Rebecca

First published in 1938, this novel is narrated by a young unnamed woman who marries the widower Maxim de Winter and comes to Manderley, his Cornish estate. The house, the staff, and Maxim's circle remain organized around the memory of his first wife, Rebecca, whose presence is kept vivid by the housekeeper Mrs Danvers. The new wife tries to learn the manners of the house and the terms of the marriage while a drowned woman's reputation, a cottage on the shore, and an inquest draw the past into the open. The book is a gothic romance of jealousy, class, and a country house that will not accept a successor.

Bound in blue-grey cloth blocked with a gilt and brown design. Dark brown slipcase.