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Fifth Summer Read, 2019: Du Maurier

The House on the Strand by Daphne Du Maurier

Ahhh...back into my old comfy shoes of Du Maurier's writing. Her patchwork quilted hills of Cornwall are like my comfort blanket.


This book came into my hands through speaking to Dr Laura Varnam on Instagram (@lauravarnam). I saw she was a lecturer and writing a book on Du Maurier. Ever since I read Rebecca (I picked it up at Woolton Hill Church Fete about 10 years ago) I fell in love with her gothic writing. I guess I fell for it because I had recently gone through a break up and in a new relationship as an adult. I was starting to understand about how living in the shadow of a previous partner can be soul destroying and ghostly. The older we get, the more past we have to live with. 

The House on the Strand was set in a very typical Cornish backdrop for Du Maurier novel. I spent every summer in the Cornish fishing towns of Portloe, Mevagissey and more, as my Grandparents moved there when I was 4 or 5. I have a comforting feeling when I read about their coastline. 

As usual, there were similar 19th Century themes of archaic houses, the fear and pleasure of the unknown, women’s rights, potions and lotions and medical experiments, science/religion, and psychoanalysis.

I loved the way the two worlds collided at the end...there’s a part of Dick’s character that I loved; where he enjoyed the recklessness of his last 'trip', but annoyingly, it seems he will end up with Vita despite clearly needing more from life. I guess that’s what we (humans) do though: we settle when the past dwells on us too much. It's almost like the past haunts Du Maurier, I'm starting to discover more and more about this author as I read through her novels. Next up, Frenchman's Creek, and it's on my bedside table, ready and waiting.

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