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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Who's who and what's what?, August 16, 2008
Justine Picardie's Daphne is a fictionalized/biographical/literary mystery centering, ostensibly, upon one question: what became of Emily Bronte's notebook of poems that disappeared from the Bronte Society's collections in the mid 20th century? After a few chapters, the reader can guess what happened to the priceless manuscript. What is more difficult to tease out is the novel's underlying meaning or purpose.
The narrative is presented from three perspectives and two time periods. One, of course, is that of Daphne DuMaurier as she struggles over the writing of her biography of Branwell Bronte. The second is that of Alex Symington, a retired, less than honest Bronte scholar who cannot come to terms with his professional mistakes. The third is an unnamed, newly married grad student, working on a dissertation involving Daphne's work 40 years later. Sound confusing? It can be. But it is intriguing as well, because the plot and the setting also draw upon the shades of the characters from Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel. Throw some Peter Pan into the mix (the duMaurier family was close to JM Barrie and his adopted "lost boys"), and the plot thickens.
I finished this book last night and am still not sure what to make of it. But I did enjoy it and found it reminiscent of the duMaurier novels I've read and loved. Interesting....
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Compelling story expertly woven together, January 12, 2009
I really enjoyed this book--how could I not? It's jam packed with Brontes, du Mauriers, Haworth, Manderley, Hamstead Heath, Peter Pan, Rebecca, My Cousin Rachel, Wuthering Heights, and Jane Eyre.
It's a novel about Daphne du Maurier during the time when she is writing "The Infernal World of Branwell Bronte," and investigating whether Branwell was actually a more prolific and accomplished author than he has been given credit for. She uncovers evidence that poems and stories attributed to Emily and Charlotte were actually written by Branwell.
It's a literary mystery. It combines Bronte family history as well as the themes and characters from their major works with du Maurier family history and themes and characters from Daphne's major works, which happens to intersect with the J.M. Barrie and his Peter Pan novel and play.
And that's not all, Picardie also brings in a contemporary story that parallels and intersects the lot, and it's all beautifully written, compelling, and a thumping good read.
If you're interested, I've been blogging about it at www.janegs.blogspot.com
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you enjoyed "Rebecca" or "Jane Eyre", you will enjoy this., January 9, 2009
I began this book with skepticism, thinking Picardie's descriptions of Daphne du Maurier being haunted by Rebecca, the fictional character of her renowned novel of the same name, a bit contrived, but as I read I also researched on-line, and found much of her story (the Rebecca haunting aside perhaps), to be based in truth. It is obvious Picardie did an incredible amount of research for this novel. She appears to have discovered enough new material for a thesis, yet presents this information in a much more interesting fictional form with many parallels in both du Maurier's books and the Bronte books as well. Did anyone else notice the "un-named" narrator, while appearing much like the un-named narrator of "Rebecca", also has many similarities to Jane, in "Jane Eyre", which was, of course, written by Charlotte Bronte, and upon research, with Picardie herself in the way she discovered the letters between du Maurer and Symington, a Bronte scholar? I found the mysteries in this book very intriguing, with the same gothic feel of "Rebecca" and "Jane Eyre". The more familiar you are with du Maurier's and the Bronte's novels, the more you will notice how deftly woven these stories are in "Daphne", and if you enjoyed those books, you will enjoy "Daphne".
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