From the author of Rebecca and The Birds: a classic thriller of shipwreck and murder, “rich in suspense and surprise” (New York Times Book Review).

On a bitter November evening, young Mary Yellan journeys across the rainswept moors to Jamaica Inn in honor of her mother’s dying request. When she arrives, the warning of the coachman begins to echo in her memory, for her aunt Patience cowers before hulking Uncle Joss Merlyn. Terrified of the inn’s brooding power, Mary gradually finds herself ensnared in the dark schemes being enacted behind its crumbling walls — and tempted to love a man she dares not trust.

The inspiration for the 1939 Alfred Hitchcock film.

Este libro contiene cinco grandes relatos: “Los pajaros”, “Besame otra vez, forastero”, “El manzano”, “El joven fotografo” y “El viejo”. En todos ellos se nos presentan historias con obstaculos misteriosos y fatalistas, mujeres frustradas, tramas perversas y elementos cercanos a lo paranormal, en las que la realidad se construye con elementos fantasmagoricos. El ataque kamikaze y masivo de aves en una tranquila comunidad campesina, un amor perverso en medio de los bombardeos de la II Guerra Mundial, la frustracion de un matrimonio burgues esteril, un romance entre dos personas con origenes y aspiraciones muy distintas, o un siniestro amor tardio narrado con un realismo macabro; en todas estas narraciones afloran temores irracionales ocultos bajo el manto de un tranquilo acontecer cotidiano. Con el prologo de Slavoj Zizek titulado “?Se nos permite disfrutar todavia de Daphne du Maurier?”, un texto que revaloriza la obra corta de esta autora.

The classic Gothic suspense novel by Daphne du Maurier — winner of the Anthony Award for Best Novel of the Century — is now a Netflix film starring Lily James and Armie Hammer.

Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again . . .

The novel begins in Monte Carlo, where our heroine is swept off her feet by the dashing widower Maxim de Winter and his sudden proposal of marriage. Orphaned and working as a lady’s maid, she can barely believe her luck. It is only when they arrive at his massive country estate that she realizes how large a shadow his late wife will cast over their lives–presenting her with a lingering evil that threatens to destroy their marriage from beyond the grave.

The novel begins in Monte Carlo, where our heroine is swept off her feet by the dashing widower Maxim de Winter and his sudden proposal of marriage. Orphaned and working as a lady’s maid, she can barely believe her luck. It is only when they arrive at his massive country estate that she realizes how large a shadow his late wife will cast over their lives–presenting her with a lingering evil that threatens to destroy their marriage from beyond the grave.

First published in 1938, this classic gothic novel is such a compelling read that it won the Anthony Award for Best Novel of the Century.

A classic of alienation and horror, The Birds was immortalised by Hitchcock in his celebrated film. The five other chilling stories in this collection echo a sense of dislocation and mock man’s dominance over the natural world. The mountain paradise of ‘Monte Veritv?’ promises immortality, but at a terrible price; a neglected wife haunts her husband in the form of an apple tree; a professional photographer steps out from behind the camera and into his subject’s life; a date with a cinema usherette leads to a walk in the cemetery; and a jealous father finds a remedy when three’s a crowd . . .

“Anyone starting this book under the impression that he may sleepily relax is in for a shock…continually provokes both pity and terror.”-The Observer (UK)

“Du Maurier is in a class by herself.”
—New York Times

Perhaps best known for her immortal gothic masterwork Rebecca–the basis for the Academy Award-winning motion picture directed by Alfred Hitchcock–Daphne de Maurier began her illustrious writing career penning short stories. In The Doll, thirteen of du Maurier’s early shorter fictional works have been collected–each story written before the author’s twenty-third birthday and some in print for the first time since the 1930s. Compelling tales of human foibles and tragic romance, the stories in The Doll represent the emergence of a remarkable literary talent who later went on to create Jamaica Inn, The Birds, and other classic works. This breathtaking collection of short fiction belongs on the bookshelf of every Daphne du Maurier fan.