#FirstLineFriday Submissions Are Now Closed! Here’s the Answer to Our Quiz, and the Names of Our Winners!

/ Marcia Meara

Well, you guys fooled me again. I thought sure this one was a dead giveaway, because of the name Manderley. But I apparently thought wrong. However, we do have THREE winners today, yay! Please help me congratulate Darlene Foster, Olga Nunez, and Trish Power. *claps hands for our winners*

So happy some of you got this one, since this is the opening line of my favorite book of all time.  Here’s the answer you’ve all been trying to remember:

“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” is the very famous first line of Daphne du Maurier’s noir-ish romance, Rebecca.

I first read this book when I was twelve, and have read it many times over the years, loving it just as much each time, though social customs have certainly changed since it was published in 1938. The book has never been out of print, and in 1940, was made into a wonderfully dark, and equally excellent  movie by Alfred Hitchcock. It starred Joan Fontaine, Sir Laurence Olivier, and Dame Judith Anderson, and was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, winning Best Picture and Best Cinematography. It is well worth watching if you love brooding, dark, moody stories that  pack a punch.

On a completely different note, my daughter’s middle name is Rebecca, in honor of this book. When she finally read it, Erin was horrified to discover Rebecca is a pretty selfish, wicked woman. I assured her it was the book I was honoring, not the character, and told her the actual heroine of the book remains unnamed throughout, so I’d had no choice. 😀

Rebecca won the Anthony Award for Best Novel of the Century!


I highly recommend you buy Rebecca!
You can do so HERE.

BLURB:

A PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick

“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderly again.”

With these words, the reader is ushered into an isolated gray stone mansion on the windswept Cornish coast, as the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter recalls the chilling events that transpired as she began her new life as the young bride of a husband she barely knew. For in every corner of every room were phantoms of a time dead but not forgotten—a past devotedly preserved by the sinister housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers: a suite immaculate and untouched, clothing laid out and ready to be worn, but not by any of the great house’s current occupants. With an eerie presentiment of evil tightening her heart, the second Mrs. de Winter walked in the shadow of her mysterious predecessor, determined to uncover the darkest secrets and shattering truths about Maxim’s first wife—the late and hauntingly beautiful Rebecca.

This special edition of Rebecca includes excerpts from Daphne du Maurier’s The Rebecca Notebook and Other Memories, an essay on the real Manderley, du Maurier’s original epilogue to the book, and more.

Yes, I know this is an oldie, but it is SUCH a wonderful book and movie, and has made so many classic lists, including almost every Best Opening Line list, that I thought it was worth sharing.  Those of you who’ve never had the pleasure of reading any of du Maurier’s fabulous books (Frenchman’s Creek, My Cousin Rachel, The Scapegoat, her short story The Birds, House on the Strand, and others) really should check her out. If you love descriptive writing that puts you in the scene,  you’ll find she’s fantastic. And she does love a wicked twist at the end of her stories, too, which is why Hitchcock starting filming them.

And there you have it for this week. Thanks for playing, everyone! Check in at 8:00am next Friday, 9/20, and see what new famous first line I’ve got for you. Set your alarms, and I’ll see you then!

 

15 thoughts on “#FirstLineFriday Submissions Are Now Closed! Here’s the Answer to Our Quiz, and the Names of Our Winners!”

    • I see subdivisions and all sorts of things named after Maxim de Winters’ estate, Manderley. I thought sure that would give this one away to all five possible winners. But three is still a good day! Sorry it didn’t come to you Denise. It has garnered just about every award out there, and it earned them! At least in my opinion. Hope you’ll read it again one day, just to revel in the language and beauty of the setting, and OMG, that ending! I remember shrieking out loud, and turning pages like mad, thinking that could NOT be the end of this book. But it was. And it was the perfect one, too. 😀

      Next week, I’ll bet you’ll get it. Something within the last decade, perhaps, just to make it more fresh in everyone’s mind. 😀

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  2. I love this book as well. So well written. It has been made into a movie a few times. I can see why you would love it. I always loved Gone With the Wind and when my daughter finally read it, she was appalled at the character Scarlet and couldn´t understand why I liked the book so much. I guess it was good I didn´t name her Scarlet!

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    • I didn’t like Scarlet either, though I did like the book. Some characters just aren’t nice, but they carry the story perfectly. 😀 Glad to meet a fellow fan of Rebecca. I want to be Daphne du Maurier when I grow up. Oh, her writing just sings! 🙂

      Congratulations! 🙂 ❤

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  3. Thanks, Marcia. I love the novel and was convinced I wouldn’t win because we would be many guessing it right, but I’m glad I gave it a go and won with such a wonderful novel. And, of course, I’m looking forward to reading your novel as well!

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    • So glad you went ahead and emailed me. See, you never know. And I hope you’ll enjoy your prize, as well. I’ll never be another du Maurier, but it won’t be for lack of trying. Hahahaha. Thanks for taking part, Olga, and congratulations on winning! 🙂

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  4. Woohoo! I thought I’d left it too late. I read this when I was twelve or thirteen and must have watched the Olivier one at least three times. There was a remake on the TV here several years ago but it didn’t have the same impact as the original. Mrs Danvers is such a deliciously sinister character!
    Thanks for making my day, Marcia! ❤

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    • I’m happy to have made your day, Trish. And how could anyone EVER compete with Olivier, Fontaine, and Dame Judith Anderson (can’t believe I made a typo on her name earlier. Fixed that! I know better!) I’ve seen the movie many times and loved it, even though things were changed. I was going to mention that in the post above, but got distracted and interrupted several times and lost my train of thought. The events of Rebecca’s death and Maxim’s ordeal were changed, but I’m not going into the reasons why, due to not wanting to give anything away for either the book or the film. And NOBODY does evil better than Anderson portraying the horrid Mrs. Danvers. *shudder*

      So glad this made your day! 😀 ❤

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  6. I knew the line immediately, and like you, thought most everyone would have it figured out. Although I’ve seen a movie version of Rebecca, I’ve never read the book. I really need to correct that. I’m sure I’ll b mesmerized cover to cover. Congratulations to the winners!

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    • I always felt like du Maurier dipped her pen into paint and drizzled pictures down the page, like the opening to the old Wonderful World of Disney tv shows. You’ll love her. And she has a WICKED sense of irony and loved nothing better than a last-second twist you were not expecting. Again, these books were written in a different time and place, so social elements are quite different, but that’s not a bad thing to remember, either. And some of her books were set in much earlier times, too. I can honestly say, I never read anything of hers I didn’t love, but Rebecca was the one that topped them all. Hope you get a chance to read it someday. 🙂 (BTW, I have an old, tattered SIGNED copy of Rebecca! It is one of my most prized possessions.)

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