Rebecca
Rebecca is the New Testament spelling of Rebekah, see Romans 9:10.
Rebecca is a novel by Daphne Du Maurier, published in 1938 and probably the author's best-known work. It has become a modern classic of English literature, though it is clearly inspired by the Victorian tradition, and particularly by Jane Eyre.
The story concerns an innocent orphaned young woman, who, while working as a companion on the French Riviera, is swept off her feet by a wealthy Englishman, Max de Winter, marries him, and becomes mistress of his house, Manderley. Only on their return to England does she realise how difficult it will be to lay the ghost of his first wife, the eponymous Rebecca. The domineering housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers, is one of the best-known female villains in literature.
The novel has inspired many dramatisations and adaptations. A mediocre "sequel", Mrs. de Winter, was written in the 1980s by Susan Hill.
Alfred Hitchcock directed a 1940 film of the novel with David O. Selznick as producer, which won two Academy Awards:
- Best Picture - David O. Selznick, producer
- Best Cinematography, Black-and-White - George Barnes
- Best Actor in a Leading Role - Laurence Olivier
- Best Actress in a Leading Role - Joan Fontaine
- Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Judith Anderson
- Best Art Direction, Black-and-White - Lyle R. Wheeler
- Best Director - Alfred Hitchcock
- Best Effects, Special Effects -Jack Cosgrove (photographic), Arthur Johns (sound)
- Best Film Editing - Hal C. Kern
- Best Music, Original Score - Franz Waxman
- Best Writing, Screenplay - Joan Harrison, Robert E. Sherwood
