Rebecca

Excerpts detail the tumultuous early marriage of the protagonist to Maxim de Winter, the wealthy owner of the grand estate Manderley, following the mysterious death of his first wife, Rebecca. The narrative establishes the protagonist's feelings of inadequacy and shyness, compounded by the constant, pervasive presence of Rebecca's memory and the open hostility of the housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers. Events escalate quickly after the protagonist is tricked by Mrs. Danvers into wearing a replica of Rebecca's dress to a fancy-dress ball, leading to Maxim's extreme anger and a devastating confrontation about his continued unhappiness. This tension culminates when the discovery...