Daphne du Maurier Books in Order: Complete Bibliography & Best Starting Points
Daphne du Maurier's complete bibliography in order — from Rebecca and Jamaica Inn to My Cousin Rachel. Best starting points for new readers of this gothic master.
Daphne du Maurier (1907–1989) is one of the most widely read British novelists of the twentieth century, whose work consistently crosses the boundary between literary fiction and genre romance and thriller. Rebecca (1938) is one of the best-selling novels in British literary history; its influence on psychological suspense fiction has been immeasurable.
She spent most of her adult life in Cornwall, whose landscape — its moors, its coastline, its hidden coves — provides the setting and atmosphere of her best work.
Where to Start
Rebecca (1938)
The essential starting point — the most famous opening in British fiction, the most atmospheric Gothic setting in the twentieth century, and an unnamed narrator whose obsession with the dead first wife is one of the most psychologically precise portraits of insecurity and inadequacy in the genre. Du Maurier’s plotting is immaculate; the revelation of what actually happened to Rebecca is both surprising and, in retrospect, entirely prepared.
My Cousin Rachel (1951)
The most psychologically ambitious of du Maurier’s novels — an unreliable male narrator, an ambiguous woman, and a question the novel refuses to answer. Philip’s inability to determine whether Rachel is innocent or guilty mirrors the reader’s own uncertainty; the novel is structured so that both readings are equally valid. The best du Maurier for readers interested in psychological complexity.
Jamaica Inn (1936)
The breakthrough novel — Mary Yellan and the wreckers on Bodmin Moor. Gothic adventure at its most propulsive, with du Maurier’s characteristic Cornish atmosphere and her sense for menace embedded in landscape. The most accessible and most plot-driven of her novels.
Complete Bibliography (Major Works)
| Title | Year | Note |
|---|---|---|
| The Loving Spirit | 1931 | First novel; Cornwall |
| I’ll Never Be Young Again | 1932 | Bohemian London/Paris |
| The Progress of Julius | 1933 | Dark family saga |
| Jamaica Inn | 1936 | Breakthrough; Bodmin Moor |
| Rebecca | 1938 | Masterpiece; Gothic romance |
| Frenchman’s Creek | 1941 | Pirate romance |
| Hungry Hill | 1943 | Irish family saga |
| My Cousin Rachel | 1951 | Ambiguous thriller; Cornwall |
| Mary Anne | 1954 | Historical; ancestor |
| The Birds and Other Stories | 1952 | Stories; Hitchcock adaptations |
| The House on the Strand | 1969 | Time-slip; Cornwall |
| Frenchman’s Creek | 1941 | Pirate romance; Cornwall |
Reading Order Recommendations
New to du Maurier: Rebecca → My Cousin Rachel → Jamaica Inn.
Gothic focus: Rebecca → Jamaica Inn → The House on the Strand.
Complete: Jamaica Inn → Rebecca → Frenchman’s Creek → My Cousin Rachel → The House on the Strand.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best Daphne du Maurier book to start with?
Rebecca (1938) is the essential starting point — one of the most widely read British novels of the twentieth century and the defining text of romantic suspense. The unnamed narrator who marries Maxim de Winter and comes to Manderley, where the first wife Rebecca's presence still dominates everything, is one of the most memorable voices in twentieth-century fiction. My Cousin Rachel (1951) is the best second book — an ambiguous novel about a young man who cannot decide whether his cousin Rachel murdered his guardian or not, and who falls desperately in love with her despite his suspicion.
What is Rebecca about?
Rebecca (1938) begins with the famous line 'Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.' The unnamed narrator, a young woman of humble background, marries the wealthy widower Maxim de Winter and comes to his Cornwall estate, Manderley. There she is haunted by the presence of his first wife, Rebecca — by the housekeeper Mrs Danvers's devotion to her memory, by Rebecca's things still in the rooms, by her own sense of inadequacy compared to the brilliant, beautiful woman who preceded her. The novel is a Gothic romance, a psychological thriller, and a study of a marriage's secrets; its ending is one of the most carefully constructed in twentieth-century fiction.
What is My Cousin Rachel about?
My Cousin Rachel (1951) is structured around an unanswerable question: did Rachel Sangalletti, the widow of Philip Ashley's guardian and cousin Ambrose, poison Ambrose for his money? Philip, who inherits Ambrose's Cornwall estate, is determined to believe so — but when he meets Rachel, he falls in love with her and reverses his judgement completely. Du Maurier never resolves the ambiguity; the novel ends without a definitive answer, leaving the reader to decide whether Rachel is a murderer or a victim. The most psychologically sophisticated of du Maurier's novels.
What is Jamaica Inn about?
Jamaica Inn (1936) is du Maurier's breakthrough novel — Mary Yellan, newly orphaned, comes to live with her aunt at Jamaica Inn on Bodmin Moor, and discovers that her uncle Joss Merlyn runs a gang of wreckers (men who lure ships onto the rocks to plunder them). The novel is a Gothic thriller set in early nineteenth-century Cornwall, drawing on du Maurier's own experience of the landscape and its history. Less psychologically complex than Rebecca or My Cousin Rachel but a compelling narrative; the best starting point for readers who prefer Gothic adventure to psychological ambiguity.
