Little Beauties

Ok, I've been mulling this over for a few days now and I've given up.  I've finished reading 'The Doll', a recently published collection of rediscovered Daphne Du Maurier short stories and I've tried to find a funny or clever way to say what I think of it, but, to be brutally honest, I don't think there is one.  So here goes.  I absolutely loved this book.

'The Doll: Short Stories'
by Daphne Du Maurier
(Published 2011
by Virago Press)

I've been gradually working my way through Du Maurier's books for a few years now and, assuming this project goes to plan, quite a few more will eventually feature in this blog.  I don't like to rush it when I find an author I like who has passed away, I work on the theory that they won't be producing anything new any time soon, so it's better to savour each work one at a time rather than gobbling them up and getting cognitive indigestion.  Du Maurier's work has been described as 'Romantic Gothic' and, so far, I've got to admit I've preferred her when she's being more Gothic than Romantic.  That's probably why I found 'Frenchman's Creek' a bit dull, but loved 'The King's General' and, of course, 'Rebecca'.

If, unlike me, you prefer the wild, romantic Du Maurier, then you probably won't get as much enjoyment out of 'The Doll' as I did.  This is a collection of some of her earlier, 'lost' short stories published in her early twenties and you can feel the influence of earlier gothic novelists, such as the Brontes, throughout.  Every story is a well observed, reflective exploration of often warped or dying relationships and unpleasant identities.  There's an amoral vicar, men who get what they want then leave the women they loved behind, selfish social climbers who don't realise they're selfish social climbers, people who react to every 'sign' when making decisions and those who ignore even the most obvious ones.

This is also a fascinating collection because you get the feeling that Du Maurier was finding her voice when writing these stories.  She tries different perspectives, styles and narrative devices, making this a real must-read for anyone interested in creative writing or English Literature.

Really, my only niggle is that I felt the collection was named after perhaps its weakest inclusion.  Although the idea behind 'The Doll' was interesting, I felt that it really wasn't the best of the stories included here and was perhaps only included because of its rather ambiguous plot and the fact it features a young man obsessed with a girl called Rebecca.  Certainly, this story won't be the reason I re-read the book again in the future.

Now my enthusiasm has been restored after the moderate disappointment of 'Frenchman's Creek', I can't wait to get back to some Du Maurier later in the year.  Just as well really, I've got another 17 of her other books to go!