Last Night I Dreamt

<p><b>An intimate, revelatory family biography of the iconic writer Daphne du Maurier, by her eldest surviving grandson</b><br><br>Born into a famous artistic dynasty, Daphne grew up in an atmosphere of bohemian privilege. At a time when girls of her class were not expected to have a career, she defied convention and moved to Cornwall to pursue her ambition to become a writer. There, over six decades, she dreamt up the stories that have sold tens of millions of copies worldwide and still haunt our cultural imagination, including <i>Rebecca, Jamaica Inn </i>and 'The Birds'.<br><br><i>Last Night I Dreamt </i>explores how the turbulence and contradictions of Daphne's own life - spanning war, affairs, and unrequited love - inspired her writing. It also uncovers the powerful influence of her notable forebears, in particular her domineering father Gerald, the most famous actor-manager of his generation, and her grandfather George, a renowned Victorian novelist and cartoonist.<br><br>Paul de Zulueta, Daphne's eldest surviving grandchild, has drawn on private family archives, new interviews and his own memories of his grandmother, a woman who profoundly shaped his life. In doing so, he gives us an extraordinary look into the world of Daphne du Maurier with rare closeness and emotional candour, and a moving portrait of one of the great British artistic families of the 19th and 20th centuries.</p>