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Daphne du Maurier Facts

Daphne du Maurier Facts
Daphne du Maurier was an English writer best known for her works The Birds and Rebecca, both adapted to film by Alfred Hitchcock. Daphne du Maurier was born on May 13th, 1907 in London, England. Her father was Sir Gerald du Maurier, an actor and manager, and her mother was Muriel Beaumont, an actress. Daphne began writing short stories when she was about 21 years old, and her first novel titled The Loving Spirit was published in 1931. Daphne continued to write short stories and novels and plays, and contributed to the creative success much of her family also experienced.
Interesting Daphne du Maurier Facts:
Daphne du Maurier's grandfather was an author and cartoonist named George du Maurier.
Daphne du Maurier became Mrs. Frederick Browning in 1932 when she married Frederick Browning. She still wrote under the name Daphne du Maurier.
From 1946 to 1969 Daphne du Maurier was titled Lady Browning.
In 1969 Daphne du Maurier was made a Dame Commander in the Order of the British Empire.
After the success of The Loving Spirit in 1931 Daphne du Maurier wrote several more works in the 1930s including I'll Never Be Young Again (1932), The Progress of Julius (1933), Jamaica Inn (1936), and Rebecca (1938).
In 1940 Daphne du Maurier adapted Rebecca for the stage.
Daphne du Maurier continued to write in the 1940s producing Happy Christmas (a short story, in 1940), Come Wind, Come Weather (a short story collection, in 1940), Frenchman's Creek (a novel, in 1941), Hungry Hill (a novel, in 1943), the play The Years Between in 1945, The King's General (a novel, in 1946), and The Parasites (a novel, in 1949).
In the 1950s Daphne du Maurier wrote My Cousin Rachel (novel, in 1951), The Apple Tree (short story collection, in 1952), Mary Anne (novel, in 1954), The Scapegoat (novel, in 1957), Early Stories (short story collection, in 1959), and The Breaking Point (short story collection, in 1959).
In 1961 Daphne du Maurier finished and published the book Castle Dor, which had been started by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch (also known as Q) before his death in 1944. Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch's daughter asked Daphne to complete it, which she did.
In 1963 Daphne du Maurier's book The Birds and Other Stories was published. She followed this book with The Glass-Blowers (1963), The Flight of the Falcon (1965), and The House on the Strand (1969).
In 1971 Daphne du Maurier's short story collection Not After Midnight was published, followed by Rule Britannia in 1972, and The Rendezvous and Other Stories in 1980.
Daphne du Maurier also wrote several works of non-fiction including Gerald: A Portrait (1934), The du Mauriers (1937), The Young George du Maurier: a selection of his letters 1860-67 (1951), The Infernal World of Branwell Bronte (1960), Vanishing Cornwall (1967), Golden Lads (1975), The Winding Stair (1976), Growing Pains (1977), and Enchanted Cornwall (1989).
Daphne and her husband had three children: Tessa, Flavia, and Christian.
The film adaptation of Rebecca won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1941.
At the time of her death in 1989, Daphne du Maurier's official title was Lady Browning: Dame Daphne du Maurier DBE. She was 81 years old when she passed away on April 19th, 1989 in Cornwall.


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