My Cousin Rachel
by Daphne Du Maurier
I was surprised by this book, what did I expect from her though Rebeca was a shocker also.
1. What was your first thought when Philip met Rachel?
I have to say that I thought she was too sweet. I guess my opinion of her was jaded by Philip and his trip to her villa. It changed though as they got to know each other and became friends.
2. What did you think of the letters that Philip kept finding hidden? Did it make you suspect her even more or think that maybe Ambrose was just really sick?
When he got the first one as he was leaving to go to Ambrose I thought for sure she was a murderer. When he found the one in the book I thought maybe it was a tumor making him delusional. The one in the jacket had me right back to believing
she killed him.
3. How did you feel after hearing of Philips plan with the estate?
I was honestly sick. I thought there is no way he will go through with it. Something damaging will come up first and he will know the truth. I read the last of the book with sadness, I just knew she was going to take everything and bleed the estate dry. He was totally sucked in and it seemed like he was going to be left behind with nothing.
4. What did you think when he was suddenly taken ill?
I suspected he was being poisoned from the beginning. I thought that it was just to suspicious. She would take everything of value and leave the country. I was so happy when he found the seeds.
5. Do you think he should feel guilty for not warning Rachel about the bridge?
I don't. She killed Ambrose and was trying to kill Philip. She was planning on taking every cent from the estate and had planned it from the beginning. I guess it was a fitting end to a sad tell of lies and deceit.
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5 comments:
1. What was your first thought when Philip met Rachel?
I felt that she was fake. I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, but Philip's feelings about her overshadowed my objectivity.
2. What did you think of the letters that Philip kept finding hidden? Did it make you suspect her even more or think that maybe Ambrose was just really sick?
I went back and forth a little, but I always felt that he was truthful in his letters, and they were not caused by dilusions.
3. How did you feel after hearing of Philips plan with the estate?
I thought he was crazy, and completely obsessed with her to the point of stupidity.
4. What did you think when he was suddenly taken ill?
Part of me thought he was being poisoned, while part of me thought he was just struck ill from the shock of the situation. His obsession was so extreme, when she rejected him, it almost killed him. And it did make him crazy for a while, like when he believed they had been married.
5. Do you think he should feel guilty for not warning Rachel about the bridge?
No. I don't even think he really did it on purpose.
I thought it was interesting though, how the author had you wondering, even at the end, whether or not Rachel really did all he thought she did. I really enjoyed reading it, even though it was dark.
1. What was your first thought when Philip met Rachel?
Even though she seemed sweet and good, the first chapter was so morbid (watching the hanging and the foreshadowing of his future) that you knew something wasn't right with her and there upcoming relationship.
2. What did you think of the letters that Philip kept finding hidden? Did it make you suspect her even more or think that maybe Ambrose was just really sick?
Oh yeah - I suspected her. It was frustrating how Philip kept finding excuses or ignoring the obvious. I was on the edge of my seat (so to speak) waiting for him to wake up before the same thing happened to him. I thought it was really clever how Du Maurier established him as being similar to his Uncle Ambrose, even before Rachel changed him. It made it even more eery and suspenseful when Philip began following in Ambrose's footsteps because of Rachel.
3. How did you feel after hearing of Philips plan with the estate?
Horribly depressed and stressed out. It was so frustrating to have him be so dumb!
4. What did you think when he was suddenly taken ill?
Disbelief. I knew it had to be Rachel, but it seemed crazy that she would poison him and then be his nurse.
5. Do you think he should feel guilty for not warning Rachel about the bridge?
Absolutely not - She murdered Ambrose and was attempting to murder him.
1. I was surprised by how charming she was. I actually found myself liking her at points, although I knew she was playing the ball into her court. I think the moment I really started disliking her, was when she purchased the fabric goods for the blue room. I realized fully how much her friendship was a ruse!
2. I liked the addition of the letters. I thought they were a really cool way to build the suspense. I really felt Ambrose's despair especially in the one he said Rachel is my torment. I was very suspicious of her, even though I knew he was sick, I felt that he only wrote in his Lucid moments.
3.I was really disappointed in him and grateful for the advice of a good lawyer, to help him at least put in the clause about marriage. I didn't think that would keep her from marrying him though. That was brilliant on the part of the author!
4. I fell for it! I thought surely he must be sick with Menengitis. Then when he found the seeds and I realized her plot I was disgusted. On a side note I loved the role of truth that Louise played. I thought she was great!
5. No he did warn her to take care. I think he honestly didn't mean to send her to her death, he was caught up in the idea of searching her room and warned her in a careless way.
Great book. Like Rebecca it was a great mystery. I love the old mysteries that keep it clean and without a lot of violence. Great pick!
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