1951 •
335 pages • Virago
This is
my fourth du Maurier novel, and whilst not my favourite, My Cousin
Rachel upholds the trademark gloomy atmosphere so familiar with her
novels. The story follows Philip Ashley, a young bachelor who is heir to his
cousin Ambrose's estate in Cornwall. Ambrose travels to Italy one winter to
nurse his health and whilst staying in Florence meets Rachel, a widowed
Countess, whom he marries. So far so good, right? Meanwhile, Philip is back in
Blighty while all this is happening and learns everything through Ambrose's
letters, which as time goes on become increasingly less frequent. Why? It turns
out Ambrose is dying of the same ailment which killed his father, and after his
death Rachel comes to Cornwall to pay her respects to dead husband's heir.
Now,
already there's a sense of something going on here and Philip totally picks up
on this vibe, instantly disliking Rachel before he has even met her. But as it
turns out, Philip is putty in Rachel's little hands (she actually has really
small hands and Philip has this strange fetish towards them which is kind of
weird), and his dislike of her grows in to fascination, and ultimately,
obsession. The first half, even the first two-thirds of the novel is pretty
slow, admittedly. Not very much seems to happen and I think this is done
purposely to throw emphasis on the psychological and emotional development of
the characters. Kudos to du Maurier because this novel is all about the
suspense, yet unlike Rebecca or Jamaica Inn, My Cousin
Rachel for me lacked that ultimate 'shocker' moment.
The
question behind Rachel's motives is left out in the open. The suspense never
explodes despite the build-up. If anything, it gradually diffuses up until the
final scene, leaving The Big Question deliberately ambiguous. Maybe it's needy
of me to say I wanted to know, absolutely, the truth behind Rachel's character
but in this case, I did. There was just too much doubt and uncertainty for me
to make my mind up on my own.
The whole
story felt like it had an oppressive weight looming over it much to the point
where it was like I was reading a black and white film noir. I don't see this
as a bad thing; I actually think it does justice to the power of du Maurier's
writing. Yet there were times, more often than not, where I found Philip to be
both annoying and downright stupid. He is constantly compared to behaving like
a child, even in his own first-person narration. I can see where his
frustration vents from his own confusion and emotional turmoil, but he's so
blindly love sick that it made me want to smack him upside the head.
As for
Rachel, even now I'm not sure what to make of her. Did I like her? She's got
too much hiding beneath the surface for me to definitely say. I didn't
completely dislike her, but there's a complexity about her which made me what
to scream for Philip to run like the wind. That being said, her mysterious
presence is very du Maurier-esque and for any fellow fans of du Maurier then
you should give this a go. Sadly, I was left kicking myself that I didn't like
this more.
Overall rating: 3 stars