22 Jul Daphne Du Maurier
One of England’s most popular 20th Century writers, Daphne Du Maurier is best remembered for her novels Jamaica Inn (1936), Rebecca (1938), Frenchman’s Creek (1941), My Cousin Rachel (1951) and The Scapegoat (1957) and her short stories The Birds (1963) and Don’t Look Now (1971). All were made into successful movies. Alfred Hitchcock directed Jamaica Inn (1939), Rebecca (1940) and The Birds (1963). Nicolas Roeg’s haunting film of Don’t Look Now (1973) stars Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland.
Born in London in 1907, Du Maurier lived most of her life in the southwestern county of Cornwall. Menabilly, her home for 25 years, near the small fishing port of Fowey, was almost certainly the inspiration for Manderley in Rebecca. The house is not open to the public, but Du Maurier is celebrated at the Fowey Festival (held annually in May). She has no grave since, after her death in 1989 at the age of 81, her body was cremated and the ashes scattered on the cliffs near Menabilly.