After the death of his beautiful wife Rebecca, Maxim de Winter goes to Monte Carlo to forget the past. There he meets and marries a quiet young woman and takes her back to Manderley, his family home in Cornwall. But will the memory of Rebecca destroy the new marriage?

«The lost stories of Daphne du Maurier, collected in one volume for the first time. Before she wrote «Rebecca», the novel that would cement her reputation as a twentieth-century literary giant, a young Daphne du Maurier penned short fiction in which she explored the images, themes, and concerns that informed her later work. Originally published in periodicals during the early 1930s, many of these stories never found their way into print again... until now. Tales of human frailty and obsession, and of romance gone tragically awry, the thirteen stories in «The Doll» showcase an exciting budding talent before she went on to write one of the most beloved novels of all time. In these pages, a waterlogged notebook washes ashore revealing a dark story of jealousy and obsession, a vicar coaches a young couple divided by class issues, and an older man falls perilously in love with a much younger woman — with each tale demonstrating du Maurier's extraordinary storytelling gifts and her deep understanding of human nature.»

'The apathy of Sunday lay upon the streets. Houses were closed, withdrawn. They don't know, he thought, those people inside, how one gesture of mine, now, at this minute, might alter their world. A knock on the door, and someone answers? A woman yawning, an old man in carpet slippers, a child sent by its parents in irritation; and according to what I will, what I decide, their whole future will be decided... Sudden murder. Theft. Fire. It was as simple as that. ' In this collection of suspenseful tales in which fantasies, murderous dreams and half-forgotten worlds are exposed, Daphne du Maurier explores the boundaries of reality and imagination. Her characters are caught at those moments when the delicate link between reason and emotion has been stretched to the breaking point. Often chilling, sometimes poignant, these stories display the full range of Daphne du Maurier's considerable talent.

Nat and his family live near the sea. Nat watches the birds over the sea. Suddenly the weather is colder, and there is something strange about the birds. They are angry. They start to attack. They want to get into the house. They want to kill.

When her mother dies, Mary Yellan goes to live with her aunt and uncle at Jamaica Inn. Strange things happen there at night, and Mary slowly discovers that she and her aunt are in terrible danger. Can she save herself and her aunt before it is too late?

An outstanding love story that has been sensitively retold. The heroine, while employed as a personal companion, meets and falls in love with Maxim de Winter, a rich Englishman whose beautiful wife has recently died under tragic circumstances. To her surprise and joy, Maxim proposes to her. But the shadow of Rebecca, Maxim's first wife still dominates him.

Daphne du Maurier's famous novel set in 1830s England. Philip Ashley receives letters from his guardian in Italy, who complains of terrible headaches. He is becoming obsessed by the thought that his young wife is trying to murder him.

Nat and his family live near the sea. Nat watches the birds over the sea. Suddenly the weather is colder, and there is something strange about the birds. They are angry. They start to attack. They want to get into the house. They want to kill.

Classic / British English (Available February 2008) After the death of his beautiful wife Rebecca, Maxim de Winter goes to Monte Carlo to forget the past. There he meets and marries a quiet young woman and takes her back to Manderley, his family home in Cornwall. But will the memory of Rebecca destroy the new marriage?

Life on Mars, a strange dream, and attacks by murderous birds – these are just some of the subjects of these enjoyable short stories. They will amuse and shock you.

John and Laura have come to Venice to try and escape the pain of their young daughter's death. But when they encounter two old women who claim to have second sight, they find that instead of laying their ghosts to rest they become caught up in a train of increasingly strange and violent events. The four other haunting, evocative stories in this volume also explore deep fears and longings, secrets and desires: a lonely teacher who investigates a mysterious American couple, a young woman confronting her father's past, a party of pilgrims who meet disaster in Jerusalem and a scientist who harnesses the power of the mind to chilling effect.

When her mother dies, Mary Yellan makes the grim journey across bleak Cornish moorland to Jamaica Inn, the home of her Aunt Patience and her husband, Joss Merlyn. On arriving at the gloomy, threatening inn, with the coachman's warning echoing in her mind, she finds her aunt a cowering shadow, and her uncle a hulking, vicious brute. Even more alarming, Jamaica Inn has no guests and is never open to the public. Mary finds herself powerless to help her aunt, and is drawn unwillingly into the misdeeds of Joss and his accomplices. Even more disturbing are her feelings for Jem, a man she dare not trust... Jamaica Inn is a dark and gripping gothic tale that will remind readers of two other great classics, Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights.

Both a spellbinding love story and a superb evocation of Cornwall's mythic past, Castle Dor is a book with unique and fascinating origins. It began life as the unfinished last novel of Sir Arthur Quiller — Couch, the celebrated 'Q', and was passed by his daughter to Daphne du Maurier whose storytelling skills were perfectly suited to the task of completing the old master's tale. The result is this magical, compelling recreation of the legend of Tristan and Iseult, transplanted in time to the Cornwall of the last century. A chance encounter between the Breton onion-seller, Amyot Trestane, and the newly-wed Linnet Lewarne launches their tragic story, taking them in the fateful footsteps of the doomed lovers of Cornish legend ...

Dick Young is lent a house in Cornwall by his friend Professor Magnus Lane. During his stay he agrees to serve as a guinea pig for a new drug that Magnus has discovered in his biochemical researches. The effect of this drug is to transport Dick from the house at Kilmarth to the Cornwall of the 14th century. There, in the manor of Tywardreath, the domain of Sir Henry Champernoune, he witnesses intrigue, adultery and murder. As his time travelling increases, Dick resents more and more the days he must spend in the modern world, longing ever more fervently to get back into his world of centuries before...

I threw the piece of paper on the fire. She saw it burn... Orphaned at an early age, Philip Ashley is raised by his benevolent older cousin, Ambrose. Resolutely single, Ambrose delights in Philip as his heir, a man who will love his grand home as much as he does himself. But the cosy world the two construct is shattered when Ambrose sets off on a trip to Florence. There he falls in love and marries — and there he dies suddenly. In almost no time at all, the new widow — Philip's cousin Rachel — turns up in England. Despite himself, Philip is drawn to this beautiful, sophisticated, mysterious woman like a moth to the flame. And yet...might she have had a hand in Ambrose's death?

Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again... Working as a lady’s companion, the heroine of Rebecca learns her place. Life begins to look very bleak until, on a trip to the South of France, she meets Maxim de Winter, a handsome widower whose sudden proposal of marriage takes her by surprise. She accepts, but whisked from glamorous Monte Carlo to the ominous and brooding Manderley, the new Mrs de Winter finds Max a changed man. And the memory of his dead wife Rebecca is forever kept alive by the forbidding Mrs Danvers... Not since Jane Eyre has a heroine faced such difficulty with the Other Woman. An international bestseller that has never gone out of print, Rebecca is the haunting story of a young girl consumed by love and the struggle to find her identity.

Rebecca has been dead for several months, but her sinister influence is still very much alive at Manderley, as Maxim de Winter's second wife soon comes to realize.

Penguin Readers is a series of simplified novels, film novelizations and original titles that introduce students at all levels to the pleasures of reading in English. Originally designed for teaching English as a foreign language, the series' combination of high interest level and low reading age makes it suitable for both English-speaking teenagers with limited reading skills and students of English as a second language. Many titles in the series also provide access to the pre-20th century literature strands of the National Curriculum English Orders. Penguin Readers are graded at seven levels of difficulty, from Easystarts with a 200-word vocabulary, to Level 6 (Advanced) with a 3000-word vocabulary. In addition, titles fall into one of three sub-categories: Contemporary, Classics or Originals. At the end of each book there is a section of enjoyable exercises focusing on vocabulary building, comprehension, discussion and writing. Some titles in the series are available with an accompanying audio cassette, or in a book and cassette pack. Additionally, selected titles have free accompanying Penguin Readers Factsheets which provide stimulating exercise material for students, as well as suggestions for teachers on how to exploit the Readers in class.