by Angie Pollock

Created on: July 22, 2008   Last Updated: July 05, 2009

The young Mrs. De Winter, naive perhaps but will do anything to keep tranquility and conformity at Manderley, the De Winter family home. Viewed as somewhat ignorant, she feels her existence always being compared to Rebecca, the first Mrs. De Winter. Could her insecurities be nothing more than the imagination of a foolish girl longing to please the man she adores and loves?

Daphne du Maurier's novel "Rebecca", a classic masterpiece overflowing with romantic suspense, encumbers the mind with questions from the beginning of the opening pages. The second Mrs. De Winter is thrown into an exclusive world that is foreign to her. Before her marriage, her life consisted of being a travel companion for a wealthy woman, but never allowed to socialize with the affluent crowd.

Her world changed forever after a chance meeting with the rich and handsome Maxim De Winter. This young and inexperienced girl leaves all she knows behind following the whirlwind romance and sudden marriage to the matured yet alluring widow. Not wanting to ever cause tribulations or heartache to Maxim, the new Mrs. De Winter never questions him about Rebecca.

She learned the first Mrs. De Winter drown after a sailing accident. If there was more to know about Rebecca, she certainly wouldn't ask her new husband and be the cause of him reliving the anguish and grief of his first wife's untimely death. She will sacrifice everything to bring her husband happiness even if he can never love her as he did Rebecca.

Not until arriving at the astounding Manderley Estate does she begin to question her marriage and the true reasons as to why Maxim De Winter would marry her. The thought that Maxim could never completely love her because of Rebecca, would haunt her into feelings of envy and helplessness.

Rebecca, dead but not forgotten, was a handsome woman adored by everyone especially Mrs. Danvers. The former personal servant to Rebecca, Mrs. Danvers connives and schemes to rid Manderley of the new Mrs. De Winter. How could the plain and simple second Mrs. De Winter ever live up to Rebecca?

Every page is brimming with twists and turns surrounding the life and the death of Rebecca. Mysteries surrounding the death of Maxim's first wife will haunt the reader until the end, when the detailed truth surrounding her drowning starts to be revealed. And just when the reader believes to know the full details of that night on the sailboat, a shocking and hidden element comes to light about the last days of Rebecca's life. This small detail was known to no one including Mrs. Danvers, even though Rebecca had told her everything, even as a child.

The author, Daphne du Maurier, accentuates on the mystery throughout the novel and even until the end, the name of the second Mrs. De Winter is never revealed. Images of the characters and Manderley are brought to life with striking details. By the end of the novel, the reader will travel on a journey with the second Mrs. De Winter as she goes from an immature youthful girl into a woman that can confront and overcome the past of Rebecca.

The novel was originally published in 1939 but is as compelling now as it was over 60 years ago. The story was so popular that a sequel was written after Ms. du Maurier's death by another author titled "Mrs. De Winter". "Rebecca" is beautifully written with details so imaginative including the details of Manderley and its gardens. The storyline has everything-love, romance, the villain and the mystery.

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