Rebecca's Tale
Registered by minx2012 on 8/28/2004
2 journalers for this copy...
The blurb:
“I turned the page and discovered the two title words written in black ink, in a child’s spiky hand, the tail of the last letter curling down the page in a long punning flourish: Rebecca’s Tale…”
April 1951. It is twenty years since the death of Rebecca, the strikingly 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 Manderly, the de Winters’ ancient family seat, was razed to the ground.
But Rebecca’s tale is just beginning.
On the twentieth anniversary of her death, family friend Colonel Julyan receives an anonymous parcel in the post. It contains a black notebook with two handwritten words on the title page – Rebecca’s Tale – and two pictures: a photograph of Rebecca as a young child, and a postcard of Manderly. Rebecca once asked Julyan to ensure she was buried in the churchyard facing the sea: if she ended up in the de Winter crypt, she warned, she’d come back to haunt him. Now, it seems, she has finally kept her promise.
Julyan’s conscience has never been clear over the official version of Rebecca’s death. Was it really suicide, or was it actually murder? Was Rebecca the manipulative, promiscuous femme fatale her husband claimed, or the gothic heroine of tragic proportions that others had suggested? The official story, the ‘truth’, has only ever had Maxim’s version of events to consider. But all that is about to change…
My bit:
As a companion to Rebecca, this is a good book, trying to shed a little light on why Rebecca seemed as callous as she did in the original novel.
However, I remain unconvinced.
Yes, if we believe this story, there were mitigating circumstances, and it seems she was lucky not to have turned out worse, but much as the second Mrs de Winter was an awful wet, she engaged my sympathy far more than the eponymous heroine of this book could.
Rebecca herself has a voice here, in her journals, but it's the voices of the new characters - weaving their web web of hope, ambition and further manipulation - that make this a good read.
“I turned the page and discovered the two title words written in black ink, in a child’s spiky hand, the tail of the last letter curling down the page in a long punning flourish: Rebecca’s Tale…”
April 1951. It is twenty years since the death of Rebecca, the strikingly 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 Manderly, the de Winters’ ancient family seat, was razed to the ground.
But Rebecca’s tale is just beginning.
On the twentieth anniversary of her death, family friend Colonel Julyan receives an anonymous parcel in the post. It contains a black notebook with two handwritten words on the title page – Rebecca’s Tale – and two pictures: a photograph of Rebecca as a young child, and a postcard of Manderly. Rebecca once asked Julyan to ensure she was buried in the churchyard facing the sea: if she ended up in the de Winter crypt, she warned, she’d come back to haunt him. Now, it seems, she has finally kept her promise.
Julyan’s conscience has never been clear over the official version of Rebecca’s death. Was it really suicide, or was it actually murder? Was Rebecca the manipulative, promiscuous femme fatale her husband claimed, or the gothic heroine of tragic proportions that others had suggested? The official story, the ‘truth’, has only ever had Maxim’s version of events to consider. But all that is about to change…
My bit:
As a companion to Rebecca, this is a good book, trying to shed a little light on why Rebecca seemed as callous as she did in the original novel.
However, I remain unconvinced.
Yes, if we believe this story, there were mitigating circumstances, and it seems she was lucky not to have turned out worse, but much as the second Mrs de Winter was an awful wet, she engaged my sympathy far more than the eponymous heroine of this book could.
Rebecca herself has a voice here, in her journals, but it's the voices of the new characters - weaving their web web of hope, ambition and further manipulation - that make this a good read.
Journal Entry 2 by minx2012 at -- Somewhere In London 🤷♀️ in -- Somewhere in London 🤷♀️ , Greater London United Kingdom on Monday, September 6, 2004
Released 19 yrs ago (9/19/2004 UTC) at -- Somewhere In London 🤷♀️ in -- Somewhere in London 🤷♀️ , Greater London United Kingdom
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
RELEASE NOTES: Avast ye! Released as part of the first London Renegades' Treasure Hunt.
See http://bookcrossing.com/forum/5/1028190/62/subj_*you*-are-invited-to-LONDON-(UK)-BOOKCROSSING-TREASURE-HUNT-(title-edit) for details
See http://bookcrossing.com/forum/5/1028190/62/subj_*you*-are-invited-to-LONDON-(UK)-BOOKCROSSING-TREASURE-HUNT-(title-edit) for details
Journal Entry 3 by chelseagirl from Faringdon, Oxfordshire United Kingdom on Sunday, September 19, 2004
I picked this up from the treasure hunt lucky dip reject pile, as it came highly recommended by Molyneux. I haven't read Rebecca although I do know the story, but I think I'll have to add it to my wishlist and read it before I get on to this.
Ta for a great day, BTW!
Ta for a great day, BTW!
