Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating romantic mystery
Review: After seeing the movie (which is, for some reason, not available on video last time I checked) and reading the book, I recently listened to an excellent audiobook version of My Cousin Rachel, narrated by Jonathan Pryce. I actually like this story even more than Du Maurier's better known Rebecca. The novel is told from the standpoint of Philip, a self-centered and inexperienced man of twenty-four. It is a challenge to have a story told by a very flawed narrator, but it makes things more interesting if it's done well, as it is here. Philip was raised by his older cousin Ambrose, who dies shortly after marrying the mysterious Rachel. Rachel comes to the estate, which is soon to be in Philip's possession. He initially blames Rachel for Ambrose's death, but almost immediately falls under her spell. He is soon helplessly in love with her. The rest of the novel is a psychological mystery --is Rachel kind and generous or ruthless and conniving, as Philip first suspected? The genius of My Cousin Rachel is in its two primary characters, Rachel and Philip. The first is the archetypal mysterious, beatiful woman who may be either good or evil. Philip is also a complex and interesting character. Just as the reader becomes exasperated at his naivete and immaturity, we are shown that he is also capable of great love and devotion. His faults, we understand, are due to his background. My Cousin Rachel has a classically English gothic atmosphere (the setting is Cornwall), a la the Bronte novels. It is at once a mystery, a romance and a fascinating psychological study.
Rating:
Summary: Exceptional emotional insight
Review: An astonishing look into the mind of a reckless young man driven close to madness by jealousy and suspicion. Going even deeper than "Rebecca", this book explores the confusing shadow-play of modern romance and its darker side: obsession. The ending is perfect, leaving just the right questions posed and unanswered. I've read this book three times, and I'll surely read it again. Btw, the BBC did the perfect serialization of this book in the 1980s, with Geraldine Chaplin in the title role. How come this isn't available on video?
Rating:
Summary: Exceptional emotional insight
Review: An astonishing look into the mind of a reckless young man driven close to madness by jealousy and suspicion. Going even deeper than "Rebecca", this book explores the confusing shadow-play of modern romance and its darker side: obsession. The ending is perfect, leaving just the right questions posed and unanswered. I've read this book three times, and I'll surely read it again. Btw, the BBC did the perfect serialization of this book in the 1980s, with Geraldine Chaplin in the title role. How come this isn't available on video?
Rating:
Summary: Philip Ashley: Tortured or Torturer?
Review: Before reading this book, you must clear your mind of preceptions inferred by critics insisting that Du Maurier is a writer of romance. First and foremost, Du Maurier writes about murderers. Like Patricia Highsmith, she masterfully allows you to see through their eyes and feel all that they feel regarding the misdeed they contemplate or have already committed. As in most of her male-narrated fictions, you will find yourself so enthralled by the circumstances observed and described that you inadvertantly cheer for and empathize with a protagonist as immoral as Highsmith's Tom Ripley is ammoral.
Philip Ashley is such a creation. Here, you must depart from Richard Burton's 1953 movie version of this character---in the film of the same name, we watch a young and beautiful Burton pout and snarl rather than see the events through his eyes. In the novel, Philip is the product of a woman-free household. He is young, sheltered and almost churlish from his lack of society. Living on a large Cornish estate with his older cousin Ambrose, Philip is groomed in tradition--he will run the Ashley estate and become a magistrate like his cousin before him; he has no need for women fussing about him. In short, he has learned Ambrose's lessons quite well. Imagine his surprise when Ambrose departs for Italy and months later writes back to inform Philip and the staff at the estate that he has taken a wife--a half-Italian distant cousin, Rachel Sangiletti. Compound this surprise with letters received from Ambrose describing a deteriorating health punctuated with headaches, violent outbursts and an apprehensive distrust of his wife's frivilousness with regard to money. When Ambrose suddenly dies, Philip finds himself in a frenzy of his own; his target, the unsuspecting Rachel, newly-arrived in Cornwall with Ambrose's possessions. Prepared to hate her, Philip encounters a woman far different from what he expected. Like his mentor, Ambrose, Philip falls in love with her and similarly follows the road that Ambrose traveled where his misogynic training is turned on its ear. Only when Philip's rosy picture of Rachel is tested by actions Philip doesn't quite understand, does his world cloud with Ambrose's ingrained suspicions.
This novel truely unlocks the door to Philip's mind and emotions. We see only through Philip's point of view; Rachel, although the book is named after her, is a secondary figure--a shadow not quite comprehended by our hero.
This book is definitely recommended to all those who have enjoyed 'Rebecca'--I imagined Rachel to be like Rebecca, knowingly or unknowingly inciting their rather solitary men to committing acts of extreme violence. The wicked question Du Maurier leaves floating around in the reader's mind is this: Are Rebecca and Rachel evil women who justifiably are killed--- or ---are they just women who serve no other good function but to die?
Rating: 
Summary: did she or didn't she????
Review: dapne du maurier's books--all seem to gave tragic shades to them. we see through only phillips eyes--it is his feelings about racheal that form our own. we are curoius about racheal-and when she does arrive in england-we accept her as does phillip. it is not till, he reads the letter from ambrose is he doubtful of her-and not till she plans to leave for italy does suspision root it self firmly in his mind and ours.but phillip is only 25--an age which younge men often let emotions control them---which leads to the tragic end. the queations one asks at the end are -was racheal innocent? we may feel that she was "good"-and phillip himself is not sure if his suspisions were well founded--but the thing is can we be sure?--as this books shows-suspision is indeed the cancer of the mind.
Rating:
Summary: My Cousin Rachel
Review: I usually don't enjoy books written from a male point-of-view, but this one just kept getting better & better. The ending was GREAT! At times, I loved Rachel, &, at times, I hated her.
Rating:
Summary: A Brilliant Read!
Review: My cousin Rachel is a brilliant read! Du Maurier is able to weave a tale with subtle plot twists that leaves the reader to wonder if Rachel was truly good or evil. The foreshadowing is thoughtful and goes nearly undetected. This is the hallmark of an excellent writer! The style of writing in My Cousin Rachel is fluid and descriptive. In short, it is beautifully written. Although written many years ago, Du Murier's tale here is timeless. One is transported into the emotions and thoughts of the characters. Everyone can identify with the vivid depictions of loyalties, affections and doubts that plague as all in our own minds. This is my favourite book by Du Maurier and believe me it does not disappoint.
Rating: 
Summary: three stars
Review: The book was not bad but I think the author wrote too much about the letters which Philip had found. I am sure that the last chapter was the best part of the book. I don't like the part in the middle very much because it was lenghty and quite boring. I found it a little bit sad that Philip hadn't seen his cousin Ambrose before he died. But all in all the story was interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting...
Review: The word Interesting covers a lot of ground. It can mean Unique or Fascinating, and it is a polite way to say you think something is ugly or stupid. I'm not sure completely which definition of Interesting I would use in relation to this book, because it was really weird, and yet it was a good story as well. I think it's one I would need to read several times to really figure out. For someone who is new to Daphne du Maurier, I recommend Rebecca, The House on the Strand, and The King's General. Save this one for when you know you like her strangeness enough to appreciate it regardless of how it is presented.
Rating:
Summary: "...Rachel" is a buried gem sure to fascinate and entertain.
Review: This book (and the 1952 film, with Olivia de Havilland and Richard Burton) have haunted me since I first read the book over 20 years ago. It's a mesmerizing and artful tour de force, building high atmosphere, suspense and intrigue - and using relentless ambiguity. Du Maurier (12 or 13 years after "Rebecca" - and in my opinion the added maturity shows in more complex characters, circumstances and moral nuances) masterfully spins her tale, weaving in vivid images of a warm and fertile Italy contrasted against those of a cool green England with an economy of description. A naive young man (Philip) in his early twenties, raised by and adoring of his bachelor uncle (Ambrose), is plunged into suspicion on news that his beloved uncle has suddenly and mysteriously died abroad soon after marrying a previously unknown cousin (you guessed it - Rachel) in Florence. Ghastly fantasies mount as Philip awaits Rachel's arrival in England. But she turns out to be a worldly woman of unanticipated charms, who turns young Philip's head entirely. Is she a villainous murderess? Or merely a world-wise woman torn by affection for a dashing much younger man, bearing a marked resemblance to her husband of so few months? Delicious issues are raised, including what are the moral constraints of a woman in a world which allows her few ways to financial freedom. Does the fact that a woman understands finance necessarily mean that she doesn't love a rich husband? Is an Italian woman with a mastery of healing herbs necessarily a poisoner? Can a world-wise woman who has long since lost her innocence nonetheless be captivated by the dewy youthfulness of a young man? And, as with all du Maurier, all of the events occur in lush and beautifully described surrounding events and places. I'm a big reader, and this is one of my big favorites!
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