Daphne was born in 1907, grand-daughter of the brilliant artist and writer George du Maurier, daughter of Gerald, the most famous Actor Manager of his day, she came from a creative and successful family.

She began writing short stories in 1928, and in 1931 her first novel, 'The Loving Spirit' was published. It received rave reviews and further books followed. Then came her most famous three novels, 'Jamaica Inn', 'Frenchman's Creek' and Rebecca'. Each novel being inspired by her love of Cornwall, where she lived and wrote.

After 16 years, the Du Maurier Festival Society has decided to change the name of our Festival to: 'The Fowey Festival of Words and Music'. All your favourite elements of the Festival will remain the same: the star names, tented village, music, plays, guided walks and du Maurier-related events will all still be there. Click HERE for Press Release.

The dates of the 2013 Festival are 8th - 18th May. Further information HERE

A year ago, we were excited to see that the popularity of this web site had exceeded 30,000 'hits' per month! Right now, it is running at over 50,000 'hits per month, a 60% increase!

On further analysis, the vast majority of these visits are as a result of searches on Google and other web search engines and directories.

These figures reflect not only the enduring popularity of Daphne du Maurier, but also recent productions of her novels.

Paying homage to one of the greatest British writers of the last century, the grandson of the late Dame Daphne du Maurier, Ned du Maurier Browning, celebrates his family legacy with an accomplished, Swiss-made watch collection. Blending 20th century English story-telling heritage with 21st century design, Du Maurier Watches announces the launch of its first limited edition collection for men and women, available exclusively from www.dumaurierwatches.com

The inception of Du Maurier Watches is the result of Ned's lifelong passion for watches alongside his wish to celebrate his family heritage.

Reprieving two of literature's most memorable characters from the 1930's, this refined, quintessentially English, online watch label debuts with two models: the Maxim for men - impeccably turned out, smart and classic; and the 'Rebecca' for women - elegant yet edgy and understatedly ostentatious.

The Maxim and Rebecca launch with an exclusive run of 300 limited edition pieces, each with its own unique serial number and 1930s-esq lacquer presentation box. The quality of each piece is apparent in the high-end spec and luxury materials used including sapphire-glass and rose gold and diamonds.

The collection will be available exclusively through www.dumaurierwatches.com. The reason is Ned's passion for quality. With lower overheads and one route to market, more investment can be been made into the materials and manufacturing, creating truly affordable, luxury watches.

Further models are currently in development: the Sportsman for men and women, the gloriously vintage Daphne and the Traveller - a dual-time watch for men.

There is no shortage of design inspiration through the du Maurier heritage with Ned's great-great grandfather, George du Maurier, who wrote 'Trilby' and was the famous Punch cartoonist whilst also being grandfather to the 5 boys who inspired JM Barrie's 'Peter Pan'; Ned's great grandfather, Gerald, an acclaimed actor whom du Maurier cigarettes were named after; and, of course, his grandmother, Daphne, who's many works include Rebecca, The Birds and Jamaica Inn, all of which were adapted into Hitchcock films.

All of this has resulted in beautifully designed watches which are set to become classics in their own right.

We are grateful that Sam Rimington has again written an excellent review of this year's Festival, from his personal perspective.

Click HERE to read it.

On Sunday 6th March, the TV Bookclub on More4 featured The Doll, a collection of short stories by Daphne du Maurier, which Virago will publish in May. Click HERE to see the programme (forward to about 5 minutes for the part on du Maurier). There are interviews with Daphne du Maurier's son, Kits Browning, and with Ann Willmore, a du Maurier expert and owner of Fowey bookshop Bookends, who rediscovered five of these stories.

There were also articles about the collection in The Telegraph and in the Bookseller.

Most of the stories in this collection were written when du Maurier was in her early twenties, before the publication of her first novel, The Loving Spirit. Many have only recently been rediscovered and some have never been published before in the UK.
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Bret Hawthorne sets off in pursuit of discovering the Cornwall from which Daphne Du Maurier drew so much inspiration for her writings. Novels such as Frenchman's Creek, Jamaica Inn, My Cousin Rachel, and of course Rebecca have become as much a part of Cornwall as its granite cliffs and windswept moors. In this new book the author follows in the footsteps of the author to discover the actual locations which inspired her. With direct reference to her writing and through specially taken photographs the reader is taken on a tour of the real-life places, often of outstanding beauty, which were chosen as a background to the novels, places which often played an important role themselves in bringing alive Du Maurier's enduring work.   More...

"I think Daphne sometimes became fascinated by the sound of words and rhythm of phrases occasionally to the detriment of their meaning. This always seems to me one of the charms of her writing, because it contributed to the music of her prose. I have no documentation whatsoever to support this remark but I feel in my bones that it is true. Some passages from The King's General, where Daphne describes the countryside nearby Menabilly, seem to me particularly mellifluous."

So wrote Sheila Hodges, Daphne's editor and friend for over 40 years. This triggered in Festivalgoer Collin Langley the idea of creating a record of favourite du maurier lines. Immediately, webmaster John Baxendale set-up a new page on the du Maurier website: www.dumaurier.org/favourites   More...

In case you have missed it, we have been accumulating a number of films and videos on this site, which will be of interest. The content is freely available via YouTube and include the entire 1940 film "Rebecca", directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine.

Click HERE to go to Films and Videos.

These pages were first set up in 1996 for all fans of Daphne du Maurier around the world - now attracting around 50,000 visits every month. If you wish to be kept informed of the latest news and events associated with her work, you are invited to sign up as a Member - its free and you will have privileged access to this site.

If you have any comments or enquiries, members may use the Guest Book to post messages