Rating: 
Summary: Beautifully read! A Harlequin novel with Class!
Review: Although I am not a fan of Harlequin novels, I am a loyal fan of John Castle. I sought out this novel specifically because he is the reader. The novel is set in Cornwall in the 1700's -- a bored, lonely Lady St. Columb flees city life with her two children and nanny to the country house where she and her husband honeymooned 7 years before. She stumbles upon the hideout of a French pirate who has been plundering her neighbors. She disguises herself as a cabin boy and joins in the fun, outwitting her stuffy neighbors and husband, falling in love with the scoundrel, and saving his life before he is hanged for his bad deeds. Being from a blue-collar working class American family, the custom of having servants is foreign to me. I couldn't understand why this country house, which sat vacant for 7 years, was still staffed with a butler, groom, and gardener. This novel is beautifully read by Mr. Castle, whose change in voice and inflection clearly lets you know which character is talking. He kindly refrains from talking in falsetto for Lady St. Columb! The graphic descriptions of the countryside, the languid pace, and the soliloquies make this an ideal companion for a summer vacation or trip to the shore. It's a refreshing change from the internet abbreviations and shorthand which are becoming standard in writing today. I loved this audiobook and plan to listen to it again and again. This novel was made into a movie in about 1944. Why doesn't someone do a re-make of this? Antonio Banderas would be ideal for the pirate; Kate Winslet for Lady St. Columb. I'll stand in line for a ticket for this one!
Rating:
Summary: Lady Dona's Acceptance of Womanhood
Review: Anyone who feels trapped in a mid-life crisis or just a plain old stagnant existence for a seemingly unendurable amount of time will empathize with Du Maurier's bored and beautiful Dona St. Columb and enjoy her exploits with the man of her escapist dreams, Jean, the pirate master of La Mouette. While the adventure excites and the romance titillates, Du Maurier manages, quite subtly to explore the timeless themes of true freedom versus responsibility and the changing nature of love from its first incendiary spark to the mellow flame of comfortable love of long-time partners.
Do yourself a favor and skip Du Maurier's first chapter---don't get discouraged by it, it is merely a ploy used by the author to suggest the timeless quality of love that lingers off the coast of Cornwall even to the modern day---read this chapter over again after you finish the book and it will lose its old fashioned storyteller's introduction and emit the haunting ghostlike ambiance it was meant to suggest.
Rather than look at this as the tale of an adultress as one of the other reviewers strongly points out, imagine Dona as confused, not yet content enough to live out her days with Harry, the children and the dogs until she has found her own identity and come to terms with who and what she is.
I imagine Du Maurier herself, having such questions whirl around in her own mind as she spun her tales at Menabilly--basically alone in the country while her husband was at war. The adventure of Dona St. Columb speaks of Du Maurier's own sense of restlessness and universally allows all of us to freely associate and commiserate. All of the Du Maurier heroines are trapped in worlds where they are dependent on their strong males counterparts. Du Maurier's portrayals suggest her view of woman's vantage point a dismal one---woman acquiesce; they only find a life when they do.
This is a wonderful story of a young wife who transforms from child to woman in less than 300 pages. She becomes a boy to experience the ultimate freedom that she will never have as a woman. At the end she must return to her her trap, content or discontent to know her place as a woman. I have read 'Frenchman's Creek' and listened to it at least ten times, always taking from it something new as my own life develops. Highly recommended as a real classic romance.
Rating:
Summary: A Fun Escape
Review: Daphne Du Maurier is a talented storyteller. Her word usage is amazing. The plot of the story is okay, but the way the story is told is magical. Hint: The first few pages of the book also serve as the ending.
Rating: 
Summary: Historical Garbage
Review: Daphne DuMaurier's "Frenchman's Creek" stinks to high heaven. The stench only worsens when one considers her other, alarmingly good, novels "Rebecca" and "My Cousin Rachel." The far-fetched plot centers on a young noblewoman bored with the tedium of her marriage. She relocates her children to a family estate in Cornwall, where she begins an affair with the French pirate (!) terrorizing the local landowners. It plays even worse than it sounds. The author has culled the heroine's thoughts and feelings from the worst Victorian melodrama, and expects her readers to accept a barbarous pirate whose description most closely resembles a romantic, twentieth-century, sensitive new-age guy. Fans of Harlequin romances (and yes, there is something wrong with liking Harlequin romances) will thrill at the exploits of our brave heroine. She explores forests and coves alone at night, comes to blows with her husband's best friend, and, of course, leaves her children, dons men's clothes, and becomes a pirate herself. (I won't spoil the surprise by telling you whether or not she remains one, but you're unlikely to care.) Her disinterest in her children makes her worse than unbelievable- it makes her unlikable. Although DuMaurier's prose disappoints, John Castle delivers it well. He never allows his tones to reach the fevered heights of melodrama. However, it takes more than a great classical actor to redeem such unbearable trash.
Rating:
Summary: Historical Garbage
Review: Daphne DuMaurier's "Frenchman's Creek" stinks to high heaven. The stench only worsens when one considers her other, alarmingly good, novels "Rebecca" and "My Cousin Rachel." The far-fetched plot centers on a young noblewoman bored with the tedium of her marriage. She relocates her children to a family estate in Cornwall, where she begins an affair with the French pirate (!) terrorizing the local landowners. It plays even worse than it sounds. The author has culled the heroine's thoughts and feelings from the worst Victorian melodrama, and expects her readers to accept a barbarous pirate whose description most closely resembles a romantic, twentieth-century, sensitive new-age guy. Fans of Harlequin romances (and yes, there is something wrong with liking Harlequin romances) will thrill at the exploits of our brave heroine. She explores forests and coves alone at night, comes to blows with her husband's best friend, and, of course, leaves her children, dons men's clothes, and becomes a pirate herself. (I won't spoil the surprise by telling you whether or not she remains one, but you're unlikely to care.) Her disinterest in her children makes her worse than unbelievable- it makes her unlikable. Although DuMaurier's prose disappoints, John Castle delivers it well. He never allows his tones to reach the fevered heights of melodrama. However, it takes more than a great classical actor to redeem such unbearable trash.
Rating:
Summary: I think this is comparable to Rebecca
Review: I am a Du Maurier fan. I have read almost all of her novels and short stories. I don't know why people say this is not as good as Rebecca. I found the Frenchman's creek as enjoyable as Rebecca or even more so. As in all her stories I found myself living every moment of Dona St. Columb's adventure. I would read it again and again.
Rating: 
Summary: A Creatively Twisted Love Story
Review: I enjoyed this a great deal because it was not the typical historical romantic novel. Although this took place in the 17th century I believe that some in the modern world could relate to Lady St. Columb. It is as though she is having mid-life crises even though she is only near thirty. She has fallen out of love with her husband and is bored with her life in London. She decides that she needs time away from both her husband and London society, so she gathers her children and heads to the family estate in Cornwall. There she finds the peace and quite she has been longing for as well as an adventurous pirate. She and the pirate are instantly attracted to each other. He is everything that she longs for in her life offering her friendship, reckless adventure, fantasy and is without responsibilities. She is torn with having to making decisions with which she will have to live for ever. The story was wonderfully written. I found it hard to feel sorry for Dona because her character is very selfish, thinking only of herself. I felt a bit of compassion for her husband; he was completely clueless to the things that went on around him. The attraction between Dona and The Frenchman was largely based on mental attraction and the love for adventure, which helped ease the disappointment that it lacked lust. It leaves you wondering about physical and truly emotional attraction between Dona and the Frenchman, especially if you are accustomed to reading romance novels. The fact that it deals with adultery makes for an emotional read. I found myself feeling tugged in different directions, wanting her to be with pirate and keeping her family together. It is some what sad that she feels trapped and unhappy with her life. I would only recommend this novel to someone who enjoyed adventure with a bit of romance, but if you are a true lover of romance this book may leave you a little disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: A Creatively Twisted Love Story
Review: I enjoyed this a great deal because it was not the typical historical romantic novel. Although this took place in the 17th century I believe that some in the modern world could relate to Lady St. Columb. It is as though she is having mid-life crises even though she is only near thirty. She has fallen out of love with her husband and is bored with her life in London. She decides that she needs time away from both her husband and London society, so she gathers her children and heads to the family estate in Cornwall. There she finds the peace and quite she has been longing for as well as an adventurous pirate. She and the pirate are instantly attracted to each other. He is everything that she longs for in her life offering her friendship, reckless adventure, fantasy and is without responsibilities. She is torn with having to making decisions with which she will have to live for ever. The story was wonderfully written. I found it hard to feel sorry for Dona because her character is very selfish, thinking only of herself. I felt a bit of compassion for her husband; he was completely clueless to the things that went on around him. The attraction between Dona and The Frenchman was largely based on mental attraction and the love for adventure, which helped ease the disappointment that it lacked lust. It leaves you wondering about physical and truly emotional attraction between Dona and the Frenchman, especially if you are accustomed to reading romance novels. The fact that it deals with adultery makes for an emotional read. I found myself feeling tugged in different directions, wanting her to be with pirate and keeping her family together. It is some what sad that she feels trapped and unhappy with her life. I would only recommend this novel to someone who enjoyed adventure with a bit of romance, but if you are a true lover of romance this book may leave you a little disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: MARVELOUS~~~ctrin@iwvisp.com
Review: I enjoyed this book, the movie, and the audio book that I take along on my trips and I never get tired of listening and reading about the cabinboy and the captain. Real romance. No sex just imagination, which sometimes is better than words.
Rating:
Summary: One of my alltime favorites.
Review: I would like to agree with TLorrie and say that this has been one of my favorite romance novels through the years. It was a very, very romantic book but without the x rated sex and language. I wanted so much to read it again. I've read it 3 times over the last 20 years.
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