The Birds And Other Stories

Description

FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF REBECCA With an Introduction by 'Britain's most sophisticated film critic' (The Times), David Thomson 'A remarkable imagination continually provokes both pity and terror' OBSERVER 'One of the last century's most original literary talents' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'She wrote exciting plots .. a writer of fearless originality' GUARDIAN 'How long he fought with them in the darkness he could not tell, but at last the beating of the wings about him lessened and then withdrew ... ' A classic of alienation and horror, The Birds was immortalised by Hitchcock in his celebrated film. The five other chilling stories in this collection echo a sense of dislocation and mock man's sense of dominance over the natural world. The mountain paradise of 'Monte Verita' promises immortality, but at a terrible price; a neglected wife haunts her husband in the form of an apple tree; a professional photographer steps out from behind the camera and into his subject's life; a date with a cinema usherette leads to a walk in the cemetery; and a jealous father finds a remedy when three's a crowd ...

Daphne du Maurier (1907-1989) was born in London, England. In 1931 her first novel, The Loving Spirit was published. A biography of her father and three other novels followed, but it was the novel Rebecca that launched her into the literary stratosphere and made her one of the most popular authors of her day. In 1932, du Maurier married Major Frederick Browning with whom she had three children. Many of du Maurier's bestselling novels and short stories were adapted into award-winning films, including Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds and Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now. In 1969, du Maurier was awarded the Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (DBE). She lived most of her life in Cornwall and died there which is the setting for many of her books.

Building from an almost pastoral scene of autumnal Cornwall, this carefully realistic story builds into unfathomable horror - The Guardian