Because of her name, I always thought Daphne du Maurier was a romance writer and dismissed her as such. But recently I came into possession of a paperback of several of her stories, including “Don’t Look Now,” an eerie story that I had first seen rather than read–a Donald Sutherland-Julie Christie film set in Venice. The stories of the book combine a sense of mystery, science fiction and horror. I’ve now read all five stories in the book and am terribly impressed with du Maurier as a writer. She has a subtle yet sharp insight into human relationships. How sad that I was put off for so long by her romantic name.
JESSIE SEIGEL
WRITER * EDITOR * JOURNALIST * PLAYWRIGHT * CARTOONIST
You are aware one of her stories was the base for Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds, aren´t you?
Hi Juan. I did not know that Hitchcock’s The Birds was based on Du Maurier’s The Birds. But in reading a book of her long stories, I discovered that the film “Don’t Look Now” was based on her story of the same name. I loved all the long stories in that book, but I’ll note that the little boy in “The Way of the Cross” reminded me of Salinger’s 10-year old mystic in his short story “Teddy.”
In this time of covid, I hope you are staying well and safe!
I’ve never looked twice at Du Maurier for precisely the same reason. I’ve got some catching up to do!