It's nice to know that there are authors like Daphne du Maurier out there who can always be counted upon to provide an enjoyable reading experience. If one has struggled through a couple of sub-par contemporary novels, one knows with du Maurier he can sink his teeth into something excellent, and My Cousin Rachel delivers big time.
It is the story of a young man, Philip, 25, who has been brought up by his older, male, bachelor cousin, Ambrose. They are well-to-do and live on an estate in the Cornwall, England so beloved by Ms. du Maurier, and have a varied and busy life. Neither seems too particularly interested in women. As he gets older, Ambrose decides for health reasons that he must begin to winter in Italy, leaving Philip behind to take care of things.
Ambrose, of course, writes to Philip, and eventually tells him he has met a woman--their cousin Rachel--with whom he has fallen in love with and whom he has married. As time goes by, however, the letters become less enthusiastic. She is spending too much. He is becoming ill. He no longer trusts her or the Italian friend who seems to be hanging around her all of the time. Philip decides that he must go to Italy, but by the time he gets there, his beloved cousin is dead and buried and Rachel is nowhere to be found. Philip returns to England, disconsolate, heartbroken and angry.
Shortly thereafter he learns that Rachel is coming to pay a visit. And this is where the meat of the novel begins: although determined to get to the truth of the matter out of her, Philip instead becomes smitten.
The reason the novel works so well--indeed, the reason all of du Maurier's novels work so well--is that the characters are perfectly etched. Philip is not unintelligent and he is not uneducated. But he is 25, and he has traveled practically nowhere. The story is written in the first person by him, and although he is clearly self-confident, the reader sees how easily he is manipulated by the beautiful Rachel. She has him, as a major character points out, wrapped around her finger.
Rachel, of course, is etched through the eyes of Philip, and she is also a distinct, memorable character. Always dressed appropriately, always made up perfectly, she knows precisely how she must act with the various persons in the community in which Philip lives. They are enchanted by her, as is Philip, to whom she is alternately bewitching and standoffish.
The suspense begins when Philip learns little things about Rachel’s actions that don’t seem to fit with her overall charm. She is spending too much. He discovers additional letters from Ambrose that never made it to him previously. He is beginning to feel ill. Philip does not want to believe the implications of these things and does his best to ignore them. And then the Italian friend comes to visit.
Best not say more, except that the tension continues to build until the conclusion; a conclusion which, again typically of du Maurier, is unexpected. First-rate, page-turning fiction all the way.
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"To be defeated by someone like herself is, in a sense, a victory."Unbeknownst to me at the time, my 'intro' to Daphne du Maurier was through the Hitchcock films 'Rebecca', 'Jamaica Inn' and most famously, 'The Birds'. A fan of the edgy, moody vibes, the recent film rendition of 'My Cousin Rachel' had me impatient to read the book (as I prefer to do so before seeing the movie). And WOW; I absolutely LOVED the writing, down to the ending, and was hooked into the narrative. It had a tinge of humor too, and there was a memorable scene towards the end where the upset Philip overreacts, only highlighting his inexperience with love and women.As it turns out, the film deviates quite a bit, and is too biased towards Rachel for my taste—and for the essence of the book itself. To me the appeal—and genius—of the story is in the way it allows for multiple interpretations, which is less so with the film. It is, however, visually striking, with beautiful costume design.A true talented writer, I look forward to reading more of her work.
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