My Cousin Rachel
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| Author | Daphne du Maurier |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Victor Gollancz |
| Released | 1951 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 1-57912-569-7 |
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 he 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.
[edit] Plot summary
Philip Ashley, the protagonist, has been brought up by his cousin Ambrose, to whom he is devoted, on Ambrose's Cornish estate. While travelling in Italy for his health, Ambrose meets and falls in love with Rachel, another cousin who was the penniless widow of an Italian count. Ambrose soon dies and Philip inherits the estate.
Rachel returns to England, and Philip is subjected to contradictory forces: he falls in love with her, but at the same time evidence grows that Ambrose died under suspicious circumstances. Philip's infatuation leads him continually to make excuses for her behavior, and indeed the author leaves the reader to choose whether she is evil or Philip is deluded. After he impetuously settles the estate on her, she grows cold to him and indeed he suffers an illness similar to that of Ambrose. In a sudden and devastating ending, Philip allows Rachel to walk alone on a bridge that is known to be unsafe, and she dies in his arms.
The book's title reflects Philip's consistent references to Rachel as "my cousin Rachel" right up to the moment he realizes he is in love with her.
A film My Cousin Rachel, starring Richard Burton and Olivia de Havilland was made in 1952, and a television adaptation, starring Christopher Guard and Geraldine Chaplin, in 1983.
