The story concerns an unnamed narrator, a young woman who has lost both parents. Due to her poor circumstances, she's taken on a job as a professional companion to a Mrs Van Hopper, a crass, vain American woman who is almost comic in her vulgarity. She chases after Maxim de Winter, a well known widower due to his wife's unfortunate and somewhat spectacular demise, while holidaying in Monte Carlo. Maxim takes a shine to the young narrator and before you know it, she's thrown in the towel with Mrs Van Hopper and agreed to marry Maxim de Winter. They briskly leave "Monte" and return to Maxim's lush estate Manderley on the Cornish coast. The mansion is quite imposing, especially some of the staff who upkeep the estate, notably the chilling Mrs Danvers. Danvers likes to keep the oppressive spirit of the first Mrs de Winter, Rebecca, alive.
There are twists and turns to come. More and more is revealed about Rebecca's personality and the circumstances in which she died. Right up to the last page the reader is kept in full suspense as the stakes get higher and higher, until the final climax.
I thoroughly enjoyed Rebecca. It's a real page turner and no wonder it still sells well today. My only caveat was the ending. Such a let down for me. The novel seemed to build psychologically, and I felt a lot more would be explained. For example, why does the narrator stay so devoted to Maxim, even when she learns the truth of his past? As I came to the last ten pages and I thought my questions wouldn't be answered I grew quite anxious that it would end unresolved - for me anyway. It really didn't seem realistic that the narrator stays with Maxim and lives, if not happily ever after, pretty close to it.
That aside, a brilliant book. I'm now half way through Hitchcock's film version.
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