I can't believe it took me this long to read this book! Of course I've seen the Hitchcock film Rebecca, and loved the mysterious tone of the film, but I've been meaning to read the source material for awhile. It definitely did not disappoint. 
 A nameless protagonist, who is young and inexperienced, meets a wealthy aristocrat in Monte Carlo while working as a woman's companion, and is quickly charmed by his wit and the way he makes her feel older and more sophisticated. Maxim de Winter, the wealthy older man she meets and falls in love with, is recently widowed and speaks little of his past. Our heroine, who is awkward and painfully shy, quickly becomes Mrs. de Winter, and moves with Maxim to his renowned estate, Manderley. Her fairy tale rapidly dissolves as she becomes obsessed with Maxim's deceased wife, Rebecca, and feels unable to live up to a memory of a person that she's never met and knows little about. Mrs. de Winter lives so inside of her own mind, however, that she becomes consumed by Rebecca's ghost, thanks in part to Mrs. Danvers, the head of the household who refuses to let Rebecca's memory die. 
 Although this book is not perfect, I fell in love with the writing. Daphne du Maurier writes beautifully and in exquisite detail, that even if I hadn't seen the film, I could easily picture the scenes she describes. Her characterizations, meanwhile, are complex and make it hard to look away. There are no truly 'good' characters, but rather complicated, flawed characters who aren't ever really redeemed, or even looking for redemption. The book is definitely dark, and, written in 1938, is of its' time. The way that the character, Ben, who is mentally handicapped, is written about would not fly today (hopefully), but pretty accurately reflects how terribly people like him would have been treated at this time. There are also some pretty appalling descriptions of blatant cultural appropriation, but that would have been typical for this time as well. 
 What made this book a five star read for me was the writing. This is the type of book that puts in to words what people think and feel but can't articulate for themselves. I was definitely impressed with it, and plan to read more Daphne du Maurier books in the future.