Daphne du Maurier

«Anoche soñé que volvía a Manderley...» Nadie que conozca la película basada en esta novela podrá olvidar la voz en off que recita la frase inicial de la obra más lograda de Daphne du Maurier: Rebeca

«Anoche soñé que volvía a Manderley.» Con esta frase Daphne du Maurier nos introduce en el universo de una mansión en apariencia idílica, con rosaledas y caminos bordeados de rododendros, y praderas

Philip Ashley, el narrador de esta novela, es un joven huérfano que ha sido criado por su primo Ambrose, un terrateniente de Cornualles veinte años mayor que él, en una gran casa aislada, de rutinas amables e incontestadas, sin conflictos y sin mujeres. Cuando el primo debe viajar a Italia por razones de salud, conoce a una mujer, Rachel, una pariente lejana educada en Florencia, viuda de un conde que murio en un duelo y la dejo cubierta de deudas. Se casa con ella y poco despues muere subitamente. Jure que todo lo que Ambrose hubiera pagado en dolor y sufrimiento se lo devolveria a la mujer que los habia causado, se dice Philip al conocer la noticia. Pero apenas han pasado unas semanas y Rachel se presenta en Cornualles y esa animosidad irracional que el joven sentia por ella se va convirtiendo poco a poco en una fascinacion incontrolable que no disminuye a medida que las circunstancias de la muerte de su primo se revelan cada vez mas sospechosas.Mi prima Rachel (1951) es una gran novela psicologica, llena de suspense, en la que Daphne du Maurier exploro, como en Rebeca, la influencia fantasmal en una casa de una figura ausente. Es tambien un sutil estudio de lo que un hombre cree que es una mujer y del accidentado viaje que dan los prejuicios cuando se enfrentan a una realidad inesperada.

Dick Young, el narrador de esta novela, es un hombre desencantado con su vida y su trabajo, casado con una viuda estadounidense que tiene dos hijos y quiere llevárselo a Nueva York a dirigir una editorial. Un compañero suyo de la universidad, profesor de biofisica, les presta su casa de Cornualles para que pasen el verano, pero en realidad la invitacion tiene segundas intenciones: quiere que su amigo sea un conejillo de Indias para una nueva droga que ha inventado y que tiene el extrañisimo efecto de propiciar viajes al pasado. Asi, al tomarla, Dick se encuentra de pronto en el siglo xiv, testigo invisible de una serie de intrigas y amorios en una cruel comunidad feudal. Despues de la primera conmocion, la atraccion de ese otro mundo se muestra irresistible.

Un profesor inglés de Historia, soltero y de mediana edad, pasa, como todos los años, sus vacaciones en Francia. En Le Mans se encuentra con un tipo de porte muy singular: es el conde Jean le Gué y fisicamente es su doble perfecto. Asombrados por el parecido, se emborrachan juntos y se cuentan sus desdichas. A la mañana siguiente, John despierta en un hotel de mala muerte, sus cosas han sido sustituidas por las del conde de Gue y se encuentra de pronto al frente de una familia escabrosa, un negocio ruinoso y una nueva identidad siempre en peligro de ser desenmascarada. En El chivo expiatorio (1957), Daphne du Maurier construye una novela compleja, llena de suspense y ambiguedades morales.

La novela corta que inspiró la película "Los pájaros" de Hitchcock, junto a varios relatos maestros de la autora de "Rebeca". Este libro contiene cinco grandes relatos: “Los pájaros”, “Bésame otra

When her mother dies, Mary Yellan makes the grim journey across bleak Cornish moorland to Jamaica Inn, the home of her Aunt Patience and her husband, Joss Merlyn. On arriving at the gloomy, threatening inn, with the coachman's warning echoing in her mind, she finds her aunt a cowering shadow, and her uncle a hulking, vicious brute. Even more alarming, Jamaica Inn has no guests and is never open to the public. Mary finds herself powerless to help her aunt, and is drawn unwillingly into the misdeeds of Joss and his accomplices. Even more disturbing are her feelings for Jem, a man she dare not trust ...Jamaica Inn is a dark and gripping gothic tale that will remind readers of two other great classics, Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights.

How long he fought with them in the darkness he could not tell, but at last the beating of the wings about him lessened and then withdrew ...' A classic of alienation and horror, 'The Birds' was immortalised by Hitchcock in his celebrated film. The five other chilling stories in this collection echo a sense of dislocation and mock man's sense of dominance over the natural world. The mountain paradise of 'Monte Verita' promises immortality, but at a terrible price; a neglected wife haunts her husband in the form of an apple tree; a professional photographer steps out from behind the camera and into his subject's life; a date with a cinema usherette leads to a walk in the cemetery; and a jealous father finds a remedy when three's a crowd ...

Maxim de Winter regresa a Menderley, la casa en la que vivía con su primera esposa, Rebecca, que murió ahogada en el mar. Regresa con su nueva e inocente mujer, la cual descubrirá que Menderley no es el mundo perfecto que ella cree: allí vive también la inquietante señora Danvers, el ama de llaves, quien no sólo no acepta a la joven, sino que constantemente le recuerda la figura de Rebecca, la única e insustituible señora De Winter.

The 1970s was a decade of anger and discontent. Britain endured power cuts and strikes. America pulled out of Vietnam and saw its President resign from office. Feminism and face lifts vied for women's hearts (and minds). And prog rock, punk and disco weren't just music but for some were ways of life.Daphne du Maurier's Don't Look Now was published in 1971 and became a haunting film in 1973. It describes a young couple who travel to Venice to try and escape the pain of their daughter's death. Instead of laying their ghosts to rest, however, they find themselves caught up in a series of increasingly strange and violent events, in a brilliant meditation on loss, fear and fate.

An unexpected murder, a love triangle between a man, his wife and his best friend, and a horrific battle between humans and birds, are only a few of the elements of suspense in this exciting collection by the famous British novelist, Daphne du Maurier. This reader is guaranteed to thrill, shock and terrify you.

''I tell you your mine will be in ruins and your home destroyed and your children forgotten ...but this hill will be standing still to confound you.'' So curses Morty Donovan when ''Copper John'' Brodrick builds his mine at Hungry Hill. The Brodricks of Clonmere gain great wealth by harnessing the power of Hungry Hill and extracting the treasure it holds. The Donovans, the original owners of Clonmere Castle, resent the Brodricks'' success, and consider the great house and its surrounding land theirs by rights. For generations the feud between the families has simmered, always threatening to break into violence ...

''Now, ill-lit, almost in darkness, the windows of the houses shuttered, the water dank, the scene appeared altogether different, neglected, poor, and the long narrow boots moored to the slippery steps of cellar entrances looked like coffins.''A slow-burning masterpiece of horror recounting a grieving couple''s fateful visit to Venice, Don''t Look Now is accompanied here by further short tales of desire and dread.Ten new titles in the colourful, small-format, portable new Pocket Penguins series.

Classic / British English (Available May 2008) When her mother dies, Mary Yellan goes to live with her aunt and uncle at Jamaica Inn. Strange things happen there at night, and Mary slowly discovers that she and her aunt are in terrible danger. Can she save herself and her aunt before it is too late?

Contemporary / British English (Available February 2008) Nat and his family live near the sea. Nat watches the birds over the sea. Suddenly the weather is colder, and there is something strange about the birds. They are angry. They start to attack. They want to get into the house. They want to kill.

''The apathy of Sunday lay upon the streets. Houses were closed, withdrawn. "They don''t know," he thought, "those people inside, how one gesture of mine, now, at this minute, might alter their world. A knock on the door, and someone answers - a woman yawning, an old man in carpet slippers, a child sent by its parents in irritation; and according to what I will, what I decide, their whole future will be decided ...Sudden murder. Theft. Fire." It was as simple as that.'' In this collection of suspenseful tales in which fantasies, murderous dreams and half-forgotten worlds are exposed, Daphne du Maurier explores the boundaries of reality and imagination. Her characters are caught at those moments when the delicate link between reason and emotion has been stretched to the breaking point. Often chilling, sometimes poignant, these stories display the full range of Daphne du Maurier''s considerable talent.