Daphne du Maurier

Dame Daphne du Maurier DBE ( born May 13, 1907 in London, † April 19, 1989 in Par, Cornwall) was a British writer. She is best known for her novel Rebecca and its film adaptation by Alfred Hitchcock, who also her novel Jamaica Inn (as Riff pirates) and her short story The Birds filmed. A part of her life was filmed under the title Daphne with Geraldine Somerville in the lead role in 2007.

Life

As the daughter of actor Gerald du Maurier and his wife Muriel Beaumont, and granddaughter of the writer George du Maurier they grew well protected with her sisters in London and Paris, where she received private lessons. Financially independent, she devoted herself to sailing and travel - and incidentally wrote her first short story. At the age of 19 she decided after a holiday in Cornwall, to settle there. From then played their stories mainly on the English coast.

1928 du Maurier began writing short stories and published in 1931 her first novel, The Spirit of Plyn, which earned her not only the first success with audiences and critics, but also the attention of her future husband, General Frederick Browning ( Marriage 1932), brought with whom she had three children - two daughters and a son. She became famous by the successful novels Guest House Jamaica and Rebecca, who were filmed by director Alfred Hitchcock. From 1943 to 1969 she lived in ' Menabilly ' for rent (her role model for ' Manderley ' - in which the novel is set ). Rebecca, occupied with Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier in the lead roles was in 1940 awarded the Oscar for the best film of the year. In 1963, the film adaptation of du Maurier's short story The Birds, which was also brought by Alfred Hitchcock on the canvas. Similar success the film version of her story Turn was not, which was staged as if not Look Now (1973 ) by director Nicolas Roeg with Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie. Her novels and short stories are characterized by tension and psychological depth, even though they usually have adventures and romances on the subject and were, in their time as melodramatic. But du Maurier also wrote historical novels, plays and biographies. In 1969, she was raised by Queen Elizabeth II as Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE ) in the British peerage. You last lived like hermits, and wrote no more in 1977. Died in 1989 in Cornwall Daphne du Maurier.

Life she fought against her lesbian tendencies. From her famous phrase is " the boy in the box " ( the boy in the box ), a metaphor for oppressed and repressed lesbian tendencies.

Despite their great success with the public and the highest recognition as Dame du Maurier's works of English literature critics were not assessed in their lifetime than high quality. In data of English and American literature from 1890 to the present by Wolfgang Karrer and Eberhard Kreutzer ( dtv, München 1973) it is not mentioned.

In a short biography from 1940, the author is characterized as follows:

" Daphne du Maurier, the civil name Lady Daphne Browning, is English, but their ancestors had fled from France Huguenots. Even the grandfather had written novels, the father was an actor and theater director. The talented girls already wrote thirteen soulful little stories, with twenty-two, she was a talent witter ends editor "discovered", and thus had fallen about her job, the decision, she was a writer and journalist. After her marriage (1932 ) with Lord Browning, who later became Lieutenant General and Chancellor of the Exchequer of the Duke of Edinburgh, she gave the letter not on, 1938, with her ​​" Rebecca " the great success: You became famous at a blow, and so rich, that she was the mysterious castle where does the novel acquire. She lives there today, and the success has remained true to her today, she is one of the most widely read English writers. "

Famous Works

Indicated is usually the year of the English publication.

Films

Stage Works

Rebecca ( ​​musical) - based on the novel, composer Sylvester Levay, Michael Kunze text

• 2006-2008: World premiere ( in Austria ) - September 28, 2006 by United Stages of Vienna
• 2011: first performance in Switzerland - October 22, 2011 at the Theater St. Gallen
• 2011: first performance in Germany - December 8, 2011 at the Palladium Theater Stuttgart
• Planned on 18 November 2012 on Broadway ( Broadhurst Theatre ) - world premiere in English ( in USA): 2012