Rebecca: Daphne Du Maurier

The novel begins in Monte Carlo, where a naive young woman with a very low self esteem is swept off her feet and into marriage by the dashing widower Maxim de Winter. Orphaned and working as a lady's maid, she can barely believe her luck. It is only when they arrive at his massive country estate that she realizes how large a shadow his late wife will cast over their lives - presenting her with a lingering evil that threatens to destroy their marriage from beyond the grave. Maxim de Winter's first wife - the beautiful, charming, sophisticated and dead Rebecca - was everything his shy new bride is not. At every turn, the new Mrs de Winter is reminded of this and especially by the sinister, Rebecca-obsessed housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers - yet what is the truth of Rebecca?