If you enjoy reading and discussing the works of Daphne du Maurier, join our email list or join us for a meeting.
President
Shirley Kinney
University of Toronto
Vice President
Leonard Cox
Columbia University
Secretary/Treasurer
Charlene Howell
Dallas
Historian
Wallis Kinney
Purdue University
2021 - Don't Look Now & The Scapegoat
2022 - My Cousin Rachel & A Border-Line Case
2023 - Come Wind, Come Weather & The Breaking Point
2024 - The Rendezvous and other stories
2025 - The Birds & Jamaica Inn
For valuable research and insights into the author's life and works and events in the UK visit www.dumaurier.org.
The Fowey Festival of Arts and Literature in Cornwall highlights the works of Daphne du Maurier. The Festival is scheduled for May 7-15, 2021 and several of our members are planning on attending.
For more information visit
The Folio Society has released an exciting new edition of the classic novel befitting of the pyschological thriller. Black and white images by D. G. Smith and introduction by Helen Dunmore.
https://www.foliosociety.com/usa/rebecca.html
Ever want to run away from your life? Daphne du Maurier exposes the possible outcome of embarking on such a scheme in our 2021 Novel Study, The Scapegoat. The story begins with a British teacher on holiday in France who meets his exact double: a French aristocrat who tricks him into swapping lives. Apparently, one of Daphne du Maurier's favorite novels growing up was The Prisoner of Zenda, which may have served as inspiration for her story. Join us on March 14, 2021 for an in-depth discussion of the novel with University of Dallas Professor Sarah Berry.
1:00 pm - 3:00 pm.
Our Dinner and a Movie Night will feature the 2012 production of The Scapegoat starring Matthew Rhys. This adaptation departs from the novel, but du Maurier's dark, psychological overtones are maintained. The movie is well-acted and the set design is spectacular, if you care about such things. For dinner we will stay true to the novel and serve French cuisine from La Madeleine. A speaker will lead a discussion of the novel's two adaptations.
6:00 pm - 8:30 pm.
In honor of Daphne du Maurier's birthday (May 13th), we suggest you enjoy your favorite novel or movie adaptation from the comfort of your home.
After The Scapegoat, Daphne du Maurier continued to explore the 'dark side' of human nature in many of her short stories. Don't Look Now, our 2021 Short Story Study, is a tightly-woven tale where the reader is always one step behind the narrator. Join our discussion of the story......and you will forever think twice about wearing a red coat.
1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
The Dallas Angelika Movie Theater will once again be hosting Hitchcocktober. The particular Hitchcock adaptations have not been chosen yet but one of Daphne du Maurier's stories is almost always included. Details will be available in due course.
Our November meeting will consist of another Dinner and a Movie night. Nicolas Roeg directed Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie in the 1973 adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's Don't Look Now. The film, considered by some to be one of the best "thrillers" made, also contains one of the earliest graphic sex scenes in cinema, which caused quite the controversy at the time. Keeping with the Venice location, Italian food and desserts will be served. Discussion of the adaptation will follow.
6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Join us for our annual Christmas in Cornwall Luncheon (held in Dallas, Texas rather than Fowey, unfortunately). One of Daphne du Maurier's plays, The Years Between , will be reviewed by Oral Historian and playwright Leonard Cox. The story revolves around the wife of a British MP who learns her husband has been killed in the second world war. Just as she is coming to grips with her loss, preparing to marry a neighboring farmer and taking up her late husband’s seat in parliament, he turns up alive. Now, her husband expects her to return to her housewifely duties, but everything has changed. The discussion will no doubt be vigorous.
Noon - 2:30 pm
The final meeting of the Society’s year was a socially-distanced gathering of only a few members. Professor Theresa Kenney delighted us with a talk on her comparative analysis of Rebecca, Jane Eyre, and Crime and Punishment, with a particular focus on the heroines’ varying reactions to the confession of crime from the man they love. During our first meeting of the year, one of our members shared her personal correspondence with Daphne du Maurier from many years ago, in which the author wrote that one of her favorite stories was The Brothers Karamazov. How fitting, then, to end the year exploring the Russian literature that may have inspired her. Dr. Kenney’s talk was (as always) insightful and deeply engaging, and we are grateful to have spent an afternoon learning from her. To cap off our rather unconventional year, we toasted Daphne du Maurier with glasses of Dubonnet and hoped that next year would offer the opportunity to safely gather more of our members together. Next year we will focus on The Scapegoat and Don’t Look Now, two stories sure to spark interesting conversation.
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