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Topic (4 Responses)Posted
No Motive
When did Daphne du Maurier write No Motive? It is surely the best short story ever written. It would be great to have the year of publication as it would put the story into its social context and would also show how old Daphne du Maurier was when she wrote it.
Tue 03/07/18 06:21 PM

Response

My understanding of the short story No Motive is that Daphne submitted it to Victor Gollancz for inclusion in the book which became The Apple Tree, published in 1952. At the time Victor rejected the story, but after his death it was resubmitted and was included in The Rendezvous in 1980. While this does not pinpoint the year that No Motive was written it does shorten the time span as it moves it to a period before 1952. If anyone knows more exactly when it was written please put a message on the Forum. Ann.

Posted on Tue 03/07/18 08:24 PM

Response

Having seen the Folio Society's asking for suggestions as to their forthcoming selections of short stories, surely this must be an opportunity for du Maurier devotees to bring some,indeed all them, to their notice. I had hopefully scrolled down their current list and she is notably absent!

Posted on Mon 10/09/18 07:18 PM

Response

This short story is included in my 1980 "The Rendez-Vous" set of short stories but doesn't state in which year it was written.

Posted on Wed 23/06/21 10:52 AM

Response

This story was written in 1952. I have it in a book titled "Ten Great Mysteries." The title page for "No Motive" shows the copyright date as 1952, and also says it's from "Kiss Me Again, Stranger" by Daphne Du Maurier.

Posted on Mon 23/08/21 11:34 PM

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