Product Description

On the twentieth anniversary of the death of Rebecca, the hauntingly beautiful first wife of Maxim de Winter, family friend Colonel Julyan receives an anonymous parcel. 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 Manderley. 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 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 had Maxim's version of events to consider. But all that is about to change ...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #33671 in Books
• Published on: 2002-05-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 624 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Sally Beauman's Rebecca's Tale is an ambitious sequel to Daphne du Maurier's much-loved Rebecca, a classic tale of love and death. Beauman dares to tell the story of the enigmatic first mistress of Manderley, and not only proves herself a brave woman, but a storyteller of exceptional style and skill. Written as a "companion" rather than a sequel, the author succeeds in breathing life into the long-dead bones of the magnificent Rebecca and has furnished us with an alternative version of the events that would ultimately lead to her tragic death and the destruction of her beloved home.

The book opens on April 12, 1951, the 20th anniversary of Rebecca's death. "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again", writes Colonel Julyan, an old family friend of the de Winters. As old age and ill health threaten to overtake him, 20 years of doubt about the true cause of Rebecca's death are sharply reawakened with the arrival of an anonymous parcel containing a small black notebook entitled Rebecca's Tale. Meanwhile, a mysterious stranger, recently arrived in the locality, appears equally determined to find answers to the string of inconsistencies raised by Rebecca's life and death. The Colonel and his dutiful daughter Ellie are both drawn to the handsome, intelligent Terence Grey but both are wary and wonder if he really is what he appears to be.

As the plot twists and turns, the revelations are both shocking and inevitable. Favourite characters--spooky Mrs Danvers and Jack Favell, Rebecca's reckless cousin-­drift in and out. This is a big book (495 pages), yet, once begun, most will find it difficult to put down­-just as well for there are so many complexities it doesn't do to take your time. Ultimately, Rebecca's Tale offers its own version of events, yet for du Maurier fans, it is reassuring in that it raises many more. And, cleverly, Beauman has added her own, somehow more relevant sub-plot. Perhaps the "truth" about Rebecca's life is only as important as the legacy she left those whose lives she touched. What they choose to do with it, and how they choose to live their lives, is the central issue here. This novel will appeal to anyone who has ever read Rebecca and, thanks to her finely woven plot and subtle undercurrents of hope and inspiration, it will appeal just as much to those who have not. --Carey Green

Review
The widely acclaimed resurrection of the story contained in Daphne du Maurier's masterpiece Rebecca - on the 20th anniversary of Rebecca, the hauntingly beautiful first wife of Maxim de Winter, family friend Colonel Julyan receives an anonymous parcel that contains a black notebook with Rebecca's Tale on the title page. Will it reveal the real truth about her?

About the Author
Sally Beauman has had great critical and commercial success with all her novels: DESTINY, DARK ANGEL and the series LOVERS AND LIARS, DANGER ZONES and SEXTET have been translated into over twenty languages and have been bestsellers worldwide.

Customer Reviews

Gripping, intelligent, inspired - I couldn't put it down
It's a long long time since I read Rebecca, but I couldn't bear to put down Sally Beauman's 'sequel'.

Its separation into four sections with different narrators was a brilliant device - I was completely thrown when the second rebuffed so believably some of the 'facts' stated by the first. We see Rebecca, Mrs Danvers, Maxim and even the faceless second 'Mrs De Winter' through the eyes of four very different characters, learning more about both the past and present throughout.

It leaves many questions unanswered, but that's part of its charm: it forces your imagination into overdrive, just like the characters in the book. Despite being a hefty book, it took me less than a week - staying up far too late every night - to read. Now I can't wait to re-read the original!

Gripping, haunting mystery
Rebecca's Tale is truly a thick mystery book which is hard to put down.

I had read Daphne Du Maurier's 'Rebecca' years ago, when I was still in my early teens, and when novels appeared more vivid and hallucinatory to me, just like intense summer dreams. That was before I began to take note of the words used: the literary devices, narrative structure, metaphors, images and similes.

Yet, Beauman's book had me enchanted almost immediately. The author writes with deceptively simple clarity: there are no striking sentences or clever tricks with words, so the reader can easily forget they are reading an artificial, literary work. Instead, the book is easy to read, without being patronising, simple or boring, leaving the reader free to enjoy the intense plot and atmosphere. It is ideal for those who wish reading to be enjoyable and relaxing, rather than challenging and cerebral. But it is still a satisfying read - with, perhaps conscious echoes of Emily Bronte, Shakespeare and Dickens.

The book is divided into four sections, each with a different narrator, allowing us to look at the same story from totally different angles: Yet, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, and much remains unanswered. Was Rebecca lying? Did Julyan know more than he said he did? We never find out.

On the other hand, I felt almost physically sick when I read Rebecca's narrative: Her own autobiography, addressed to the baby she thought she was about to have. The ending is also very realistic - if not quite what one would wish for the eternally single Ellie.

One last note: I love the book's binding and its cover. It is wonderfully thick, with a beautifully swirling title in red ink over a misty blue photo of the sea. Sheer, dreamy bliss.

A Matter Of Opinion
I adore 'Rebecca'. It is one of my favourite books and I was desperate to get my hands on a copy of this book too.

What a mistake.

The writing is good, no mistakes about that. But the plot is so thin and completely undermines all of Daphne Du Maurier's work. Sally Beauman has simply taken Rebecca and rewritten it in a way that she prefers. There is a name for this.

It's called fanfiction. You can get it for free on the internet, instead of paying for this glory trip.