Frenchman's Creek - Daphne Du Maurier

== FRENCHMAN'S CREEK ==

=== DAPHNE DUMAURIER ===


"When the east wind blows up Helford River the shining waters become troubled and disturbed and the little waves beat angrily upon the sandy shores. "
Frenchman's Creek



Sorry about this but I'm back with another of my all time favourites, yet another from the pen of Dame Daphne Du Maurier - Frenchman's Creek.
...there.

Frenchman's Creek was published in 1941, written at a low time in Du Mauriers life as her husband, Tommy, was away at war and her children and nanny were all ill - so it was at the most unromantic time in her life that she began writing the book she described as the only romantic novel she ever wrote.

Frenchman's Creek is about Lady Dona who - tired of the endless social whirl of London and after doing something ... more

FRENCHMAN'S CREEK

DAPHNE DUMAURIER

"When the east wind blows up Helford River the shining waters become troubled and disturbed and the little waves beat angrily upon the sandy shores. "
Frenchman's Creek

Sorry about this but I'm back with another of my all time favourites, yet another from the pen of Dame Daphne Du Maurier - Frenchman's Creek.

There is a reason that Daphne du Maurier's books are classics today and that reason is her wonderful haunting use of language. All her books, are so beautifully written and the Cornish ones epitomise the timeless, lonely quality of Cornwall and makes the reader feel that they are there.

Frenchman's Creek was published in 1941, written at a low time in Du Mauriers life as her husband, Tommy, was away at war and her children and nanny were all ill - so it was at the most unromantic time in her life that she began writing the book she described as the only romantic novel she ever wrote.

Frenchman's Creek is about Lady Dona who - tired of the endless social whirl of London and after doing something that even she finds unforgivable, decides to leave her tolerable but frequently drunk husband - Harry - and flee to the quiet countryside of their country estate in Cornwall - Navron.

When she arrives at the house she finds the house is largely musty and unused, all but her own bedroom which is freshly aired and that the butler, William, is the only servant.
William and Lady Dona seem to get on from the beginning and develop a good relationship throughout the book.

Country life agrees with Dona, she settles into her new life quickly - enjoying playing with her children and having the freedom to get dirty getting dirty - her character changes a much more pleasant woman than we met at the beginning of the story. ShWhen our newly mischievous and funny Lady St. Columb comes across the Frenchman in his hidden creek - she soon works out that he ismust be the pirate the locals have told her about. The French pirate that's been plundering the shores of Cornwall.
Adventure awaits our heroine upon La Mouette and she is not going to let this opportunity go by.

This is an absorbing tale of danger, passion, and swashbuckling action set in 17th century England.

The novel is one woman's need to escape, the need to feel something real. Dona does a great deal of discovering. She takes a lot of hard looks at her life and what she's doing with it and decides that she wants something else. But Dona is a realist and knows that she can't escape forever - she is a mother and knows her place is with her children. But, she'll always have that memory, that she can escape to anytime in her mind.

Du Maurier seems to have a thing for characters without real names - as in Rebecca. The Frenchman has a name, Jean-Benoit, but almost never goes by it. He exists as a pirate, a Frenchman, a romantic hero not Jean-Benoit.
He's got a personality, but it's almost as though his lack of name and real characterization makes him less distinct and almost legendary in his exploits. Perhaps it is this that leads to Dona's infatuation with him; most women have a thing for the mysterious and dangerous man.

The imagery and prose in this novel are fantastic. The story is intriguing and the book is an absolute pleasure to read.

Summary: "A forgotten century peers out of dust and cobwebs and he walks in another time."

 

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