I shall be off-grid for a couple of weeks from tomorrow as I take a holiday in Cornwall (yes, Cornwall again!). This time I'm staying in Fowey (pronounced Foy), in "Daphne du Maurier Country". It's a favourite place of ours and I'm looking forward to walking in the locations where she set many of her books.
I have chosen a novel set in Cornwall to read while we're there - The Death of Mrs Westaway, by Ruth Ware. I have to confess that I've already started reading it and so far, it's really good (review to follow when I get back).
I might also take along a couple of Daphne du Maurier favourites, perhaps House on the Strand (a fascinating story, if you've not read it) which is set nearby to Fowey, or even her most famous book, Rebecca. I was intrigued to hear that Netflix were filming a new version of this classic story last month, starring Lily James. Even more exciting was that they'd chosen the same location as two of the Esme Quentin books are set - Hartland Quay in North Devon!
But, I digress. Back to Cornwall.... Daphne du Maurier was a favourite author of my late mum and some years ago I bought a copy of Enchanted Cornwall with her in mind when we were staying in Polperro, a beautiful Cornish village a little further along the coast.
Enchanted Cornwall was written by the author herself and is subtitled, Her Pictorial Memoir. It's full of photographs of the locations of her books, and in it she explains the reasons for her choices as well as the inspiration behind the stories. I've just reminded myself what a fascinating book it is and decided to take that along too - it will be a handy reference guide to the places we plan to visit while we're away.
So... see you in a couple of weeks!
