Literary Lagniappe Book Club

Join fellow Natchitoches readers excited about our morning (10 am) or evening (6 pm) book club, Literary Lagniappe, with discussion guided by Marne Deranger. A lifelong reader, Marne collaborates with authors and publishers, reviewing new releases and helping her followers discover their ideal books and audiobooks. Follow her as ReaderByTheWater on Instagram and Facebook.

REBECCA by Daphne du Maurier
Genre: Gothic Thriller

TL;DR: A new bride is haunted by the literal and figurative ghost of her husband's first wife. 

Read this if you liked: The Silent Patient, Gone Girl, or the atmospheric dread of Jane Eyre. It's the original "don't trust anyone" domestic thriller. 

We're reaching way back into our classics bin for this dark romance for Valentine's Day! Originally published in 1938, Rebecca is the gold standard for the psychological thrillers we all love today. If you've ever felt like you're living in someone else's shadow, this book will haunt you. It's the original 'gaslighting' masterpiece before that word was even a trend. Did you know, the author wrote the short story that inspired Hitchcock's "The Birds"?

"The novel begins in Monte Carlo, where our heroine is swept off her feet by the dashing widower Maxim de Winter and his sudden proposal of marriage. Orphaned and working as a lady's maid, she can barely believe her luck, it is only when they arrive at this massive country estate that she realizes how large a shadow his late wife will cast over their lives - presenting her with a lingering evil that threatens to destroy their marriage from beyond the grave. 

First published in 1938, this classic gothic novel is such a compelling read that it won the Anthony Award for Best Novel of the Century."