What podcasts are you listening to?

Yesterday I listened to an old episode from the BBC Radio 4 Book Club. It was originally broadcast on the 1st of June 2003 and was recorded in Cornwall in the bosom of the Daphne Du Maurier literary festival. The featured author was Sally Beauman and they were discussing her book Rebecca’s Tale and of course Du Maurier’s wonderful Rebecca.

I have had Rebecca’s Tale on my bookshelf for quite some time but haven’t quite got to it yet. Listening to this podcast has most certainly bumped it up my tbr list though. Rebecca is one of my favourite books of all time. It is one that I often return to. I’ve at least two different, well thumbed, editions on my bookshelf and have also listened to the audiobook and watched numerous adaptations on stage and screen. Just like Beauman, I have never seen the story as a romance (which it has often been promoted as such) but as a dark mystery with strong female characters at the heart. Rebecca herself, the black widow who charms everyone into falling in love with her, Mrs Danvers, formidable housekeeper and a woman driven mad by her love and desire for Rebecca. Mrs de Winter, the hapless heroine of the story whose strength comes as her husbands weakness shows. Listening to Sally Beauman discuss both hers and Du Maurier’s stories with James Naughtie and the book clubbers, has given me pause for thought on this much loved and revisited story.

I have always been fascinated by how Du Maurier created such an imposing character in Rebecca. The one character whose voice we only hear through other people. Of course the new Mrs de Winter is the narrator of Rebecca and so the story itself is very one sided with only her interpretation of events as she experiences them and as they are presented to her. She is a little frustrating as a character – I think that is universally agreed – but she does find her strength as the story grows. Or does she? This podcast certainly made me question everything I have thought about hers and Maxim’s version of events. Is she just a fool deeply in love and blind to the fact that her husband killed his first wife in cold blood? Was Rebecca really the devil he portrayed her to be?

This podcast has reminded me of the pure brilliance of Du Maurier’s writing and her intellect. It has also made me want to revisit the story again, this time with fresh eyes as I consider different meanings to the story I have read so many times. I am also very much looking forward to reading Sara Beauman’s Rebecca’s Tale to throw other voices into the mix. I wonder just where the story will take me now? I can’t wait to find out.

I listened to The BBC Radio 4 Book Club on Spotify and the episode was first aired in June 2003.