The Housekeeper

Daphne du Maurier stole my life.

From enduring bestseller Rose Tremain comes a sweeping and dramatic story of secret love and a bold imagining of how a classic novel came to be written.

Daphne du Maurier stole my life.

Mrs Danowski – known as Danni – is the housekeeper of a grand house on the wild coast of Cornwall. When a glamorous young writer, Daphne du Maurier, visits Manderville Hall to research her new novel, she and Danni are drawn into a clandestine and intoxicating affair.

For Danni, it is an all-consuming love; for Daphne, a submission to long-suppressed desires. But their fragile secret is vulnerable to prying eyes and destined for heartbreak. When Daphne's novel launches to triumphant success, Danni is distraught to find herself transformed into a malign and jealous character on the page. She seeks respite from the hurt by telling her own story – The Housekeeper.

What unforeseen encounters, what forbidden feelings can inspire a writer? With flair and panache, Rose Tremain has invented the story of how a great novel of the past came into being and in turn creates a masterwork of her own.