| While on holiday as a paid companion to a wealthy American, a young woman meets and falls in love with Max de Winter, the famous rich heir who tragically lost his wife in a mysterious boating accident. They get married and move to Max's family mansion, Mandelay, where the new Mrs. de Winter struggles to fit in. Coming from a modest background, Mrs. de Winter is plagued by insecurities and self-doubt and finds her new role as lady of the house rather daunting. Max can't understand why she's such a wuss and is rather hard on her. On top of all this, the head servant, Ms. Danvers, can't stand her and wants to run her off. Ms. Danvers has an unatural fixation with the former Ms. de Winter, Rebecca, and does her best to convince the New Mrs. de Winter that she doesn't belong at Mandelay and that the true Mrs. de Winter, i.e., Rebecca, is still hanging around. Ms. Danvers hounds Ms. De Winter and mentally abuses her until she nearly commits sucide, but finally Ms. de Winter grows a spine. Then out of the
blue she finds out that Rebecca's death was not accidental, but that she was murdered by Max. Max tells her that Rebecca was an evil gold digger, and Ms. De Winter buys it. The rest of the book focuses on the court battle to determine if Max is guilty of murder. Then there's the suspenceful finale when Ms. Danvers goes ballistic and starts up a bonfire in Rebecca's old room. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of book? - thoughtful Time/era of story - 1900-1920's Romance/Romance Problems Yes Kind of romance: Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Lover is Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Nationality Unusual characteristics: Main Adversary Identity: - Female Age: - 40's-50's Profession/status: Eccentric/Smart/Dumb: Yes Eccentric: How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor Intelligence - Average intelligence Setting How much descriptions of surroundings? - 6 () Europe Yes European country: - England/UK Misc setting |
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