Review: Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne Du Maurier

Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne Du Maurier 5/5

Jaded by the numbing politeness of Restoration London, Lady Dona St. Columb revolts against high society. She rides into the countryside, guided only by her restlessness and her longing to escape.

But when chance leads her to meet a French pirate, hidden within Cornwall’s shadowy forests, Dona discovers that her passions and thirst for adventure have never been more aroused. Together, they embark upon a quest rife with danger and glory, one which bestows upon Dona the ultimate choice: sacrifice her lover to certain death or risk her own life to save him.

Review:

Lady Dona St Columb is a bored wife in a stagnant marriage. She wants freedom, adventure, and escape. That is easier said than done when you have to maintain title, motherhood, and keep your husband sweet. Moving to the countryside with her children, but leaving her husband in the city, is the start of her escape. Then, stumbling upon French pirate, Jean Aubrey, she embarks on a big, dangerous adventure that Dona can’t shy away from. The bird in her wants to fly free. What price will she pay for that freedom?

Another Du Maurier masterpiece; beautifully staged narrative, characters that leave you spell bound, and always a healthy dose of the macabre and danger. Du Maurier’s stories never fail to enthrall me. I read her books in as little as two days, and just get swept away in the story. I find myself thinking over the story when I’m not reading, and more so after I turn the final page.

Her passion for Cornwall only ensnares me more, and the vivid descriptions throw you head first into the setting; settings that I visit regularly, and will look at in a new light. Dona is brilliantly written- fanciful, lost, bored. She bleeds into the narrative effortlessly. You may not always like her or agree with how she chooses to live her life, but that’s part of the joy of reading from her perspective. Her relationship with Jean has the perfect pace, passion, and danger. Who doesn’t want a handsome pirate to fall for them and offer adventure? It’s all fun and games until it’s not, right?

Frenchman’s Creek is a must read! What are you waiting for?

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The opinions expressed here are those of K.J.Chapman and no other parties

All books reviewed on this blog have been read by K.J.Chapman

K.J.Chapman has not been paid for this review

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