The author, Paul de Zulueta is the son of Tessa Browning, the eldest daughter of Daphne du Maurier. He has drawn on family archives, new interviews and his own memories of his grandmother to give a poignant portrait of this much-loved novelist and her extraordinary family.

Her father Gerald was the most famous actor-manager of his generation, her grandfather George was a renowned Victorian novelist and cartoonist, and her great-great-grandmother Mary Anne Clarke was mistress to the Duke of York (and inspired Daphne's fictionalised biography 'Mary Anne').

Through war, complicated family dynamics and a difficult marriage to a troubled and damaged general, Daphne du Maurier found her refuge in Cornwall where through 60 years she created stories which have sold tens of millions of copies worldwide and have entered our national psyche - with 'Rebecca', 'Jamaica Inn', 'My Cousin Rachel', 'The Birds' and 'Don't Look Now'.

This is a wonderful account of her life, which even acknowledges his glimpse into Daphne du Maurier's private journals and notebooks which are still under a 50-year embargo, not released until 2039. 

I felt invited in to her story, her home and her family, and I'm eager to revisit all her work. Loved it.