The Cornwall of Daphne du Maurier
By Jean Paschke

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Modern critics have paid more serious attention to Daphne’s work, the entire canon of which was reprinted in 2003. Since 1997 a Daphne du Maurier Festival of Arts and Literature has been held at Fowey, attracting radio presenters, authors and, in 2006, a dramatic presentation of The House on the Strand by the Tywardreath Players.

This year’s centenary event will take place May 10-19. Along with lectures and workshops, there will be a buffet lunch overlooking the harbor and a reception hosted by Daphne’s three children at Ferryside. Another conference, timed to dovetail with the centenary event, will be held at the University of Exeter, whose Special Collections Library holds an archive of du Maurier family papers.

Daphne summed up her Cornish home in these words: “I walked this land with a dreamer’s freedom and a waking man’s perception—places, houses, whispered to me their secrets and shared with me their sorrows and their joys. And in return I gave them something of myself, a few of my novels passing into the folk-lore of this ancient place.”

This article by Jean Paschke was originally published in the March 2007 issue of British Heritage Magazine. For more great articles, subscribe to British Heritage magazine today!

Tags: British Heritage, Culture, Literature, Women's History

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