Books

8vo. Hardcover. Pp. 446. First edition, first printing. Includes the original The Book Society bookplate, specifically created for this edition of 'Rebecca' and signed by the author, Daphne du Maurier. There are very few available copies with the original bookplate, not to mention signed. Bound in the publisher's original black cloth with the book's title stamped in gilt. With the original dust jacket, very rare. In very good condition. The dust jacket shows very light signs of shelf-wear, with very slight tearing at the top of the spine, and very small markings on the spine and back cover. The spine, however, is noticeably faded. Light foxing inside but the pages are unmarked, clean and uncreased, with tight binding. Rebecca is a 1938 Gothic novel written by English author Daphne du Maurier. The novel depicts an unnamed young woman who marries a wealthy widower, before discovering that both he and his household are haunted by the memory of his late first wife, the title character. Rebecca sold 2.8 million copies between its publication in 1938 and 1965. It has been adapted numerous times for the stage and screen, including a 1939 play by du Maurier herself, and the film Rebecca (1940), directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The book looks like it was originally owned by Joan Henry, an English author and former debutante; she was jailed for passing a fraudulent check in 1951, and her best-known works were based on her experiences in prison, the semi-autobiographical Who Lie in Gaol. Bertrand Russell, who was very fond of her, was her mother's first cousin. Her unusual name and her future connections to the publisher Gollancz seem to prove that this was indeed her copy - however, we should mention that we could not find any recorded sample of her handwriting, which could help us make comparisons with the ownership signature on the bookplate.

Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again. The novel 'Rebecca', by Daphne du Maurier, begins with this evocative sentence, setting the tone for a story of romance, jealousy, and intrigue. The unnamed protagonist, a young and naive woman, marries the charismatic Maxim de Winter after a whirlwind romance in Monte Carlo. Upon moving to his ancestral estate, Manderley, she confronts the pervasive influence of his late wife, Rebecca, whose legacy lives on long after her death.