Daphne Du Maurier: Looking Inward

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In this well-researched and crafted study of Daphne du Maurier’s novels and short stories, author Teresa Petersen explores the possibility that incest is at the core of du Maurier’s craft. Her argument is that the theme of incest occurs so frequently that it is not a coincidence. Weaving an analysis of du Maurier’s personal history with her well-known novels and short stories, Petersen contends that the writer’s intense relationship with her father, Gerald, and to a lesser extent, her much older cousin, Geoffrey, shaped the narrative of all that she wrote. From the subtle father-daughter marriage in Rebecca to the grotesque infanticide in The Progress of Julius to the revelatory short story, ‘A Border-Line Case’, Petersen makes a clear argument that will have readers reconsidering du Maurier’s works from a completely different angle.