My Cousin Rachel
Orphaned at an early age, Philip Ashley is raised by his benevolent older cousin, Ambrose. Resolutely single, Ambrose delights in Philip as his heir, a man who will love his grand home as much as he does himself. But the cosy world the two construct is shattered when Ambrose sets off on a trip to Florence. There he falls in love and marries - and there he dies suddenly. In almost no time at all, the new widow - Philip's cousin Rachel - turns up in England. Despite himself, Philip is drawn to this beautiful, sophisticated, mysterious woman like a moth to the flame. And yet ...might she have had a hand in Ambrose's death?
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Also by Daphne du Maurier
What you might want to know about My Cousin Rachel
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Philip Ashley's cousin and guardian Ambrose dies abroad of a sudden illness, after letters that hint his beautiful new wife Rachel may be poisoning him. When she arrives in Cornwall, Philip plans to hate her. He does not.
Yes. Multiple film adaptations exist, including a 1952 version starring Olivia de Havilland and Richard Burton, and a 2017 version directed by Roger Michell starring Rachel Weisz and Sam Claflin. Both preserve the novel's central ambiguity about Rachel.
Yes. Both novels by Daphne du Maurier center on a charming woman whose past may hide something sinister, told from a male narrator's perspective. Rebecca is more famous; My Cousin Rachel is shorter and more contained.
My Cousin Rachel was written by Daphne du Maurier, published in 1900 by Pan.
My Cousin Rachel is 348 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, My Cousin Rachel takes most readers 5 to 8 hours to finish.
My Cousin Rachel is a standalone novel by Daphne du Maurier, not part of a series.
My Cousin Rachel is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
