The official Daphne du Maurier website, approved by her Estate
Taylor Swift’s new single and video marks her ghostly return to Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca
From time to time, in interviews and articles, Taylor Swift refers to her love of Daphne du Maurier’s novel Rebecca. She is known for her love of literature and has named Rebecca as one of her five favourite classic novels. Her song Tolerate It was inspired by Daphne’s Rebecca.
Taylor’s new single, Patient Zero, and its accompanying video have just been released. In it, Taylor Swift returns to the theme of Rebecca. This new release is being described as part of the genre of ‘Swift gothic’, a strand of her music that includes doubles, hauntings and darkness. Taylor says her new video was inspired by ‘gothic ghost stories’ and it is clear that Rebecca is one of them. But this time, rather than taking on the role of Daphne du Maurier’s nameless narrator, she haunts the narrative of Rebecca herself.
Much is being written about Patient Zero, but we are particularly impressed by the article, written by Emma L. Davies, a PhD Researcher in English Literature, University of Bristol, and published in The Conversation on 6th October; you might like to read it, too, so here is the link: https://tinyurl.com/8u7ztpjs.
October 2026.