My Cousin Rachel - Softcover

My Cousin Rachel is the gripping story of a Victorian young man whose placid life in the English countryside is turned inside-out by an older woman. The young man is Philip Ashley, the novel¹s narrator. Orphaned at an early age, he¹s been raised by his bachelor uncle Ambrose, who falls in love and marries while traveling in Florence, then dies there in suspicious circumstances. Shortly after her husband¹s death, Ambrose¹s widow turns up in England, setting the stage for the unfolding of a relationship between the callow Philip and the beautiful, sophisticated, mysterious widow. And while Philip impetuously embraces the role of the moth flapping full-tilt toward the flame, the widow never puts a foot wrong. Is she designedly luring Philip to his doom? Might she even have had a hand in Ambrose¹s death? Originally published in 1951, My Cousin Rachel was made into a film in 1953.

Daphne du Maurier (1907-89) was born in London, the daughter of the famous actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and granddaughter of George du Maurier, the author and artist. In 1931 her first novel, The Loving Spirit, was published. A biography of her father and three other novels followed, but it was the novel Rebecca that launched her into the literary stratosphere and made her one of the most popular authors of her day. In 1932, du Maurier married Major Frederick Browning, with whom she had three children.Many of du Maurier's bestselling novels and short stories were adapted into award-winning films, including Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds and Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now. In 1969 du Maurier was awarded a DBE. She lived most of her life in Cornwall, the setting for many of her books.