Daphne du Maurier

Daphne du Maurier (1907-1989), novelist, was the daughter of the actor Sir Gerald du Maurier (1873-1934), and his wife Muriel, and the granddaughter of the artist and novelist George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier (1834-1896), artist and novelist. Daphne du Maurier grew up in Cumberland Terrace, London, and Cannon Hall, Hampstead, but her family developed strong links with Cornwall after buying a riverside house near Fowey, and it was in Cornwall that Daphne settled. She began publishing stories and articles in 1928; her first novel, The Loving Spirit, was published in 1931 by Heineman. There followed The Progress of Julius (Heineman, 1933) and Gerald, a portrait (Gollancz, 1934) before her first enduring success, Jamaica Inn, which was published by Gollancz in 1936. Two years later she published her most significant and best-loved novel, Rebecca . Besides these she published a number of other novels, short-stories and biographical portraits, blending history and literary art in some, while developing her own unique vision of the macabre in others. She published one volume of autobiography, Growing Pains about her early life in 1977. In 1932 she married Frederick A. M. Browning, later Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick (d1965); they had one son and two daughters.

From the guide to the Du Maurier Papers, c.1893-1981, (University of Exeter)

Dame Daphne du Maurier (1907-89), writer, corresponded with Rgis Bouis, history teacher at the Collge de Blois, France, about her French forebears, especially the Bussons. The results of her researches were published in The glass blowers, 1963.

From the guide to the Daphne du Maurier: Letters to Rgis Bouis, 1957-1958, (Cambridge University Library, Department of Manuscripts and University Archives)

Sheila Hodges joined the publishing firm of Victor Gollancz in 1936, becoming Assistant Managing Director in 1943 to take charge of the editorial department. Taking over from Daphne du Maurier's previous editor who had been called up during the war, she edited the works of Daphne du Maurier over a period spanning nearly forty years from 1943-1981. Even from the start of this collaboration, du Maurier was already well-established as a world-famous writer and had published six novels and two biographies. Leaving Gollancz in 1953, Hodges continued to work as a freelance editor and reader for Gollancz and other publishing houses. Author of eight published works herself, these include a biography of the Mozartian librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte and histories of Gollancz and Dulwich College. She has also contributed articles to the Women's History Review, Opera Quarterly and Music Review .

Daphne Du Maurier (1907-1989) was the daughter of the actor Sir Gerald Du Maurier (1873-1934), and his wife Muriel, and the granddaughter of the artist and novelist George Louis Palmella Busson Du Maurier (1834-1896). She grew up in Cumberland Terrace, London, and Cannon Hall, Hampstead, but the family developed strong links with Cornwall after buying a riverside house near Fowey, and it was in Cornwall that Daphne settled. She began publishing stories and articles in 1928; her first novel, The Loving Spirit, was published in 1931 by Heineman. Then followed The Progress of Julius (Heineman, 1933) and Gerald, a portrait (Gollancz, 1934) before her first enduring success, Jamaica Inn, which was published by Gollancz in 1936. Two years later she published her most significant and best-loved novel, Rebecca . Besides these she published a number of other novels, short-stories and biographical portraits, blending history and literary art in some, while developing her own unique vision of the macabre in others. She published one volume of autobiography, Growing Pains, about her early life in 1977. In 1932 she married Frederick A. M. Browning, later Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick (d1965); they had one son and two daughters.

From the guide to the Daphne du Maurier Papers: typescripts of Sheila Hodges, c1946-2002, (University of Exeter)