Last Night I Dreamt
A Personal History of the du Mauriers - An intimate, revelatory family biography of the iconic writer Daphne du Maurier and her famous ancestors, by her eldest grandson
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A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE SPECTATOR
An intimate, revelatory family biography of the iconic writer Daphne du Maurier and her famous ancestors, by her eldest grandson
'As compelling as any du Maurier mystery - an extraordinary family saga wonderfully told' GYLES BRANDRETH
'Packed to the rafters with delicious details' FRANCES WILSON, SPECTATOR
'Daphne du Maurier's many fans will eagerly lap [this book] up ... a warm and intimate tribute' THE TIMES
'An unforgettable portrait of Daphne du Maurier' TATIANA DE ROSNAY, author of Manderley Forever
Born into a well-known artistic dynasty, Daphne du Maurier grew up in an atmosphere of carefree privilege - but at a time when women of her class were not expected to have a career. She however defied convention and moved to Cornwall to pursue her ambition to become a writer. There, over six decades, she dreamt up the stories that have sold tens of millions of copies worldwide and still haunt our cultural imagination, including Rebecca, Jamaica Inn and 'The Birds'.
Last Night I Dreamt explores how the turbulence and contradictions of Daphne's own life - spanning war, complex family dynamics, a marriage to a renowned but damaged general, and unrequited love - inspired her writing. It also uncovers the powerful influence of her notable forebears, in particular her domineering father Gerald, the most famous actor-manager of his generation; her grandfather George, a renowned Victorian novelist and cartoonist; and the mistress to the Duke of York, Mary Anne Clarke, another woman who refused to obey the rules.
Paul de Zulueta, Daphne's grandson, has drawn on private family archives, new interviews and his own memories of his grandmother, a woman who was central to his early life. In doing so, he gives us an extraordinary look into the world of Daphne du Maurier with rare closeness and emotional candour, and a moving portrait of one of the great British artistic families of the 19th and 20th centuries.
'A work of immense research, written with frankness and a shrewd eye for detail and beautifully illustrated. It is all told with a most engaging conversational charm' COUNTRY LIFE
'Charming ... a grandson's unique perspective ... a love letter both to the family and a bygone England' FINANCIAL TIMES
'Lively and enchanting, Last Night I Dreamt is absolute catnip for Daphne du Maurier lovers' MEGAN ABBOTT
'An intimate biography that only a family member could write' SUNDAY INDEPENDENT
'A riveting and deeply tender portrait of his wildly bohemian family, starting with his enigmatic grandmother Daphne' CHRISTOPHER BOLLEN, author of Havoc
An intimate, revelatory family biography of the iconic writer Daphne du Maurier and her famous ancestors, by her eldest grandson
'As compelling as any du Maurier mystery - an extraordinary family saga wonderfully told' GYLES BRANDRETH
'Packed to the rafters with delicious details' FRANCES WILSON, SPECTATOR
'Daphne du Maurier's many fans will eagerly lap [this book] up ... a warm and intimate tribute' THE TIMES
'An unforgettable portrait of Daphne du Maurier' TATIANA DE ROSNAY, author of Manderley Forever
Born into a well-known artistic dynasty, Daphne du Maurier grew up in an atmosphere of carefree privilege - but at a time when women of her class were not expected to have a career. She however defied convention and moved to Cornwall to pursue her ambition to become a writer. There, over six decades, she dreamt up the stories that have sold tens of millions of copies worldwide and still haunt our cultural imagination, including Rebecca, Jamaica Inn and 'The Birds'.
Last Night I Dreamt explores how the turbulence and contradictions of Daphne's own life - spanning war, complex family dynamics, a marriage to a renowned but damaged general, and unrequited love - inspired her writing. It also uncovers the powerful influence of her notable forebears, in particular her domineering father Gerald, the most famous actor-manager of his generation; her grandfather George, a renowned Victorian novelist and cartoonist; and the mistress to the Duke of York, Mary Anne Clarke, another woman who refused to obey the rules.
Paul de Zulueta, Daphne's grandson, has drawn on private family archives, new interviews and his own memories of his grandmother, a woman who was central to his early life. In doing so, he gives us an extraordinary look into the world of Daphne du Maurier with rare closeness and emotional candour, and a moving portrait of one of the great British artistic families of the 19th and 20th centuries.
'A work of immense research, written with frankness and a shrewd eye for detail and beautifully illustrated. It is all told with a most engaging conversational charm' COUNTRY LIFE
'Charming ... a grandson's unique perspective ... a love letter both to the family and a bygone England' FINANCIAL TIMES
'Lively and enchanting, Last Night I Dreamt is absolute catnip for Daphne du Maurier lovers' MEGAN ABBOTT
'An intimate biography that only a family member could write' SUNDAY INDEPENDENT
'A riveting and deeply tender portrait of his wildly bohemian family, starting with his enigmatic grandmother Daphne' CHRISTOPHER BOLLEN, author of Havoc
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- Published: Sep 03 2026
- 236 x 152mm
- ISBN: 9780349020440
Press Reviews
- Gyles Brandreth
As compelling as any du Maurier mystery - an extraordinary family saga wonderfully told
- Tatiana de Rosnay, author of Manderley Forever
Intimate, lucid and utterly sincere ... an unforgettable portrait of Daphne du Maurier
- Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, The Times
Daphne du Maurier's many fans will eagerly lap [this book] up ... a warm and intimate tribute
- Frances Wilson, Spectator
What is most striking about his style is its honesty, modesty and lack of pretension ... Packed to the rafters with delicious details
- Country Life
A work of immense research, written with frankness and a shrewd eye for detail and is beautifully illustrated. The author has unearthed new material on one of the most successful writers of the last century. It is all told with a most engaging conversational charm
- Financial Times
Charming ... a grandson's unique perspective ... a love letter both to the family and a bygone England
- Sunday Independent
An intimate biography that only a family member could write
- Megan Abbott
Paul de Zulueta's lively and enchanting Last Night I Dreamt is absolute catnip for Daphne du Maurier lovers. Richly observed and thick with revelations, it will send you diving back into Rebecca, My Cousin Rachel and more with both greater insight and heightened admiration
- Christopher Bollen, author of Havoc
There's an adage that when a writer is born into a family, the family is destroyed. For the famous, tempestuous du Mauriers, nothing could be further from the truth. Paul de Zulueta has painted a riveting and deeply tender portrait of his wildly bohemian family, starting with his enigmatic grandmother Daphne. De Zulueta conjures a family reunion of captivating ghosts
- Allan Mallinson, Spectator Books of the Year
Astutely and charmingly written as well as elegantly and wittily illustrated