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Manderley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Manderley is a fictional house which plays a central part in Daphne du Maurier's 1938 novel, Rebecca, and in the film adaptation by Alfred Hitchcock. No location is specified for the house, but it is assumed to be in Cornwall, where du Maurier herself lived.
Manderley is a large house, the property of millionaire Max de Winter. It has numerous domestic staff, and is open to the public on certain days.
For the un-named mistress of Manderley, however, there is an atmosphere of doom about it, because of the death of Max's first wife (the Rebecca of the title), and it is hinted that Rebecca haunts the house. The novel begins with the famous opening:
- Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again. It seemed to me I stood by the iron gate leading to the drive, and for a while I could not enter for the way was barred to me. There was a padlock and a chain upon the gate.
As a result of the novel's popularity, the name "Manderley" became extremely popular as a name for ordinary houses, and at one time was the most common house name in the UK.
Allegedly, Du Maurier's inspiration for the house was Menabilly, near Fowey in Cornwall.