Danni is the housekeeper of Manderville Hall, a mansion on the coast in Cornwall. When the famous author Daphne du Maurier comes to visit, the two women strike up a friendship, which quickly becomes a passionate, and forbidden, affair. 

This story was first published by Rose Tremain in her collection of short stories 'The American Lover'. A few years ago she turned that into a screenplay and the film will be released next year starring Anthony Hopkins and Helena Bonham Carter. This novel is the third iteration of her desire to investigate the inspiration behind the malevolent housekeeper in du Maurier's classic tale 'Rebecca'.

‘I wondered “how did du Maurier dream that up?”’ Rose told me when we met recently. ‘I’m inclined to believe that when writers create flawed and jealous characters, there is much self-analysis going on.’ 

It has the gothic setting and the heavy and sinister foreboding that you might expect in any interrogation of du Maurier and her work. And draws on du Maurier's known bisexuality. 

Telling a story in three different forms is a fascinating concept. I'm very much looking forward to seeing the film's interpretation.