Daphne du Maurier: Letters from Menabilly Portrait of a Friendship

So good! This really fleshed out Daphne du Maurier for me and made me like her even more. Oriel Malet’s narratives between letters were also so fascinating and well written that I looked into some of her own fiction. I definitely recommend this to any Daphne du Maurier fan. A lovely tribute to her.

Couln't put it down, the real Daphne, from the horse's mouth and Oriel Malet writes a superb context - very interesting, absorbing read, loved it

A lovely book, giving a real insight into the mind of Daphne du Maurier. She writes to Oriel about the inspiration for her novels, and events happening in her personal life, such as her children's weddings and invitations from the Queen and Prince Philip. Her husband, Major Browning, was comptroller of Clarence House for Princess Elizabeth after the war, and then Treasurer to Prince Philip when the young Elizabeth became Queen.Far from being aloof and a recluse, Daphne comes across as warm, funny and self depracating. Her homes - Menabilly and Kilmarth - were always busy with family holidays and visiting friends.Oriel, too, is a fascinating person. She lived, for many years, on her own, on a houseboat on the River Seine. She writes a little about herself to explain references in Daphne's letters, and she sounds a very sweet person.I love Daphne's novels, and this collection of letters really reveals so much more about her and gives us interesting clues for her inspirations - e.g. she tells Oriel that Rebecca is a story of her own jealous feelings towards her husband's ex-fiancee, a beautiful socialite named Jan Ricardo. One day, Daphne found a bundle of love letters from Jan to Tommy, all signed with the distinctive letter 'R', the monogram that the second Mrs de Winter (who is never named) keeps finding at Manderley and which makes her feel inferior.We learn, too, that Rachel in 'My Cousin Rachel' is Ellen Doubleday, the woman that Daphne had a 'thing' about - she is the widow who is a torment to others.Daphne was a meticulous researcher and she writes to Oriel about the historical references in 'The House on the Strand'. The 14th century people in the story are all real people who lived in Tywardreath at the time, although the events she writes about are imagined.A great book - loved it.

Difficult to understand all those strange pseudonyms for everyday things ! But interesting enough to be worth a read... Anything about Daphne i used to lap up, this is not an author I knew about nor a friendship i'd heard of previously. SO that in itself was the reason i wanted to read her letters.Not easy to get hold of anything written by Oriel Malet but i may try in future.

I am just coming to the end of reading this book - I adore it! Wonderful. I have enjoyed and looked forward to dipping into this book daily now for about a month. Precious!

Glad I have this copy.

This is wonderful,it takes you into Daphne s daily life.It's so reread able too.I d never part with it.