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27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lady Dona's Acceptance of Womanhood, December 8, 2002
Anyone who feels trapped in a mid-life crisis or just a plain old stagnant existence for a seemingly unendurable amount of time will empathize with Du Maurier's bored and beautiful Dona St. Columb and enjoy her exploits with the man of her escapist dreams, Jean, the pirate master of La Mouette. While the adventure excites and the romance titillates, Du Maurier manages, quite subtly to explore the timeless themes of true freedom versus responsibility and the changing nature of love from its first incendiary spark to the mellow flame of comfortable love of long-time partners. Do yourself a favor and skip Du Maurier's first chapter---don't get discouraged by it, it is merely a ploy used by the author to suggest the timeless quality of love that lingers off the coast of Cornwall even to the modern day---read this chapter over again after you finish the book and it will lose its old fashioned storyteller's introduction and emit the haunting ghostlike ambiance it was meant to suggest. Rather than look at this as the tale of an adultress as one of the other reviewers strongly points out, imagine Dona as confused, not yet content enough to live out her days with Harry, the children and the dogs until she has found her own identity and come to terms with who and what she is. I imagine Du Maurier herself, having such questions whirl around in her own mind as she spun her tales at Menabilly--basically alone in the country while her husband was at war. The adventure of Dona St. Columb speaks of Du Maurier's own sense of restlessness and universally allows all of us to freely associate and commiserate. All of the Du Maurier heroines are trapped in worlds where they are dependent on their strong males counterparts. Du Maurier's portrayals suggest her view of woman's vantage point a dismal one---woman acquiesce; they only find a life when they do. This is a wonderful story of a young wife who transforms from child to woman in less than 300 pages. She becomes a boy to experience the ultimate freedom that she will never have as a woman. At the end she must return to her her trap, content or discontent to know her place as a woman. I have read 'Frenchman's Creek' and listened to it at least ten times, always taking from it something new as my own life develops. Highly recommended as a real classic romance.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautifully read! A Harlequin novel with Class!, June 8, 1999
Although I am not a fan of Harlequin novels, I am a loyal fan of John Castle. I sought out this novel specifically because he is the reader. The novel is set in Cornwall in the 1700's -- a bored, lonely Lady St. Columb flees city life with her two children and nanny to the country house where she and her husband honeymooned 7 years before. She stumbles upon the hideout of a French pirate who has been plundering her neighbors. She disguises herself as a cabin boy and joins in the fun, outwitting her stuffy neighbors and husband, falling in love with the scoundrel, and saving his life before he is hanged for his bad deeds. Being from a blue-collar working class American family, the custom of having servants is foreign to me. I couldn't understand why this country house, which sat vacant for 7 years, was still staffed with a butler, groom, and gardener. This novel is beautifully read by Mr. Castle, whose change in voice and inflection clearly lets you know which character is talking. He kindly refrains from talking in falsetto for Lady St. Columb! The graphic descriptions of the countryside, the languid pace, and the soliloquies make this an ideal companion for a summer vacation or trip to the shore. It's a refreshing change from the internet abbreviations and shorthand which are becoming standard in writing today. I loved this audiobook and plan to listen to it again and again. This novel was made into a movie in about 1944. Why doesn't someone do a re-make of this? Antonio Banderas would be ideal for the pirate; Kate Winslet for Lady St. Columb. I'll stand in line for a ticket for this one!
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Better than Rebecca!, November 13, 2001
Rebecca was good. Jamaica Inn was okay. But Frenchman's Creek was great! Du Maurier really outdid herself. She took the heart of a woman and made it plain. What romantic wouldn't like this story? Pirates, adventure, philosophy and romance....better than those frilly romance books nowadays. Dona went on a quest and fulfilled it. The first chapter is boring---skip it; I put it down for a time because I was unimpressed. But it is really good. I read parts of it to people as they were working (while I joyfully read) and they kept asking, "what happened next?" Every time I would give a little giggle of glee. This is really good. Rebecca and Jamaica Inn are "dark" novels; but this is an exploration into a womans mind. I comprehend and adore Ms. Dumaurier! Another good writer found!
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