Daphne du Maurier Daphne du Maurier Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, (; 13 May 1907 – 19 April 1989) was an English author and playwright. Although she is classed as a romantic novelist, her stories have been described as "moody and resonant" with overtones of the paranormal. Her bestselling works were not at first taken seriously by critics, but have since earned an enduring reputation for narrative craft. Many have been successfully adapted into films, including the novels "Rebecca", "My Cousin Rachel", and "Jamaica Inn", and the short stories "The Birds" and "Don't Look Now/Not After Midnight". Du Maurier spent much of
Daphne du Maurier "Trilby". Her elder sister, Angela du Maurier, also became a writer, and her younger sister Jeanne was a painter. Du Maurier's family connections helped her establish her literary career, and she published some of her early work in Beaumont's "Bystander" magazine. Her first novel, "The Loving Spirit," was published in 1931. Du Maurier was also a cousin of the Llewelyn Davies boys, who served as J. M. Barrie's inspiration for the characters in the play "Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up". As a young child, Du Maurier met many prominent theatre actors, thanks to the celebrity of