A Round-Up of Fowey Festival of Arts and Literature 12th – 20th May 2023

Looking at the Daphne du Maurier-related anniversaries that will be taking place during the coming year, we begin with the 90th anniversary of the publication of Daphne’s third novel, The Progress of Julius.  Written largely at Ferryside and published in the spring of 1933, this novel was her last to be published by William Heinemann.  In the 1990s, its title was changed to Julius.  To read our book review of Julius, please click here. 

A 1933 UK first edition and a US 1942 edition of The Progress of Julius

Rebecca celebrates its 85th anniversary in August 2023.  This is, of course, Daphne du Maurier’s most famous and enduring novel.  It has never been out of print and has been published in many different editions and different languages.  Daphne du Maurier wrote the original adaptation of Rebecca for theatre.  The novel has also been adapted for the cinema, television and as a musical.

A 1938 UK first edition of Rebecca

2023 is the 80th anniversary of Daphne’s seventh novel, Hungry Hill, a passionate saga about a copper mining family set mainly in Ireland. 

A 1943 UK first edition of Hungry Hill

The Glass Blowers celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2023.  This semi-biographical novel was based on the story of Daphne’s French ancestors before and during the French Revolution.  The Bussons were a family of master glassblowers and took the name du Maurier from Le Maurier, the name of the farm where one of the glass foundries they worked at was located. 

A 1963 UK first edition of The Glass Blowers

A Louis XV engraved crystal tumbler made by the Bussons and passed down through the family was in Daphne’s possession at the time she wrote this novel.

The Louis XV engraved crystal tumbler made by Daphne du Maurier's ancestors

In the US, the collection of short stories entitled Kiss Me Again Stranger was published in 1953 and celebrates its 70th anniversary in 2023.  This book included the same short stories as those found in the UK publication, The Apple Tree, but with the addition of Split Second and No Motive.

A 1953 US first edition of Kiss Me Again Stranger

The short story collection, The Apple Tree: A Short Novel and Several Long Stories, which included The Birds, changed its name to The Birds and Other Stories when Penguin published it in its first paperback edition in the UK 60 years ago in 1963.  Similarly, ten years later, Not After Midnight and Other Stories changed its name to Don’t Look Now and Other Stories, when it took the name of the short story that had become the most well-known in that collection, thus making this year the 50th anniversary of that title.

Current UK Penguin paperback editions of The Birds and Other Stories and Don't Look Now and Other Stories, celebrating their 60th and 50th anniversaries in 2023