The Housekeeper
3499
The Housekeeper
3499
'Daphne du Maurier stole my life.' From enduring bestseller Rose Tremain comes a sweeping and dramatic story of secret love and a bold imagining of how a Classic novel came to be written 'A sweeping, atmospheric story of forbidden love, power and privilege' ERIN KELLY 'Exquisitely drawn, poignant and devastating' STACEY HALLS 'An absolute masterclass' CLAIRE LYNCH 'She lifted me high, high up into another world, and then let me fall . . . Daphne du Maurier stole my life.' A dramatic story of forbidden love, from enduring bestseller Rose Tremain Mrs Danowski - known as Danni - is the housekeeper of a grand mansion on the wild coast of Cornwall. When glamorous young writer Daphne du Maurier visits Manderville Hall to research her new novel, she and Danni are drawn into a clandestine and intoxicating affair. For Danni, it is an all-consuming love; for Daphne a submission to long-suppressed desires. But their fragile secret is vulnerable to prying eyes and destined for heartbreak. When Daphne's novel launches to triumphant success, Danni is distraught to find herself transformed into a malign and jealous character on the page. She seeks respite from the hurt by telling her own story: The Housekeeper. What unforeseen encounters, what forbidden feelings can inspire a writer? With flair and panache, Rose Tremain has invented the story of how a great novel of the past came into being and in turn creates a masterwork of her own.
'An absolute masterclass in character and style. The Housekeeper is a novel of patient observation and irresistible passion all at once. Just as this novel grows from between the lines of another, so we see the great layering of Tremain’s writing. It is, in some ways, a book of half-lived lives. It is also a book of what can be imagined, the possibilities of desires followed, ambitions pursued' * Claire Lynch, author of A Family Matter *
‘A sweeping, atmospheric story of forbidden love, power and privilege. The Housekeeper shines a devastating light on one of the most iconic characters in twentieth-century fiction and the nature of authorship itself. A must-read for all du Maurier fans’ * Erin Kelly, author of The Night Stairs *
'It takes a brave author to reimagine Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca. Luckily, Rose Tremain is more than up to the task… thrilling' * The Times, *Autumn Picks of 2026* *
This brilliant construction is a Rubik’s Cube that yields multiple meanings while Tremain, a master storyteller, keeps the reader compelled * Financial Times *
[The Housekeeper is] arguably as compelling as the original * Country Life *
Melancholy, moving and cinematic * Daily Mail *
Rich in gothic atmosphere, betrayal and longing, this is an absorbing, beautifully written reimagining that will especially resonate with readers and fans of Rebecca * Woman *
What makes Tremain such a master of narrative is the palpable joy she takes in the act of creation. There’s an almost childlike relish to her world-building and a glorious freedom to her imagination. Approaching her fiction in a spirit of pure play, she conjures a world so sensory and atmospheric it completely ensnares the reader * The Times *
Tremain…shares her [Hilary Mantel’s] ability to evoke time and place with specific and tactile details… For those previously unfamiliar with du Maurier’s biography…The Housekeeper will certainly change hour they read Rebecca * Times Literary Supplement *
Details
ISBN13: 9781784745929
Format: Paperback / softback
Number of Pages: 320
Edition:
Publication Date: 22 Sep 2026
Publisher: Vintage Publishing
Publication City, Country: London, United Kingdom
Dimensions (cm): 23.4(H)x15.6(L)x2.4(W)395
Weight (gm): 395
Author Biography
Rose Tremain's novels and short stories have been published in thirty countries and have won many awards, including the Orange Prize (The Road Home), the Dylan Thomas Award (The Colonel's Daughter and Other Stories), the Whitbread Novel of the Year (Music & Silence) the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and France's Prix Femina (Sacred Country), and the South Bank Sky Arts Award (The Gustav Sonata). Her most recent novel is Absolutely and Forever (2023), which was a Sunday Times Book of the Year. The Housekeeper is currently in production as a major film, directed by Richard Eyre, with script by Tremain, and starring Anthony Hopkins and Helena Bonham Carter. Rose Tremain was made a CBE in 2007 and a Dame in 2020. She lives in Norfolk and London with the biographer, Richard Holmes.Reviews
'Exquisitely drawn, poignant and devastating. Rose Tremain is masterful in her depiction of a summer romance, and how a shared experience can be so utterly different for the people involved' * Stacey Halls, author of The Familiars *'An absolute masterclass in character and style. The Housekeeper is a novel of patient observation and irresistible passion all at once. Just as this novel grows from between the lines of another, so we see the great layering of Tremain’s writing. It is, in some ways, a book of half-lived lives. It is also a book of what can be imagined, the possibilities of desires followed, ambitions pursued' * Claire Lynch, author of A Family Matter *
‘A sweeping, atmospheric story of forbidden love, power and privilege. The Housekeeper shines a devastating light on one of the most iconic characters in twentieth-century fiction and the nature of authorship itself. A must-read for all du Maurier fans’ * Erin Kelly, author of The Night Stairs *
'It takes a brave author to reimagine Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca. Luckily, Rose Tremain is more than up to the task… thrilling' * The Times, *Autumn Picks of 2026* *
This brilliant construction is a Rubik’s Cube that yields multiple meanings while Tremain, a master storyteller, keeps the reader compelled * Financial Times *
[The Housekeeper is] arguably as compelling as the original * Country Life *
Melancholy, moving and cinematic * Daily Mail *
Rich in gothic atmosphere, betrayal and longing, this is an absorbing, beautifully written reimagining that will especially resonate with readers and fans of Rebecca * Woman *
What makes Tremain such a master of narrative is the palpable joy she takes in the act of creation. There’s an almost childlike relish to her world-building and a glorious freedom to her imagination. Approaching her fiction in a spirit of pure play, she conjures a world so sensory and atmospheric it completely ensnares the reader * The Times *
Tremain…shares her [Hilary Mantel’s] ability to evoke time and place with specific and tactile details… For those previously unfamiliar with du Maurier’s biography…The Housekeeper will certainly change hour they read Rebecca * Times Literary Supplement *