|
|
Born: 1907
Died: 1989
Cornwall’s most famous novelist, by far is Daphne du Maurier who came to Fowey in 1926 with her family. Their home was a Swiss style cottage named Ferryside, close to the Bodinnick Ferry, and it was here that Daphne wrote her first novel “The Loving Spirit”.
During one of her walks from Ferryside to the other side of Fowey, Daphne discovered a property called Menabilly that provided an enormous amount of inspiration for her writing and the house appears in various guises in much of her work.
Published in 1936, “Jamaica Inn” relies on Cornwall’s rich history of the sea and shipwrecks, as well as the atmospheric Bodmin Moor for inspiration. Today Jamaica Inn (dating back to 1789) is a thriving and popular tourist attraction and is situated halfway between Bodmin and Launceston.
“Frenchman’s Creek”, published in 1941 was set against the beautiful backdrop of the Helford River, the area where Daphne du Maurier spent her honeymoon and is the story of the heroine Dona St Columb’s love affair with a French Pirate.
Many of Daphne’s books are blends of fact and fiction often set in historical periods, she used the places she knew and loved as the settings against which to set her stories. Her book “Vanishing Cornwall” will stand as a lasting tribute to one woman’s love of Cornwall for many years to come.
|
|
|
