My Cousin Rachel

Daphne du Maurier’s work is always a psychological mind-romp. And My Cousin Rachel is no exception – a wickedly enticing riddle.

Author: Daphne Du Maurier

Genre: Literary

Page Count: 352

My Rating: ♠♠♠♠ 4.5 / 5

The Blurb

Orphaned at an early age, Philip Ashley is raised by his benevolent older cousin, Ambrose. Resolutely single, Ambrose delights in Philip as his heir, a man who will love his grand home as much as he does himself. But the cosy world the two construct is shattered when Ambrose sets off on a trip to Florence. There he falls in love and marries – and there he dies suddenly. Jealous of his marriage, racked by suspicion at the hints in Ambrose’s letters, and grief-stricken by his death, Philip prepares to meet his cousin’s widow with hatred in his heart. Despite himself, Philip is drawn to this beautiful, sophisticated, mysterious Rachel like a moth to the flame.

The Verdict

From the very first page, the story has a dark, tragic atmosphere that I wanted to unravel. The protagonist of the story, young Philip, is a portrait of youth – naïve, restless, handsome and unaware of it. He lives in the huge house by himself, with just a couple of servants. He does not have much experience with women and mistrusts anyone who is not from Cornwall.

Since his uncle left to marry and dies in quick succession, he becomes increasingly suspicious of his mentor’s widow, and in fact women in general. Philip is determined to find out the truth and sets off for Italy. Subsequently, his widow visits England. The cast of characters include the tenants and the local lawyer, all of whom seem hopelessly ensnared by Rachel. I love the way the author explores the confusion of emotions and feelings we all feel, when meeting someone new and entirely out of our realm of experience.

The story muses on youth, love, responsibility, trust and many more issues that are timeless – and I feel like I almost know less about the characters now than I did before I read the book! This is one of those stories I need to discuss with someone else.

It is no secret that I have loved every book by this author that I have read. The book has the same multi-layered, intriguing characters and brooding settings as the more famous Rebecca (see my review here), but I think I felt more empathy for the main character in this novel. There is also a 2017 film adaptation, starring Rachel Weisz, which I might have to hunt out.

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