A Dynastic British Family - the du Mauriers

The best known of the du Maurier family at this point in time is Daphne du Maurier (1907-1989), writer of such widely read books as Jamaica Inn, Frenchman's Creek, Don't Look Now, and the enormously popular Rebecca. She also wrote the novelette that Hitchcock's The Birds was based on. A movie, called simply Daphne and starring Geraldine Somerville, dwells on the writer's less than successful marriage and her bisexuality. She was said to have been the lover of actress Gertrude (Gertie) Lawrence and would-be lover of Ellen Doubleday, whose husband was the famous publisher. Mrs. Doubleday, however, could not return Daphne's sexual feelings, making for a rather awkward friendship. One wonders if the writer's sexuality didn't allow her to give deeper definition to both her male and female characters.

Daphne du Maurier

Gertrude Lawrence

 Gerald du Maurier

Many of Daphne's relatives were famous in their own right. Daphne's parents were both actors. Her father, Sir Gerald Hubert Edward Busson du Maurier (1873 – 1934) was an English actor and manager. A friend of the literary lion Henry James, du Maurier was popular for his realistic acting that subtly suggested deeper emotions. There have been rumors that Sir Gerald and Daphne had an incestuous relationship and that he was uncomfortable with her boyish manner. Unlike many in his profession, he appeared to be fiercely homophobic.

Daphne's aunt, Gerald's sister, was Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, the woman who was befriended by James M. Barrie and whose children became the inspiration for Peter Pan. Interestingly, after appearing in another Barrie play, Gerald took on the roles of George Darling and Captain Hook. Another of his daughters, Angela, was given the middle name of 'Wendy'.

The du Maurier cigarette brand was named for Gerald du Maurier.

George du Maurier (1834-1896) was Daphne's grandfather. He was a cartoonist for Punch and a writer of such novels as Peter Ibbetson and Trilby, the latter of which introduced Svengali, a character whose name would become synonymous with a person of evil intent who manipulates others in order to get his way. The name of the heroine was used in advertising, became a soft felt hat, and even a city in Florida. 

The du Mauriers were artistic and literary socialites whose friends included Kate Greenaway (the children's book illustrator and writer) and George Eliot (pen name of the novelist Mary Anne Evans), and through George's membership in the Rabelais Club, such noteworthies as Thomas Hardy, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and the artists Lawrence Alma Tadema and John Millais. 

Through her mother, Daphne du Maurier was also related to William Comyns Beaumont (1873-1956) who was well known for believing in such fanciful ideas as:

• Egyptian dynasties up to the 13th century BC ruled in South Wales.
• Jerusalem was originally located in Edinburgh.
• Francis Bacon was the illegitimate son of Queen Elizabeth I.
• There was a Zionist plot to undermine the British Empire. Part of this plot was disinformation disseminated by means of the Bible, which concealed the fact that the Holy Lands were in Britain, not in Palestine.
• The British Isles were Atlantis.
• Jesus was born in Glastonbury, and his life played out in Somerset.