THE STORY: The play unfolds the story of Rebecca, Maxim de Winter’s first wife, whom the audience never meets. The action takes place in the living room of Maxim’s estate, Manderley, where he brings his second wife, a sincere young girl. The new Mrs. de Winter, knowing nothing of Rebecca, strives to penetrate the mystery of the impalpable presence of her husband’s first wife and assume her rightful position as mistress of Manderley. There is, however, the sinister Mrs. Danvers, Rebecca’s housekeeper, who refuses to allow the new Mrs. de Winter to take the place of Rebecca. It is Mrs. Danvers who induces Mrs. de Winter to wear at a fancy dress ball the costume Rebecca had worn the year before. But the sight of her in Rebecca’s costume arouses painful thoughts in Maxim, and he turns on her in a towering rage. His wife, utterly bewildered, decides she can no longer cope with the mystery that surrounds Rebecca, and since she loves Maxim she is completely perplexed. A climax is reached by the discovery of Rebecca’s body in the sea, where she had been supposedly drowned. The bride becomes a pillar of strength for her husband, who reveals the tragic story of his first marriage and admits the love he has for his bride, a love he never felt for Rebecca. The drama rises to a climax, involving a police investigation and attempted blackmail, but because Maxim and his wife face the future with confidence the drama ends on a note of triumph.
The author’s stage version of her famous novel.
