Product Description
The most expensive movie ever made in Britain at the time, this breathtaking adaptation of Shaw's epic was notoriously lavish. Shot in Technicolor and directed by Gabriel Pascal, the film was so extravagant that the director even took sand to Egypt to get the right cinematic colour. As Rome invades Egypt, Julius Caesar (Rains) stumbles across the young and unrefined princess Cleopatra (Leigh), sheltering in the Sphinx. Impressed by her spirit and intelligence, seduced by her charm he determines to make her Queen. Cleopatra learns about power and politics at the feet of a master but her downfall begins when she is seduced by Mark Antony. This witty, brilliantly designed movie features a memorable cast including Stewart Granger (The Prisoner of Zenda), Flora Robson (Wuthering Heights), Stanley Holloway (My Fair Lady) and a very young Jean Simmons (Great Expectations) as the harpist. ... Read more

Product Description
This is the chilling classic of a girl haunted by her own imagination and by the ghost of Rebecca de Winter. After honeymooning in Italy the dashing Max de Winter returns with his innocent young bride to Manderley, the beautiful family estate in Cornwall. Yet the former mistress' disturbing presence lingers throughout the house. Du Maurier's shy heroine is tortured by constant comparisons to the glittering socialite who was her precedessor and she is heading towards tragedy and despair when Rebecca herself appears... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (551)

Memories of Manderley...
"Rebecca" had several elements that I loved:a large Gothic-style manor, ghosts, mystery and suspense.In the book, the narrator (in which interestly her first name is never revealed) is a young English lady of twenty-one, who is working as a "companion" to a middle-aged American gossip-loving socialite.The young lady and her employer are staying at a hotel in Monte Carlo, where the young lady is introduced to Maxim de Winter, the owner of a large English manor house called Manderley who has lost his wife in a tragic drowning one year prior.Mr. de Winter is a strange, serious man which everyone attributes to the loss of his wife, Rebecca.

The narrator and Mr. de Winter have an odd relationship over the course of the couple of weeks in Monte Carlo and when the narrator is told she is to go to New York, Mr. de Winter proposes marriage.The narrator, longing for something more in life, agrees to marry him.She is deeply in love with him, although he often remains distant and mysterious.She expects that life at Manderley will be quite different from what she actually finds once she arrives there.

Although the first Mrs. de Winter is no longer living, there are traces of her all throughout the mansion.The new Mrs. de Winter is told how wonderful Rebecca was and is very insecure in herself in that she feels she can't live up to Rebecca's reputation.Rebecca's maid, the eerie Mrs. Danvers, immediately dislikes the new Mrs. de Winter.As days go by at Manderley, the new Mrs. de Winter begins to have serious doubts that her marriage will be successful and that the house she is living in is still under Rebecca's influence.Maxim becomes more and more distant and odd, and the narrator becomes more uneasy and afraid, as is understandable as the mystery of what happened to Rebecca is unraveled.

I really enjoyed the author's writing style - vivid descriptions with each scene set up nicely.The author did a remarkable job of creating a suspenseful atmosphere.Although I saw some of the mysteries of Rebecca's fate coming well ahead of time, there were still some new surprises waiting for this reader.I would liken reading the book to walking through a large, historic manor house like Manderley, with each turn and hallway revealing another twist in the story and finding surprises all along the way.I've seen other reviews that have said they found the book slow and dull, but I didn't want to put it down until every mystery was solved.

My only letdown of the novel was that even while Rebecca was not a nice person, I found it very weak for the main character to stand by Maxim de Winter so faithfully after what he had done.

After the story ended, I found it helpful to reread the first couple of chapters to be happily fulfilled with the ending.

classic!
I had known about this book for as long as I can remember, but just recently read it for the first time. What a great read! I thought that because it was written in 1938 it might be good but would be hard to read, etc. Not true. It moves really quickly and the story really grips you from the very beginning. It only took me about 5 days to read. It would have taken less time than that, but as I reached the end I wanted to make it last so I slowed down the pace. There are a few twists that I definitely did not see coming. I loved this book and plan to read some of Du Maurier's others as well. The 1940 Hitchcock film is a nice complement to the book, but just bear in mind that they do make some changes and it's not exactly true to the book, but still entertaining in its own right. I highly recommend the book and the movie!

"Last Night I Dreamt I Went To Manderley Again"
This is a hauntingly great story.The first thing I did when I read the very last sentence was to start from the beginning and reread the first chapter.It is one of those books that makes you think about it after it ends.What a Classic.

Rebecca
It's been a very long time since I first read this book.We reviewed it at book club and everyone much enjoyed reading it again.The book arrived early enough for me to read it and make the necessary notes.

Sensational
It was a great book, a gift for my mom. She received it in a timely manner, and was very pleased! ... Read more