A Worthy Collection for Your Permanent Library

One hears too much these days about the woes of publishing houses. Electronic media, slumping sales, and cutbacks are standard fare in today's publishing world. However, somewhere in the midst of all the publishing giants out there is an independent publisher that continues to impress the heck out of A Reader's Respite.

Their name is Sourcebooks.

Just why are they so impressive? In a world of rushing to publish the next DaVinci Code knock-off, Sourcebooks has been quietly acquiring the rights to reprint timeless stories that have withstood the test of time.

Among these classics are some of Daphne du Maurier books. When A Reader's Respite learned of Sourcebook's intent to re-release Frenchman's Creek and My Cousin Rachel, we practically swooned. We had worked long and hard to find copies of these books in years past, digging through musty bookstores (our favorite hobby) and combing estate sales (not a favorite hobby).

Thanks to Sourcebooks, though, readers can skip the rummaging through dead people's belongings and simply purchase a new reprint of these fabulous du Maurier books.

Not familiar with Daphne du Maurier? She's best known as the author of Rebecca, a novel which Alfred Hitchcock developed for the big screen and won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1940.



It won't surprise you to learn that despite it's well-deserved award for Best Picture, the movie pales in comparison to the book.

But du Maurier wrote many books just as good as Rebecca. Jamaica Inn was published two years prior to Rebecca and is a good example of her gothic historical fiction that sweeps you into the moors of Cornwall with a good old fashioned tale of pirates and smugglers. The reader is left wondering who to trust and the sheer creepiness of the tale is like a thick fog that surrounds you as you turn the pages. Not surprisingly, Hitchcock also adapted this book to film in 1939.


In 1941 du Maurier wrote Frenchman's Creek, the only romance she ever penned. A woman who longs for the freedom that her era doesn't allow women grabs it anyway and dashing pirates abound in this riveting love story. But as with all du Maurier's novels, there is an aura of unsettledness that permeates the atmosphere, setting it apart from other novels in the genre. This is a fabulous read for fans of romance or fans of gothic historical fiction and it is a tribute to the folks at Sourcebooks for choosing such a timeless classic to reprint today.

At this point, you probably won't be surprised to learn that Frenchman's Creek was also adapted into a movie in 1944, starring Joan Fontaine. American Movie Classics still occassionally airs this one, so keep your eyes peeled.

aren't you just loving these old film posters?



In 1951, du Maurier released My Cousin Rachel and this one is, thus far in our du Maurier reading journey, A Reader's Respite's favorite. Told from a male, first-person point of view, this is the tale of Rachel, a woman who mysteriously worms her way into men's hearts....right before they die, that is. Whether Rachel is what she seems is up to you, the reader, to decide. This is another Sourcebook's reprint and boy, are we thankful.



Of course, by this point du Maurier was so popular that there was no question that My Cousin Rachel would be adapted for the big screen. The year following the release of the novel, a film was produced starring Olivia de Havilland and Richard Burton. As an interesting side note, du Maurier was reportedly less than thrilled with the casting of de Havilland in the role of Rachel. This film, too, shows up occassionally on AMC and is well worth a look (after you read the book, of course!).

Daphne du Maurier wrote quite a few more novels, several plays, and a plethora of short stories throughout her illustrious career, including The Glass Blowers, The House on the Strand, and The Birds (now I know you've heard of that one!). You can read a full bibliography here.

For fans of gothic or historical fiction, du Maurier's books are a must-read and worthy of a spot in your permanent collection.

And if we are really lucky, Sourcebooks will continue to reprint all of du Maurier's works.

Happy reading.


23 comments:

  1. Wow! I am really sorry to tell you, that I have not read any of her books. But Wait, I am bookmarking this post :) and well I will read the books you have mentioned for sure :)

    Thanks so much for this post girl :)this is wonderful info :)

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  2. I recently read both Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel and loved them both! I totally agree with Sourcebooks' great work on re-releases. I have loved delving into these time-proven classics and look forward to many more.

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  3. I haven't read anything by Daphne Du Maurier, but I bought the Sourcebooks reprint of Rebecca a few weeks ago and am really looking forward to reading it. I really admire Sourcebooks for what they are doing. There are so many great books which we are forgetting about, so it is really nice to see them re-released and enjoyed by a new generation of people.

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  4. Kudos to Sourcebooks for bringing these back - I hear they've picked up Susan Kay's Legacy on Elizabeth I and we'll see it out in 2010.

    I've been working my way through D du M's books in the last few months and I've really enjoyed them. Saving Rebecca for last.

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  5. Great post! I enjoyed all of Du Maurier's books, especially Rebecca. I'm always surprised to find that people haven't read any of her books; she was required reading when I was high school.

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  6. See, now, why couldn't I have gone to a high school that required us to read Rebecca? I was ripped off! I've not read anything of Du Maurier's either, but I recently won My Cousin Rachel from Bellezza, and I'm very much excited. I'm going to make my way through these books eventually. Bravo to Sourcebooks!

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  7. Ok, its early. For any of you that care, it wasn't Bellezza I won the book from, it was Caite. I need to wake up.

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  8. I am absolutely loving this post! I think it's wonderful that you spotlighted Sourcebooks since they are all you said they were. The editions of the books they re-print are fabulous. I am also a fan of du Maurier thanks to Sourcebooks. Not to mention the awesome editions of their Heyer's new collection.

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  9. Sourcebooks is great. I have never read My Cousin Rachel and I am so looking forward to it. I didn't know those things about the perspective from which it was written. fascinating. I recently read The Birds. It was so much creepier than the movie could ever be.

    I always like your reviews and commentary. I think our tastes are very similar.

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  10. A lovely post. I've read only Rebecca but plan to check out the others. Sourcebooks are re-printing Goergetter Heyer books too, I think thats really cool.

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  11. I'm a huge fan of all the old historicals Sourcebooks is bringing back to life. Love them!!

    Lezlie

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  12. Great post Michele, so informative. I need to look at Sourcebooks...I'm emailing you:)

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  13. I bought my first Du Maurier in the early 90's, Rebecca.. It was AWESOME!
    I still have that book too.. just may have to pick it up again!

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  14. I'm a big fan of Sourcebooks, too! I love the reprints they've been doing of historicals (Margaret Campbell Barnes, for example) and some well-deserved 'classics' like Du Maurier.

    But I've also been really impressed with the new titles they've picked up - the Lady Anne mysteries are great fun!

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  15. I whole-heartedly agree!

    Rebecca had been on my TBR list for years. I finally read it about 2 months ago and LOVED it. I am thrilled that Sourcebooks is making it easier to obtain more of du Maurier's works.

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  16. I'm rather embarrassed to tell you that I've never read any or duMaurier's books nor seen any of the movies made from them. I think I need to rectify that situation.

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  17. OH and I forgot to mention that Sourcebooks is the brains behind the reprints of the Georgette Heyer books... whom I LOVE.. and I would never have known about Heyer if it weren't for Sourcebooks.

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  18. I've read them all at one time or another, but it's time to read them again. Rebecca is right up there with Gone With The Wind, with me. Thanks for the info.

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  19. In general, I think it says a lot about a publishing house when they find out-of-print books they think are of good quality and re-release them.

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  20. Received both from Sourcebooks, read them both and enjoyed them both a great deal.
    In fact, I reviewed both of them and if I was not so lazy (I am on vacation in Alaska) this would be a link to the reviews.

    but as I said in those reviews, not only did I love the books, but I loved Sourcebooks editions. Very attractive, lovely cover art and very nice to handle.

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  21. That's funny how de Havilland and Fontaine showed up in movies adapted from Du Maurier's novels...they were sisters.

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  22. I have loved working with the excellent publicists at Sourcebooks and have repeatedly complimented them on whoever is choosing their titles. Helen Hollick, Elizabeth Chadwick, Georgette Heyer, Daphne du Maurier, Susan Higginbotham. The list goes on, all wonderful authors!

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  23. I still haven't seen any of du Maurier's movie adaptations (unless you count The Birds which I didn't really enjoy) but I read Rebecca in middle school. I really do have to read something else by her someday! I do love to read older books like this so hopefully her work won't be the only thing Sourcebooks re-publishes!

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