a movie a few years ago, Finding Neverland). He was part of the family, Daphne called him "Uncle Jim." And Daphne du Maurier put her diaries of her early life in a bank vault in 1979 with orders that they not be released for fifty years!It's an intriguing story, well written and carefully researched. I recommend it!Daphne by Jutine Picardie will be released by Bloomsbury in August, 2008.
    • 4/5
      This is a wonderful novel linking scholarship and imagination. It helps to have read Rebecca and any other Daphne du Maurier works as well as the Brontes. We examine three lives, Daphne du Maurier as she writes The Infernal World of Branwell Bronte, Alexander Symington a discredited Bronte scholar and a fictional modern researcher who is trying to get to the bottom of all the mystery. Complex relationships abound.Terrific.