NEVER OUT OF PRINT

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, 1938

We asked Susanna Winters which book she wishes she’d bought at auction, money no object. She chose a first edition of Daphne du Maurier’s best- selling fifth novel, Rebecca, ‘a study in jealousy’ according to the author, which sold for £1,400 at the auction house last July (est £800–£1,200). ‘I was enthralled by this book from the first time I read it as a teenager, with its brilliant opening line, “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again”,’ says Susanna. ‘It was my mother’s favourite, too, and this year, when holidaying in Cornwall, we walked in Du Maurier’s footsteps at Polridmouth Cove below Menabilly, where she lived for many years, and which is believed to be the inspiration for the beach that features in Rebecca. The book is a classic which most likely will continue to appreciate in value.’ The initial print run was 20,000 but within a month Rebecca had sold twice that number. It remains her best-loved book.