Daphne du Maurier

  Reading Rule Britannia you would be forgiven for thinking Daphne du Maurier predicted Brexit.   This prescient novel, first published nearly 50 years ago, explores a future where Britain has separated from Europe in favour of a political, economic and military alliance with the United States.   ‘It is rather awful, Emma thought as she walked across the fields down to […]

    DAPHNE DU MAURIER AT SOMERSET HOUSE​   Rebecca’s 80th birthday celebrations continue: Somerset House are showing Hitchcock’s adaptation as part of their Film Four Summer Screen season. Is there a more perfect summer evening for fans of Hitchcock and du Maurier? We can’t think of one.   ‘Last night I dreamt I went […]

Book of the Month: Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier This March we are reading Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, in celebration of the 80th anniversary of its publication. ‘One of the most influential novels of the twentieth century, Rebecca has woven its way into the fabric of our culture with all the troubling power of myth or […]

  Special Anniversary Edition of Du Maurier’s Rebecca This March we are celebrating the 80th anniversary of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca. We are marking this milestone with a gorgeous jacketed hardback edition, featuring artwork designed by Hannah Wood and brought to life by Hand & Lock, a specialist embroidery firm. Order your special anniversary edition […]

To celebrate their 225th anniversary, WHSmith asked readers to vote for their favourite book of the last 225 years. Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, George Orwell and the Bronte sisters all made it to the shortlist, but trumping them all was Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. Dark, thrilling, romantic and intriguing, Rebecca is a classic read and this announcement […]

My Cousin Rachel, Daphne Du Maurier’s thrilling novel and our VMC book club pick for May, hits the silver screen on 9th June. Here the cast and crew from the film, including actors Rachel Weisz, Sam Claflin and director Roger Michell discuss this intriguing mystery and the power of Du Maurier’s writing.

With the film starring Rachel Weisz and Sam Claflin scheduled for nationwide release next month, May feels like the perfect time to rediscover Daphne du Maurier’s mysterious, thrilling My Cousin Rachel. The Guardian placed this classic firmly ‘In the same category as Rebecca, but an even more consummate piece of storytelling’ while New York Times Book Review found My […]

Stella Duffy OBE, is an award winning Virago author and a playwright, journalist and screenwriter. Here Stella speaks to Virago Deputy Publisher Sarah Savitt about what makes writing crime special, and gives some advice for those entering the Virago / The Pool New Crime Writer Prize.  You have written in an incredible variety of genres and […]

Inspired by our re-issue of four Daphne du Maurier collections this month, earlier this year we teamed up with Stylist Magazine and asked your for your chilling short stories. The entries poured in – covering everything from magical realism to mental illness – and having whittled down almost 500 entries to a shortlist of 10, our judges have finally selected a winner. […]

To celebrate the long-standing heritage of Virago Modern Classics and the designers who made the hardback range such a success, in Autumn 2015 we launched three sets of mugs and notebooks based on some of our best loved classics. We’ve now added three new designs to the collection for 2016 – Angela Carter’s The Magic […]

Daphne du Maurier’s The Birds was adapted for stage in 1963 by ‘master of suspense’ Alfred Hitchcock – his third Daphne du Maurier inspired film. This month we’re teaming up with The Bluestocking Club to celebrate the iconic book and film, with a special Halloween screening at Waterstones Tottenham Court Road on 30th October. As […]

Friday 13th May, marks the 109th anniversary of the birth of Daphne du Maurier, one of the best-loved authors of the twentieth century. Here, we’ve compiled 13 facts about the author and her work. 1.A truly great novel grabs you from the very first sentence, and Rebecca features one of the most famous first lines in literature: […]