Laura is currently writing a book on Daphne du Maurier and she was delighted to be involved in two events to discuss de Rosnay’s excellent new biography. The first event took place on 5 October at the Institut Francais in Kensington, London, and Laura interviewed de Rosnay alongside du Maurier’s eldest daughter, Lady Tessa Montgomery. This unique event included wide-ranging discussion of du Maurier’s work and legacy alongside a fascinating exploration of her life and personality, drawing on Lady Montgomery’s reminiscences of her mother and de Rosnay’s sensitive and insightful portrait of the writer.

On 6 October, Laura and Tatiana were in conversation at Waterstones Hampstead, an important location for du Maurier as she grew up in Hampstead, at Cannon Hall on the edge of Hampstead Heath with her father, the actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier, her mother, the actress Muriel Beaumont, and her two sisters. Manderley Forever is structured around du Maurier’s relationship with houses, including her great love, Menabilly, the Cornish house that inspired ‘Manderley’ in her most famous novel, Rebecca.

Manderley Forever: The Life of Daphne du Maurier by Tatiana de Rosnay is published by Allen and Unwin. For more information, see Laura’s article in the current issue of The Martlet and her review of the events on the Daphne du Maurier website: dumaurier.org. The interview with Tatiana de Rosnay and Lady Tessa Montgomery is now available to listen online as an audio recording.

Published: 31 October 2017

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