Saw it coming as mile off.

It's alright, but I wasn't overly fond of their portrayal of the second Mrs Dewinter.

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7 people found this helpful

Didn't quite sustain its early promise

I was enthusiastic about this for much of its length. It was an imaginative take on a great classic story and it had interesting characters and scenes and used the different narrators to good effect, all very positive! But I felt it sort of petered out in the end and I also felt the characters somehow altered and were diminished from their previous personas in order to bring about the end the author wanted. It's a pity as I felt a bit deflated after it was finished. Still a good listen though and another listener might feel quite differently about the ending.

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At Last! A Rich and Convincing Sequel to a Classic

What was one of the most memorable moments of Rebecca's Tale?

If you have read (or heard) and enjoyed 'Rebecca', the original novel by Daphne du Maurier you should definitely get to know 'Rebecca's Tale'. Now is your chance to hear more about the rarified world and two marriages of the cold and irascible Maximillian de Winter, about his mousy, un-named second wife, about the dashing, dissolute Jack Flavell and the dangerous, probably bonkers, Mrs Danvers. You will hear a second and third telling of aspects of the story by other characters beginning with a fascinating narration from Colonel Julian who was quite a minor character in the first telling of the story but admits he has 'concealed the truth about Rebecca de Winter for too long'. The big deal is that, FINALLY, we meet Rebecca herself. If you have not read (or heard) the original story I would strongly recommend you so BEFORE you read 'Rebecca's Tale' because Maxim's first wife was dead before the story even began, we never meet her and she is unknown even to the story's narrator. By the end of du Maurier's book the only things we know about Rebecca are those the different characters in the book have told the narrator about her. That is it's genius. Readers are left wondering what Rebecca was really like and whether the story they have been told is really the WHOLE story and so it gives free reign to the reader's imagination.

What about Juliet Stevenson and Robert Powell ’s performance did you like?

Audible offers 'Rebecca' with narration from Anna Massey and it's the best I've ever heard. Juliet Stevenson and Robert Powell narrate 'Rebecca's Tale' and both are sublime.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

'At last .. Rebecca tells her story ....

Any additional comments?

Don't attempt this book unless you have read or listened to 'Rebecca' first. You should do so anyway because it's a great story but you will also be able to enjoy this book and appreciate all the reasons why 'Rebecca's Tale' is such a great follow up. If you don't know 'Rebecca' you won't have a clue what 'Rebecca's Tale' is going on about and you'll be confused and disappointed.If, like me, you have been totally captivated by Daphne du Maurier's timeless classic novel you will be pleased to know that I found Sally Beauman's 'Rebecca's Tale' provides a thoroughly convincing, satisfying and enjoyable prequel and sequel to the events of the original story and the introduction of new characters and narratives creates extra depth and dimensions.

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5 people found this helpful

Amazing

I have read this book many times and thought I would get the audio book too. It doesn't disappoint. It's a wonderful story bringing to life daphne du mauriers Rebecca and giving her a wonderful background story.

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1 person found this helpful

Interesting.

Another brilliant book from audible. Some interesting ideas explored but who knows? Goes on a bit in parts and sometimes a bit confusing.
But great narration and different ending.
Rebecca was very misunderstood or was she? 😬😬😬

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Brilliant writing and narration

Superb writing and beautiful narration- I had already heard Juliet Stevenson narrate and found her to be sublime- Robert Powell is new to me and is now a firm favourite.
Writing a prequel/sequel to a great novel like Rebecca was always going to be risky, but on the whole I found the story to be firmly in character and sit seamlessly with the original. In general the characters( new and old) were interesting and thought provoking. The only character development I did not like was that of the 2nd Mrs De W. By presenting Rebecca as a more human,sensitive character I felt it left the 2nd Mrs de W as very flawed, weak and delusional and seen with a lot less sympathety than in Rebecca. It seemed like the writer wanted to present these strong women: Rebecca, Ellie etc and then as an after thought-present the 2nd Mrs de W as this creeping mouse, but unlike in Rebecca , a creeping mouse who didn't know the real story etc Yes, Mrs de W had always been the mousy one , but this story did not reflect the gross, debauchery that was Rebecca: incest, sex etc and I felt that,it should have. 5 *

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A believable follow on.

This story tackled some of the questions that I was left with at the end of Rebecca. Having two different very talented narrators made it more interesting. There was a nice little plot twist at the end, though you could see it coming. A very enjoyable listen.

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Enjoyable, clever but ultimately very frustrating!

Went on too long and didn’t have a satisfactory conclusion to the Rebecca enigma after making much of the chase. Narration was excellent. The style very du Maurier. But if I’d known there was no conclusion, I don’t think I’d have bothered! I listened in audible and had it been a book, I would have skipped to the end at about half way.

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An interesting slant

Obviously this was going to be a hard book to pull off because Rebecca is such a famous book and film.

I think this was as good as it could ever be trying to write a continuation - but it is not Daphne du Maurier and so difficult to know if this would be as she would have written it - but an interesting slant.

I love the book Rebecca (and My Cousin Rachel by DdM) and this is what prompted me to try this - I liked it overall and enjoyed it hense 4 stars

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4 people found this helpful

Excellent

A perfect companion to 'Rebecca's. The mystery is compelling and the narration couldn't be surpassed. A truly excellent audible experience.

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