Past Events
Our past events have been delightful. If you have something to add, please contact the Society Historian by clicking below.
Sunday, May 19, 2024 - The Blue Lenses
The Daphne du Maurier Society of North America held its annual reading retreat at Higgins Lake, Michigan on Sunday, August 4, 2024 at 2:30 pm. The afternoon was filled with discussion of "The Blue Lenses".
Saturday, December 2, 2023 - The Plants & Poisons in My Cousin Rachel
Our annual Christmas in Cornwall Luncheon featured Daphne du Maurier Society President, Shirley Kinney, Ph.D. Dr. Kinney discussed poisons of the past in her review of the various herbs and plants in Daphne du Maurier's My Cousin Rachel . Dr, Kinney argued that the author possessed an extensive knowledge of flora and fauna and used this knowledge intentionally - placing specfic flowers and plants for specific literary purposes. We are now anxious to re-read the other works to see what clues Daphne du Maurier may be leaving in the vegetation in those stories! The luncheon that followed was delicious (fried chicken and sweet potatoe casserole with apple crisp for dessert) and the discussion vigorous.. Everyone who attended was delighted to receive a "You have been poisoned" tea cup.
2023 Christmas Luncheon -
Saturday, September 16, 2023 - The Breakthrough
With eternity assured, the human being on earth is more easily expendable.” Now that's not something you read every day!
Univeristy of Dallas scholar, Sarah Berry, Ph.D. brilliantly reviewed our 2023 Short Story Study - The Breakthrough. The story involves a child who may have access to her dead twin’s life energy, a terminal cancer patient willing to donate his, and the real dilemma of the story arising after the death has occurred. Daphne du Maurier's construct of various weak and odd characters at the center of a life-altering experiment is, in itself, a brilliant literary technique - sci-fi or otherwise.
Sunday, July 23, 2023 - Michigan Retreat
"Writers Should Be Read" - Reading Retreat in Michigan
On Sunday, July 23rd, Michigan members gathered at Higgins Lake to discuss Du Maurier’s short story The Breakthrough. We snacked on doughnuts and drank lemonade as we began by introducing ourselves and sharing our general thoughts on the story. This was the first opportunity for some of our members who live away from the Dallas area to meet in person, and it was a delight to discuss our favorite author while sitting at the same table. The Breakthrough, in which scientists try to discover if there is life after death, was as polarizing for members as it seems to have been for its initial critics. Some of our members thought the characters were playing God; some felt the science-fiction tone was a departure for the author. Others really enjoyed the story, with one member explaining all the various ways Daphne du Maurier used allusions to Greek mythology to flesh out the atmosphere and foreshadow events. We all wished to know more about the author's views on religion and the afterlife. There was a lively discussion about the advancement of technology in our lives today, specifically the encroachment of artificial intelligence. The story depicts several pieces of sci-fi machinery, but some of the technology that seemed like huge scientific breakthroughs in the story, such as computers that speak in a human voice, are commonplace today. Perhaps the other breakthroughs described within its pages are right around the corner? We are hopeful that our scientists are better prepared to deal with the consequences of their discoveries than the researchers in The Breakthrough. Overall, the meeting was a great success and all agreed that it should become an annual event. If you find yourself in the northern Michigan area next July, please join us. Details for next year’s meeting will be forthcoming.
Saturday, May 13, 2023
Members gathered together on ZOOM from all over the world to hear a presentation by member Jude Brooks entitled "The Duality of Daphne". Jude, speaking from Fowey in Cornwall, guided us beautifully through the history (and complexity) of the du Maurier family and the many layers of Daphne du Maurier's personality and life. Jude drew several clear and intriguing parallels between events in Daphne's life and some of the themes dealt with in her stories. It was just a splendid way to spend an afternoon.
The post-lecture Q&A brought questions from Nikki, Len, Charlene, Theresa, Chris and many others. We all left convinced that Frenchman's Creek deserves a re-read since Jude holds it in such high esteem.
For all of you lucky enough to be at the Fowey Festival - enjoy it for all of us!
For those of you lucky enough to be in Samantha Mabry's writing class in Santa Fe - we are envious beyond measure.
Hope to see everyone in September for "The Breakthrough".
Sunday, February 19th, 2023
Members gathered together on February 19th to hear a presentation by member Chris Peirson on Anthony Hope's The Prisoner of Zenda and the genre it birthed: Ruritanian romance. We had learned while reading Daphne du Maurier's The Scapegoat in 2021 that one of the inspirations for her doppelgänger tale was The Prisoner of Zenda. In November of 2022, we watched one of the many film adaptations of Anthony Hope's novel and Chris Peirson, our resident expert on Ruritanian romance, led an insightful question and answer session. She graciously agreed to further contribute her knowledge on the subject to our society by giving a talk on The Prisoner of Zenda for us this year. Chris led us through the fascinating details of Anthony Hope's process and inspiration (which was rather unusual in that he wrote his first draft in only a month after having been struck with inspiration while on a walk in London), as well as the major themes of the story (some of which are quite subtle and were seemingly overlooked by its later adaptors). Chris also discussed behind-the-scenes happenings of the several stage and film adaptations of the novel. Although The Prisoner of Zenda appears to be quite different in tone from Daphne du Maurier's oeuvre, one can see that many of the story's elements (doppelgängers, mistaken identities, secret plots, and treacherous families, to name a few) also feature in Daphne du Maurier's works, in which she makes them her own. Focusing on a work that inspired our favorite author was an interesting way to better understand her work, and we anticipate the inclusion of other stories and genres that influenced Daphne du Maurier in our future meetings.