The Scapegoat written in 1957 had great commercial success. According to her biographer, Margaret Forster, Daphne was a “keen observer of life and shrunk from publicity and attention.” She was thrilled when Graham Greene, the noted author of The Quiet American compared her novel Rebecca to Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. During her lifetime she was often called a “romance writer” which was very offensive to her. She wanted to be considered an intellectual writer. The most important role in her life was being a writer. Being independent and making her own money was paramount to her. She did not care much for domestic responsibilities. She married a World War I military hero, Tommy Browning, and had three children. Many of her works explore the relationship between the roles of me and women and the balance of power. This was reflected in her writing, especially in “The Scapegoat” when one studies the relationship between Marie Noelle and Jean. Daphne had a complicated relationship with her father, Gerald du Maurier about whom she wrote a biography. She loved the poets Browning, Keats, Dryden, and Donne. She graduated from a boarding school for women outside of Paris but did not attend a university after this because it was not fashionable for women at this time. She grew up in England as an aristocrat surrounded by the arts and literature.

Barrie, the author of “Peter Pan” was a good family friend and a strong influence on Daphne.

She was the child of stage actors and the granddaughter of George du Maurier, a noted gothic novelist of the 19th century. du Maurier presents two characters, one French and one English. This is obvious in her novel, The Scapegoat, that our RVA Classic Book Club just read and discussed. These two cultures are threaded throughout her work.

Her last publication was Classics of the Macabre in 1987.ĭaphne du Maurier born in 1907 was half English and half French. She published her first novel, The Loving Spirit in 1931. Daphne began writing poetry and short stories as a teenager. She wrote novels, short stories, biographies, poetry, plays, and essays. The Scapegoat is no exception.īest known as the author of the 1938 thriller “Rebecca” and her short story, “The Birds” made famous by the Alfred Hitchcock movie of the same name, Du Maurier produced over forty works of literature in various genres over the course of fifty-six years of writing. Daphne du Maurier never disappoints her readers with her trove of mystery works.

The scapegoat du maurier