Daphne du Maurier, however, completely denied these allegations and chalked up similarities in the plot structure to mere coincidence. In fact, another author, Nina Auerbach boldly made a statement that du Maurier based her best-selling novel on A Successora after having read the English translation. The similarities between the plot structure in the two novels are hard to miss. After Rebecca had been published in Brazil, popular critic Álvaro Lins suggested that du Maurier had based her book on A Successora by Brazilian writer Carolina Nabuco. One of the biggest allegations that Daphne du Maurier had to face during her lifetime was allegations of plagiarism. Admittedly, du Maurier had never been able to shake off the suspicion that her husband remained attracted to his ex-wife, dark-haired and glamorous Jan Ricardo – something that is reflected in the storyline of Rebecca as well. The unnamed narrator has been modeled after herself as a “study in jealousy.” Several parallels can therefore be drawn between the relationship of the narrator and her husband – and Daphne du Maurier and her own husband Tommy Browning. The author’s childhood memories of Cornwall, Menabilly as well as her visits to the home of the Wentworth-Fitzwilliam family (Milton Hall) seems to have been the inspiration for the infamous Manderley house. Du Maurier seems to have been heavily influenced by the Bronte sisters in general as another one of her books, Jamaica Inn has also drawn inspiration from Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights.Ī large part of Rebecca, however, is inspired by du Maurier’s own life – especially her relationship with her father. Scholars have drawn parallels between Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca and Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre.

Climax: Rebecca’s wrecked ship washes up on shore with a body in it.Setting: Manderley, a fictional estate in England.Genre: Gothic Fiction, Mystery, Romantic Suspense, Crime Fiction.

The novel remains popular even today, having been the inspiration for several film adaptations, Broadway, and television shows. In 2003, Rebecca made it onto the list of The Big Read UK survey at number 14. Written by Daphne du Maurier, this novel became the favorite novel of the people in 1938 – with the American Booksellers Association selecting the book for the National Book award. A 1938 Gothic novel that has never gone out of print, Rebecca tells the story of an unnamed young narrator who falls in love with a wealthy widower – but their marriage is haunted by the memory of his ex-wife.

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