Rebecca de DU MAURIER, Daphne

New York: Doubleday, Doran, 1938. Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderley again."

DU MAURIER, Daphne. Rebecca. New York: Doubleday, Doran, 1938.

First American edition, first printing. Signed by Daphne du Maurier on publisher's tipped in sheet.

Octavo ( 7 7/8 x 5 1/2 inches; 200 x 140 mm.). [vi], [1]-457, [1, blank] pp.

Pages 387/388 with large repaired tear (no loss) and several other pages with short tears. Two ink signatures of former owners on front flyleaf. Rear flyleaf and paste down with pencil notes, etc.

Publisher's maroon cloth with silver foil band at center printed in black.

A good copy that shows very well and with the signature of Daphne Du Maurier.

Daphne Du Maurier delivered the manuscript of Rebecca to her London publisher, Victor Gollancz, in April 1938. On receipt, the book was read in Gollancz's office, and her editor, Norman Collins, reported simply: "The new Daphne du Maurier contains everything that the public could want". Gollancz's reaction to Rebecca was relief and jubilation and a 'rollicking success' was predicted by him. He did not hang around and ordered a first print run of 20,000 copies which were published on 5th August, 1938. Within a month Rebecca had sold more than twice that number. The novel has been continuously in print since 1938. The first American edition was published a month later in September 1938.

This 'gothic' novel depicts an unnamed young woman who impetuously marries a wealthy widower, before discovering that both he and his household are haunted by the memory of his late first wife, Rebecca. The novel has been adapted numerous times for stage and screen, including a 1939 play by du Maurier herself, the film Rebecca (1940), directed by Alfred Hitchcock, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. The story is also a successful musical production. The novel is best remembered for the character Mrs. Danvers, the West Country estate Manderley, and its opening line: "Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderley again."

Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, DBE (1907-1989) was an English novelist, biographer and playwright. Her parents were actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and his wife, actress Muriel Beaumont. Her grandfather was George du Maurier, a writer and cartoonist. Although du Maurier is classed as a romantic novelist, her stories have been described as "moody and resonant" with overtones of the paranormal. Her best-selling works were not at first taken seriously by critics, but they have since earned an enduring reputation for narrative craft. Many have been successfully adapted into films, including the novels Rebecca, Frenchman's Creek, My Cousin Rachel and Jamaica Inn, and the short stories "The Birds" and "Don't Look Now". Du Maurier spent much of her life in Cornwall, where most of her works are set. As her fame increased, she became more reclusive.