In the Transporting Reads series, we revisit beloved books that spirit us away–and deconstruct them in terms of location, food, fashion and more. IF YOU’VE NEVER read Daphne du Maurier’s “Rebecca,” you’re in for a surprise. Initially dismissed by critics as women’s romance fiction, this 1938 bestseller delivers plot twists, promiscuity, dark secrets and, best of all, backstabbing servants. LOCALESA claustrophobic seacoastIn the early Monte Carlo scenes, du Maurier conveys the elation the young narrator feels on the French Riviera. A stark contrast to Monte Carlo, Manderley seems as alive as any character in the novel.

Source: Wall Street Journal October 21, 2020 20:03 UTC