My Cousin Rachel
First US edition
|
|
| Author | Daphne du Maurier |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Publisher |
Victor Gollancz (UK) Doubleday (US) |
|
Publication date
|
1951 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| OCLC | 70160575 |
My Cousin Rachel is a novel by British author Daphne du Maurier, published in 1951. Like the earlier Rebecca, it is a mystery-romance, largely set on a large estate in Cornwall.
The basis of the novel is the tension set up in its young protagonist when Philip falls in love with his cousin, while uncovering, and trying to deny, evidence that she is pretending to care for him while she has only her own interests at heart.
Ambrose Ashley is the owner of a large country estate on the Cornish coast and guardian to his orphaned cousin, seven-year-old Philip. On Sundays, Philip's godfather, Nick Kendall, and his daughter Louise come to lunch as do the Reverend Pascoe and his family. Life is good apart from a few health problems that determine that Ambrose must spend the winter in warmer climates. As the damp weather approaches, he sets off for his third winter abroad and chooses Italy.
Now in his twenties, Philip misses Ambrose but receives letters from him, saying that he has reached Florence and met up with a cousin of theirs called Rachel. In the spring, he sends a letter announcing that he and Rachel are married and have no immediate plans to return to Cornwall. Gradually the tone of Ambrose's letters changes, and he complains of the sun, the stuffy atmosphere of the villa Sangalletti, and terrible headaches. When a letter arrives in July, Ambrose says that a friend and advisor of Rachel's called Rainaldi has recommended that Ambrose see a different doctor. Ambrose says he can trust no one and that Rachel watches him constantly.
Philip discusses the contents of the letter with his godfather, who thinks Ambrose may be suffering from a brain tumour. When Philip travels to the villa Sangalletti, he learns that Ambrose is dead and that Rachel has left the villa. Ambrose had appointed Philip's godfather to be his guardian until his coming of age at 25. Nick tells Philip that he has received a communication from Rainaldi, containing two pieces of information; the death certificate confirms that Ambrose's cause of death was a brain tumour and Ambrose had never changed his will in Rachel's favour, so Philip is still heir to the estate.
...
Wikipedia