An agreeable miscellany of minor du Maurier: 15 early stories (previously collected only in paperback), ten bits of family history and personal memoir, three poems, and a few pages of working notes for the novel Rebecca. As for this "Rebecca Notebook," du Maurier's chatty introduction says it best: "Perhaps the reader may care to compare it, and the original epilogue, with the published novel. If not, never mind. Skip through it, then turn to my early stories!" These are mostly mini-melodramas, many of them reflecting the era's pervasive Maugham influence: a matinee idol is shaken by a visit from an old flame who looks her age; an employee recognizes his boss' fiancÉe as a shady lady; a thief-prostitute tells her life story; a star actress manipulates a puritanical producer, sabotaging a threateningly good actor; a clergyman, envious of a young colleague's charisma, takes hypocritical revenge; an aging writer, infatuated with a girl and jealous of her lover, transcends this situation through his art; a gigolo-ish lover two-times his clinging mistress. . . . Heavy ironies, one or two maudlin embarrassments, some wretched prose ("Subconsciously, in the depth of her being. . .")—but the storytelling knack is there, especially in a charmer about the "dullest man" in town and his wild transformation. Rather less diverting are bland biographical sketches of novelist-grandpa George du Maurier and actor-father Gerald. And only a few flickers of wit enliven musings on fame ("anticlimax"), romantic love ("an illusion"), religion, telepathy ("neglect of this sixth sense has contributed to our problems throughout the ages"), widowhood, moving, and loneliness. Part pure fluff, part inspirational—a friendly, unpretentious du Maurier grab-bag.
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1980
ISBN: 0385158858
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1980
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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