Frenchman's Creek

A wonderful, swashbuckling romance as only Daphne du Maurier can write. Lady Donna, a rebel at heart, falls head over heels with a dashing French pirate. Ooo-la-la! Loved it!

I read and loved Rebecca as a teenager, and am unsure why I never sought out any of the other novels by the author, but after reading this book I will be sure to do so. I am so glad that Sourcebooks is reprinting this, and hope that it can find its way to many other people who have missed it, as I have. On the rare occasion I have the experience where book and mood meet perfectly. This happened with Frenchman's Creek, a book I am sure that I would have very much enjoyed no matter my mood, but which was exactly the book I was seeking at the time I read it. The wild, windy March days--with looming storm, and gathering clouds, the brief hours of sunshine tempered by drops of ice cold rain, and mud-causing snow--have left me restless and wild myself, longing for escape. And so enter Dona St. Columb, the beautiful but restless Lady, tired of London high society, longing for escape from the falsity and uselessness of her life. After a foolish escapade, and stupid flirtation, she sets off, with her two young children and their nurse, to her husband's country estate surrounded by forest river and ocean. All she wants is to find some solitude and peace--far away from the stench of the stifling London summer, and a husband who can not understand her."Forget the children's tears, forget Prue's grievance, forget the pursed up mouth of the coachman, forget Harry and his troubled distressed blue eyes when she announced her decision. "But damn, Dona, what have I done, what have I said, don't you know that I adore you?" Forget all these things, because this was freedom, to stand here for one minute with her face to the sun and the wind, this was living, to smile and to be alone. "The descriptions of the nature and life teeming around the estate--the birds and butterflies, wildflowers and trees, creeks and ocean--bringing joy and peace to Dona and her children, are so well done that I feel as if I were there, in the Cornish countryside. I am transported away from the cold wind, the six inches of March snow I shoveled off of the walks this morning, the snow which keeps coming and will necessitate another shoveling in a few short hours. Instead I drowse lazily, being baked by the sun; I tramp through the thick woods; I stand above the ocean, the salty breeze enlivening me."The birds were astir again, after their noonday silence, and the silent butterflies danced and fluttered, while drowsy bumblebees hummed in the warm air, winging their way to the topmost branches of the trees... and there, suddenly before her for the first time was the creek, still and soundless, shrouded by the trees, hidden from the eyes of men. She stared at it in wonder, for she had had no knowledge of its existence, this stealthy branch of the parent river creeping into her own property, so sheltered, so concealed by the woods themselves. The tide was ebbing, the water was oozing away from the mudflats, and here, where she stood, was the head of the creek itself, for the stream ended in a trickle, and the trickle in a spring. The creek twisted around a belt of trees, and she began to walk along the bank, happy, fascinated, forgetting her mission, for this discovery was a pleasure quite unexpected, this creek was a source of enchantment, a new escape, better than Navron itself, a place to drowse and sleep, a lotus-land. "Her stodgy neighbor had warned her about pirates, who have been robbing from the estates up and down the coast, and reportedly having their way with the womenfolk. Their leader a dangerous frenchman, so stealthy and with a ship so fast that he has not been aprehended. Dona had listened to the reports with some amusement, but really paid them no mind until she caught sight of the ship in the creek on her land, and at the same time found herself covered with a coat, and forced onto the pirate ship.What she finds there astounds her, there is no sign of the steriotypical pirate, but an educated, tidy, considerate artist. And beyond the peace which she had sought and found, Dona finds the adventure and passion her spirit had been seeking, and someone who understands."...she had known then that this was to happen, nothing could prevent it; she was part of his body, and part of his mind, they belonged to eachother, both wanderers, both fugitives, cast in the same mould."Danger, excitement, love, a meeting of souls, Lady St. Columb has found it all. Unfortunately she can not keep it all, something must be given up: her children and husband and very way of life, or the new love and adventure which she so craved. Yet events transpire that make it not even such a cut and dried choice as this.Anyone who has ever felt the need to escape from the cage of daily life will identify with and love this book. It has found its way into my heart, and will be added to the stack of favorites I pull out when I feel in the right restless mood, and need a satisfying read.

This book suggested to me Du Maurier's foray into the French novella style. All the classic characters are included: the beautiful (and married) noblewoman, her clueless and bumbling husband, the dashing rouge (who is noble at heart) with the profession of pirating, the the handsome nobleman (who is a rouge at heart) with no profession to speak of, and of course the inevitable servant who keeps the story moving along. A wonderful, light piece of writing with a touching ending.

This novel is set in 17th century Cornwall during the reign of Charles II. Our heroine, Lady Dona St. Columb, meets the love of her life, a Breton pirate nicknamed The Frenchman. Along the way, the two engage in lying, deceit, robbery, piracy, adultery and treason. The only redeeming thing about Lady Dona is that, in the end, she loves her two little children more the the Frenchman. But that love does not prevent her from lying to them for five days, sending a message through her manservant that she is ill in bed with a fever, while she plunders and sails with her lover.A real disappointment from the author of Rebecca.

This is a lovely tale of an upper-class woman who is bored of her pompous daily life and desperately desires the freedom to do as she pleases. Du Maurier's writting brings the main character (Lady Dona St Columb) to life to a degree that the reader is able to empathise with her. Perfect for those who enjoy romance and history.

Another great story from Du Maurier. More girly than others, but a great read nonetheless. What girl hasnt dreamt of being swept away by a feared Pirate, and having adventures. Brilliant book.

Tightly written
Imaginative if a little to preposterous tale but great never-the less
Very well read. Made the characters come alive.

One of my all-time favorite books is Daphne du Maurier's "Rebecca". It has the best opening line of the thousands of books I have read: "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again". Only nine words - nine words that set the stage perfectly for what was to follow. In my youth I read several other du Maurier classics and enjoyed them all. Weeks ago I saw mention of her "Frenchmen's Creek" and decided to read it again. Pirates! Romance! What a great escape from the hot weather of July in Washington D.C. and the hot invective flowing from our new administration. As "Frenchman's Creek" opens, Lady Dona is also eager to escape her capital city, London, and take refuge in her country home with her two young children and a nanny. Though she has been warned to be very careful because a pirate, a Frenchman, has been vandalizing country estates along the nearby coast, stealing jewelry and household valuables, and ravaging the defenseless women they encounter. Nevertheless Dona enjoys exploring the nearby countryside and woods unescorted. During one of her afternoon hikes she discovers a creek she did not realize was on the fringes of her property and parting some particularly dense foilage she espies - to her horror - the infamous pirate ship, resting at anchor. Before she can say "yo ho ho" she is captured, bound, brought aboard, and taken to the captain's quarters. Their eyes meet......"Frenchman's Creek" is as non-violent a pirate story as can be told. There is one death though, an act of self defense. You won't believe who the killer is. It has its tensions though and a good bit of romance but virtually no sex. And even worse, no swordfights! . There is an attack of sorts on a neighboring community but the most notable stolen item is a wig. As for ladies' virtue, as the Captain explains, it never has to be taken as it is usually freely offered . As for the climax, the Captain is finally caught only because he sacrifices himself of course in order to spare his crew and ship. And so we come to the final pages with two big climactic issues - will the captain be hanged or escape, and if he goes free will Lady Dona join him or will she do the Right Thing by her sweet, darling children? Read it to find out, it's only 280 pages. The prose is excellent, as always from du Maurier. Here's a sample from a favorite passage. Early in the book, dialog between Dona and her new butler William, before her capture. William has been placed in Dona's home by the Captain to keep a pulse of the locals. His master is our Pirate, does Dona suspect? Draw your own conclusions:"And your late master, what does he do with himself?""He travels, my lady.""He makes voyages from place to place?""Exactly, my lady.""Then he also, William, is a fugitive. People who travel are always fugitives.""My master has often made the same observation, my lady. In fact, I may say his life is one continual escape."

ohhh, this was good. Donna St Columb is a lady of leisure and a jewel of the restoration court. Only she;s got too much time on her hands and is leading a meaningless existence. One day it becomes too much and she heads off in retreat to her husband's Cornish estate. Here she finds herself drawn into intrigue with a French pirate. He doesn't quite fit the stereotype that the locals have of a pirate, but he does have the devil may care attitude that the romantic assigns the role. It's full of intrigue and there were a few twists that I simply didn't see coming. I also was completely unsure what would happen at the end, would she stay or would she go. It was told by a man with a delectable voice and that just added to the enjoyment.

Lady Dona St. Columbe, wife of Sir Harry St. Columbe and the mother of two young children, is bored.  She is tired of the London life of the privileged - the endless dinners, parties, and drinking with insufferable acquaintances - and longs to escape.  After a night of drinking with her husband's best friend and taking part in an outrageous prank dressed as a man, she gathers her children and leaves her husband and London for Navron, their home in Cornwall.  It is at Navron that Dona hopes to find the peace and quiet she craves.  It isn't long, though, before she makes the startling discovery that she is not alone.  A pirate ship lies in a creek on her property and its captain soon holds the key to her heart.  When Sir Harry suddenly returns to Navron at the urging of his neighbors, Dona has to decide whether to remain in her old life as a wealthy but bored wife and mother, or to follow her love to happiness and danger.In Frenchman's Creek, Du Maurier takes the reader on a highly imaginative romantic adventure.  Within this context, she explores the importance of escape when certain life situations seem intolerable and how that escape can revive us for the return.  The story itself is its own form of escape, complete with dashing characters and a page turning, adventure-filled plot.  Du Maurier's descriptions are vivid:"The setting sun behind her made a pathway on the sea, stretching to the far horizon, and as Dona lay and watched, her mind all drowsy and content, her heart at peace, she saw a smudge on the horizon, and presently the smudge took shape and form, and she saw the white sails of a ship.  For a while it made no progress, for there was no breath upon the water, and it seemed to hang there, between sea and sky, like a painted toy.  She could see the high poop-deck, and the fo'c'sle head, and the curious raking masts, and the men upon her must have had luck with their fishing for a crowd of gulls clustered around the ship, wheeling and crying, and diving to the water.  Presently a little tremor of a breeze came off the headland where Dona lay, and she saw the breeze ruffle the waves below her, and travel out across the sea towards the waiting ship.  Suddenly the sails caught the breeze and filled, they bellied out in the wind, lovely and white and free, the gulls rose in a mass, screaming above the masts, the setting sun caught the painted ship in a gleam of gold, and silently stealthily, leaving a long dark ripple behind her, the ship stole in towards the land.  And a feeling came upon Dona, as though a hand touched her heart, and a voice whispered in her brain, 'I shall remember this.'  A premonition of wonder, of fear, of sudden strange elation.  She turned swiftly, smiling to herself for no reason, humming a little tune, and strode back across the hills to Navron House, skirting the mud and jumping the ditches like a child, while the sky darkened, and the moon rose, and the night wind whispered in the tall trees." (pgs 38-39)I loved reading this book.  I had read it years ago, and I enjoyed it as much again this time around as I did before.  Although the story was written in the 1940's and takes place in the 17th century, it is contemporary in feeling and in attitude.  The denouement will keep one thinking for a long time after the book has been finished, and would be a great discussion topic for book groups.

Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne du Maurier is a 2003 publication. (This novel was originally published in 1941) Adventurous and unique side of Daphne du Maurier-Bored in her marriage, Dona heads to her husband Harry’s estate in Cornwall for some time to herself. Right away, she becomes embroiled in the adventure of the pirate 'Jean-Benoit Aubéry.' She dares to let her true nature emerge, wearing men’s clothes, and joining in the intrigue and a little romance. However, her fun is often foiled by Rockingham- a friend of her husband, who is determined to capture the pirates, while harboring designs on Dona of his own. Meanwhile, Harry arrives to help Rockingham, which inspired Dona to intervene on behalf of her pirate, but… it’s complicated. Wow! This is yet another fantastic story by Daphne du Maurier. While the setting is in Cornwall, the oft chosen location for moody Gothic tales, this book has an entirely different tone. At once an adventure, a romance, a literary endeavor, this book embodies a hint of styles and genres to come. Dona has come to Cornwall for some serious soul searching, but she got the adventure of a lifetime for a woman of the aristocracy in the 18th century. Although, she takes some enormous risks, throws caution to the wind, and finds just what she needs to quicken her monotonous life, she also must consider the cost. It’s hard not to like Dona. She’s spirited, bold, and rebellious, thirsting for more from life, but trapped in a dull marriage, and bored with the aristocratic life she is bound to. Before all is said and done, she lives through some tense and suspenseful adventures, which on the surface is like reading a swashbuckling pirate tale, replete with romance and intrigue. The pirate in question, is a bit of a romantic for a man of his occupation and is just the type of ‘bad boy’ Dona might go for considering her feelings for her husband. In some ways, it sounds like this is a torrid historical romance, but I assure you this is more of a literary novel, written in a beautiful lush prose. While the story is lightest du Maurier book I’ve read, and was actually a fun, sort of scandalous novel, there is a moral reckoning, if you will, and Dona’s character ends up going through some startling changes, coming out on the other side a very different person from the one we were first introduced to, and has its fair share of serious tones and profound insights, especially the allegorical messages, which speak to how women often feel confined by certain strictures, but who long to be as free as men, but who must often make the hard choices and sacrifices that rob them of that pleasure. ‘are you happy?""I am content.""What is the difference?""Between happiness and contentment? Ah, there you have me. It is not easy to put into words. Contentment is a state of mind and body when the two work in harmony, and there is no friction. The mind is at peace, and the body also. The two are sufficient to themselves. Happiness is elusive--coming perhaps once in a life-time--and approaching ecstasy.""Not a continuous thing, like contentment?""No, not a continuous thing. But there are, after all, degrees of happiness.”The ending is a bittersweet surprise , but still very fitting. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel so, I’d like to send a special shout out to GR friend, Candi, who recommended this one to me!!

Beautifully written as are all of Daphne du Maurier's books. Lyrical, poetic writing that's difficult to find in modern plot-based novels. It's a good book to help one to see behind the eyes and hearts of women of those times who must have felt so constricted and longed for freedom. I can understand.

I'm a big Daphne du Maurier fan. She creates atmosphere like no one else, and wraps it around a good yarn.

Frenchman's Creek is one of her most famous books, but it's not among my favorites. The atmosphere is there, but the yarn it's wrapped around doesn't hold up as it may have years ago. Although the protagonist, Dona, is believable, the male characters (even the Frenchman) are thinly drawn and it's hard to believe the romance. Even harder to believe: that the men, however thinly portrayed, would buy a beautiful woman dressed in pants as a cabin boy. The last time that worked was the 16th century.

For a more absorbing duMaurier, try "The House on the Strand."

Petrea Burchard
Camelot & Vine

My girlfriend insisted that I read a Daphen Du Maurier novel. She suggested [Rebecca], however I came upon [Frenchman's Creek] at the library book sale for 10 cents; can't pass up a bargain like that. Firstly, I was in love with the words. They were beautiful and they flowed ever so elegantly. The plot was simple and somewhat predictable; however, interesting enough to keep my reading. This was a good book and I will probably read another of her novels in the future.

Frenchman’s Creek, Daphne du MaurierThis is not the typical novel that is written today. Looking at the style of the original cover, I would have turned away from it, and more’s the pity because I would have missed a book that demands an audience and perhaps a conversation about what we seek and how we live our lives. Written with a prose that is at once well-structured and coherent, it is also lyrical and sensitive. In Du Maurier’s novel about a place of refuge called Frenchman’s Creek, she achieves what most novels today, do not. Without crude language or vivid and graphic sex scenes, she elicits romance and adventure on almost every page. The lightness of the plot does not betray the beauty of its presentation.Du Maurier introduces us to an enchanted area of Cornwall, England. This otherworldly locale from a time past, takes shape out of the shadows, near a hidden inlet. Lady Dona St Columb flees there to Navron House, in search of a different life than the one she was living in London as the wife of an aristocrat who was crude and fat, and no longer very appealing to her. She is ashamed of her previous behavior of cavorting with the men. She discovers Frenchman’s Creek on her property and it feels magical and mysterious. It is actually right there that a pirate, cut from a different mold, a pirate who is the antithesis of the swashbuckling crude pirate of fairy tales like Captain Hook, that Jean Benoit Aubéry, a Frenchman of ill repute, has made his place of respite for his crew and his ship called La Mouette, meaning the seagull; it is named for a bird that is gifted with flight and freedom, a bird that swoops down and steals from the water and the earth whatever it chooses in much the same way as this pirate does, this pirate who is painted as rather smooth talking and virile, which is a rather optimistic and romantic combination. Aubéry is no ordinary “yohoho” kind of pirate. Rather, he is a bit more sophisticated than that. I picture leading men like Errol Flynn and Clark Gable, heartthrobs from the past, playing his part. He is a pipe-smoking, poetry-reading pirate who is the stuff that dreams of young women are made of…the rake who carries them off to a land where they can fulfill their fantasies; he is the “prince” of their dreams and they immediately fall head over heels in love with this masculine soul with a heart and a mind, not just a handsome, strong body. Aubéry is not a cruel or coarse pirate. He is simply a man who wants to be free to move about at will, to live as he pleases without regard for anything else. He simply wants his adventure and he trusts to sheer good fortune for his survival. He is a bit arrogant, yet refined and courteous. It is his love of danger and excitement that propels him, and in his travels he discovered a secret cove that leads to Frenchman’s Creek, this hidden haven of safety where he and his mates could rest awhile. It is in that same sanctuary that the Dona and the pirate discover each other and their natural affinity for the same lifestyle unites them with a common bond as a romantic spark is ignited between them. Together they embark on a path that will change both of their lives forever.Lady Dona St Columb in her attempt to run, actually enters another world that is similar to the world she runs from, and thus begins again a life of debauchery, but oh, a life that is so very much more exciting and romantic. Although her husband Harry adores her, and although she loves him, he holds no interest for her any longer; he is boring and pompous, weak and lacking in intellect. On the contrary, Jean is masculine and intriguing. She wants more from her life; her thirtieth birthday is nearing and she fears that her time is running out. She seeks to eat when she wishes, wear what she wishes and simply do as she wishes. She seeks more control of her own life. Her children are cared for by Prue, the able nanny, so that she is really no longer indispensable. Everyone, it would seem, is taken care of, but she herself is not. Her role is that of the caretaker and she no longer chooses it, rather she wants to be cared for in more than the mundane ways of the day. She wants to have fun and to finally and ultimately find love and to be loved and appreciated as more than just a female body. Isn’t it finally her turn to live? Thirty, after all, was fairly old in the time of Charles II.In this novel, written in 1941, I found myself rooting for the “bad” guy and not for those that pretended to be on the side of right when it suited them. The villain was the more likable. The uptight, so-called upstanding citizens of the novel were a bit stodgy and obnoxious, demanding and self-righteous in a far different way than the pirate himself. He seemed to be good-natured in all of his attempts at piracy, albeit he was stealing from others. He was merely assuming the same rights as those pompous townspeople who were doing as they wished, ignoring the rights of those whose class was “beneath them”, basically stealing their lives from the labors of others. They were not portrayed as the brightest bulbs and so were easily duped by the pirate. He had simply turned the tables on them all. He ignored the rights of those he thought were behaving as if they were “above” him. And therein lies the rub, for both, behaving in similar ways, for different reasons which each justified, were capable of ignoring the rules and laws of society; and both believed in their right to do so as they ignored the rights of the other. How true it still is today as we justify our own behavior, which is often at the expense of others but which gratifies our own needs.The characters banter with each other in a charming way. The humor is very subtle as they toy with each other, even in conversation, as they intuit their feelings and desires. The book is a wonderful examination of emotions and behavior, but it raises questions about the very nature of those sentiments and conduct. Was the Dona noble in her actions or self-serving, in the end? How many women could do as she did and never look back? Will she live to regret her choices, will the pirate? Was the ending satisfying?DuMaurier takes the reader on a wonderful journey into the land of fantasy and romance, adventure and danger, and she does it with a certain flair and flourish. The subtle humor and sarcasm will bring a smile to the lips and invite a chuckle to escape. The author captivates the reader so that they, too, will be soaked by the rain, tossed by the waves, duck from the bullets and will run through the streets to escape capture with their fellow marauders as Dona and the pirates do the same. The fear and tension will build and half way through the book, even with the hokey kind of plot, a plot from the world of the fairy tales of yesterday and not today, I was captured by the prose and could not put it down, reading it late into the night until I reached the last page and smiled. It is rollicking good fun as Dona, the “cabin boy”, and Jean have their secret trysts and escapades, defying custom and decorum.Frenchman’s Creek is the secret place of Dona and the pirate; it is hidden among the trees from the rest of the world; it offers privacy and a place to live out one’s desires, unimpeded by the requirements of the outside world. Real life does not intrude there, but living life to the fullest does! Of course, another conclusion can be drawn. Dona is also arrogant and rude. She behaves in a raucous manner without regard for others as does the pirate, often humiliating those weaker than they. The pirate, while polite, might also be considered cruel as he relieves his victims of their belongings and shames and frightens them. But somehow, that is not the message that comes through. Instead, we witness the joy that the people who choose to live with excitement, in a positive space that is open to adventure, have in living their life, while their opposites are victims of a world in which they seem only to plod through in negative space, but they are unfulfilled and unhappy.

Frenchman's Creekby Daphne du Maurier19414.0 / 5.0A bittersweet historical adventure, set in Cornwall during the reign of Charles II. A love story between Dona, Lady St. Columb and a French pirate, Jean-Benoit Aubery. Gothic and atmospheric, Daphne is one of the few who can make a romance a page-turner, for me. I just love her writing style and landscapes.The story is about Lady Dona St. Columb, bored and jaded with her High Society lifestyle. She escapes to the countryside where she meets a French pirate, whose ship has been moored and damaged. His sense of freedom, and adventure wins Dona, and together they embark on a journey that is full of love, and, of course, danger.

St. Barts 2019 #1 - A slightly predictable sappy romance love story that takes place on the coast of Cornwall that delves into the predicament of actually 'living' vs. going thru the motions as to what others expect of you. Was briefly startled by the lead character's wanton abandonment of her husband, and eventually children for a wee bit of excitement and 'living' with a French pirate.....but was it a necessary step in her truly finding her place? More adventure and slightly anxious moments than i expected which bumped it up a 1/2-star. This is no "Rebecca', but certainly worthy of my time. And I love my little glossy covered Pocket Book with its own serial number, and the gloss layer coming loose at the edges....the book i hold being almost as interesting to me as the printed word inside!

My girlfriend insisted that I read a Daphen Du Maurier novel. She suggested [Rebecca], however I came upon [Frenchman's Creek] at the library book sale for 10 cents; can't pass up a bargain like that. Firstly, I was in love with the words. They were beautiful and they flowed ever so elegantly. The plot was simple and somewhat predictable; however, interesting enough to keep my reading. This was a good book and I will probably read another of her novels in the future.

Not her best, this frothy tale of romance and adventure is redeemed for me by the central character of Dona St Colomb, whose spirit is alien to the roles expected of her by her society. The French pirate represents her alter ego, the freespirit she would like to be. [July 2004]

Frenchman's Creek by Daphne Du Maurier is a novel about escaping life, feeling suffocated with oneself and longing for something different. Dona St. Columb is sick of her life and longing for change. She has been rebelling slowly from her husband, children and society for some time now, but she realizes that this rebelling is also not given her any satisfaction and is only causing her more pain. She decides to take her small children and leave her husband in London and travel to their family estate in Cornwall. Once their she begins to feel better, more freer and at peace. She discovers a band of pirates along the creek and soon meets their master, the Frenchman. Both are drawn to each other and begin to realize the power of love, and the Frenchman gives Dona what she has longed for without even knowing it, an adventure. I have read many books so far by Du Maurier and I just savor them like fine chocolate. I really enjoyed this one as well. What I admire most about her writing is her ability to make such mundane, unrealistic plot lines so poetic, suspenseful and different. I think that if anyone else had written this story it would have sounded cheap, fluffy and gag worthy. Even though at times, the story does become hard to believe, it is fun and exciting. I do not know how she does it but she draws her audience in from the first page, and her books are so hard to put down.This probably was not my favorite of hers that I have read so far, but I still find it better than most other books with similar plot lines. I enjoyed her mix of historical fiction, suspense and romance in this book. Dona is an interesting heroine, even though she is beautiful, she is far from perfect and makes many mistakes but she really does feel caged with her life and does not know what to do with herself. By contrast, the Frenchman (what Dona refers to him by) recognizes himself in Dona without even really knowing her. Their love is built on this understanding of souls and their possession of one another is intense, even at times it seems rushed and unbelievable.

Freud would have had a field day with Dona St Columb, the heroine of 'Frenchman's Creek'. Not only would she rather be a boy, but she views the French pirates she meets as father figures, willing to take her with them on their adventures (unlike her own father when she was a child). This novel is the fantasy of a bored housewife, or an aristocratic lady's midlife crisis. Dona, who married a dimwit lord because she liked his eyes and his laugh, has two children that she can take or leave, and a reputation as a 'flirt' at court. She claims she is a good mother ('If you are so excellent a mother, what are you doing on the deck of La Mouette with your legs tucked up under you and your hair blowing about your face, discussing the intimacies of marriage with a pirate?'), but abandons her young children for a mad fling with a Frenchman. She dresses up in her husband's breeches and plays at being a highwayman for a laugh, but resents her reputation as a 'spoiled whore, lusting after new sensations, without even a whore's excuse of poverty'. The message of a woman breaking free of society's expectations to find freedom and love outside the home lacks subtlety, and whereas the sentiment is occasionally worded poetically , the cliched pirate device is more Harlequin historical romance than Daphne Du Maurier. And I really hated Dona, a selfish and childish Mary Sue creation lacking the depth of the unnamed narrator in Rebecca. Entertaining, but forgettable.

Not as good as Rebecca, but the usual tale about responsibilities against forgotten wishes, conscience and irrational longing.Temptation beating strongly from Du Maurier's sentences.I enjoyed it.

I started this book with a few expectations, I suppose. On some I was correct - the plot, of which I knew a little, is straight out of Mills and Boon, for example... On others I was not. Having 'Rebecca' as my only du Maurier reference point so far, I was interested to find that 'Frenchman's Creek' could have been written by an entirely different writer. The only obvious similarity stems from the descriptive prose, which I recognised from the haunting passages about the path down through the rhodedendrons to the little cove in 'Rebecca'.'Frenchman's Creek' is like a very, very well written trashy romance novel. Mills and Boon taken a few welcome steps in the right direction. Or maybe Pocahontas in reverse - wild man arrives and turns everything upside down, teaching civilised woman her own strength in the process. Basic plot: Lady Dona St Columb leaves London for the family retreat, Navron House in Cornwall, to escape her oafish husband and her bad behaviour in the face of her sheer boredom. At Navron she can enjoy the sun and the garden and find her 'inner Dona', the woman she has always wanted to be. Then she hears about a ruthless French pirate and his marauding crew who have been terrorising the coastline, robbing the wealthy and escaping into thin air... and so the tale really begins.Even at its climax, the novel is far gentler in its manner than 'Rebecca', but this isn't by any means a bad thing. Althought it starts in a slightly dry fashion and occasionally slows enough for a bit of cliche and clunk to show through, I really appreciated the lyrical descriptions of Cornwall and the exploration of love and freedom. Likewise, though the characters aren't really fleshed out as much as I might have liked, the two sets of conflicting individuals, experiences and values at its core play against each other very well. I'll definitely be reading more Du Maurier and I'm looking forward to seeing where her style and stories will take me next.

Lady Dona has grown weary of her high society life. She is fed up with the endless parties filled of people with too much money and too less to do. It's an inane and nonsensical existence - sleeping until noon and staying up all night in the card houses. Playing silly jokes just to pass time. Boredom of the rich is nothing to scoff at.Finally, she can't take it anymore, the urge to flee is too overwhelming. Telling her husband that she would like some time alone, she grabs her two kids and a nurse and sets off at break-neck speed to their house at Navron in Cornwall. Upon arrival, she finds there is only one servant, William with the strange accent that she can't quite place. He and Lady Dona seem to almost click at once, then develop a relationship throughout. They have some great repartee! Dona settles nicely into life at Navron. Playing with the children, getting dirty and enjoying the country suit her just fine and you can feel the real Dona emerging. And the woman here is much more likeable than the woman in the beginning. She is mischievous and funny, laid back and a realist. It's solely to her precariousness that she stumbles across the Frenchman in his hidden creek - she figures quickly that this must be the pirate the locals have told her about. The French pirate that's been stealing from them, the one they have been unable to catch. She also links him to her servant, William, thus securing him as a partner in crime to her meetings with the Frenchman. Adventure awaits her upon La Mouette and she is not going to let this opportunity go by.DaMaurier writes a smartly crafted novel about one woman's need to escape, the need to feel something real, something tangible. At the same time Dona is a realist and appreciates that she can't escape forever - above anything, she is a mother and knows her place is with them. But, she'll always have that memory, that moment, that is truly hers alone - and she can escape there anytime...with her mind.

Daphne Du Maurier is a true spinner of tales. She expertly weaves romance and mystery into a thought-provoking story. Frenchman's Creek is no exception. The tale of Dona St Columb entrances the reader from the beginning and makes one consider the state of her own life. I heartily recommend Frenchman's Creek to anyone who appreciates romance, mystery or the gothic novel. One of my favorite books is Du Maurier's Rebecca, and Frenchman's Creek does not disappoint. It solidifies my love of Daphne Du Maurier. I praise Sourcebooks for bringing her work to a new generation of readers.

Set during the reign of Charles II, Lady Dona St. Columb finally tires of her husband and his hard playing friends and abandons London for their estate in Cornwall. Dona and her children thrive in the country life, but not all is as it seems - there's a bit of a mystery surrounding the servant in charge of the house, let alone wondering who has been sleeping in her room and left behind a pouch of tobacco and a book of poetry. The locals are restless with the recent attacks from French pirates and Dona soon finds herself swept up in it all as it appears it is her house and land they have been using as their hideaway and the handsome Frenchman Jean-Benoit Aubery impossible to resist. That's all I'm telling, read it for yourself. While certainly not Du Maurier's best, it was a very enjoyable tale of love, pirates, a daring escape or two in just in the nick of time and frankly I had a hard time putting it down.

A romance, an adventure, a guilty pleasure. The Lady Dona St. Columb leaves high society and her loving but boring and oafish husband seeking adventure, and inadvertently falls in with a band of French pirates who have been plundering the English coast. Instead of a bloodthirsty and uncivilized band of marauders who threaten rape or violence, she finds them to be intelligent, playful, and simply out for adventure as she is; heck they’re even altruistic, giving their booty away to help the poor in Brittany.And you can kinda see it coming - the captain turns out to be the ‘perfect’ man. He has an uncanny understanding of her moods, both in the feelings themselves and in how to react. He is confident, dashing, and adventurous, but has no need to boast about it. He is strong and manly yet gentle, not forcing himself on her physically or in conversations. He is able to take her on adventures and give her the exciting experiences she longs for. He has a sense of humor, but not in a mean way; he uses ‘smiling eyes’ or mocks in the lightest of ways. He’s able to feed her and protect her in an almost a fatherly way; she sometimes thinks of herself as a spoiled child, though she feels a sense of peace and happiness in his presence. In his free time he fills pages with drawings of sea birds and her likeness. Lastly, despite his love of freedom and excitement he is ultimately willing to settle down for love, for HER.Whether that happens or not I leave for you to find out. But the point is, wow, how can her husband possibly compete with this? Or any ‘actual’ man for that matter? Sheesh. Gee thanks Du Maurier for setting the bar impossibly high for us mortals in the real world.This is definitely chick-lit country and while it’s far from a great book, it was an enjoyable and quick read. I liked the repartee of the characters as well as the feeling of fleeting happiness which Du Murier utilizes to play on the heartstrings of old saps like me.Quotes:On happiness that is fleeting:“And all this, she thought, is only momentary, is only a fragment in time that will never come again, for yesterday already belongs to the past and is ours no longer, and tomorrow is an unknown thing that may be hostile. This is our day, our moment, the sun belongs to us, and the wind, and the sea, and the men for’ard there singing on the deck. The day is forever a day to be held and cherished, because in it we shall have lived, and loved, and nothing else matters but that in this world of our own making to which we have escaped.”On love:“…she remembered the feel of his back that had lain against hers all the night, and she thought with pity for all men and women who were not light-hearted when they loved, who were cold, who were reluctant, who were shy, who imagined that passion and tenderness were two things separate from one another, and not the one, gloriously intermingled, so that to be fierce was also to be gentle, so that silence was a speaking without words. For love, as she knew it now, was something without shame and without reserve, the possession of two people who had no barrier between them, and no pride; whatever happened to him would happen to her too, all feeling, all movement, all sensation of body and of mind.”On peace:“It seemed to her, as they sat there side by side, without a word, that she had never known peace before, until this moment, that all the restless devils inside her who fought and struggled so often for release were, because of this silence and his presence, now appeased. She felt, in a sense, like someone who had fallen under a spell, under some strange enchantment, because this sensation of quietude was foreign to her, who had lived hitherto in a turmoil of sound and movement.”On transience:“So much loveliness, swiftly come and swiftly gone, and she knew in her heart that this was the last time of looking upon it all, and that she would never come to Navron again. Part of her would linger there for ever: a footstep running tip-toe to the creek, the touch of her hand on a tree, the imprint of her body in the long grass. And perhaps one day, in after years, someone would wander there and listen to the silence, as she had done, and catch the whisper of the dreams that she had dreamt there, in midsummer, under the hot sun and the white sky.”On women’s feelings; I love this first one in particular:“There was silence between them for a moment, and she wondered if all women, when in love, were torn between two impulses, a longing to throw modesty and reserve to the winds and confess everything, and an equal determination to conceal the love forever, to be cool, aloof, utterly detached, to die rather than admit a thing so personal, so intimate.”And:“…into her mind suddenly came the thought that he believed her bawdy, promiscuous, like the women in the tavern, and considered that her behavior now, sitting beside him in the open air at night, cross-legged, like a gypsy, was but another brief interlude in a series of escapades, that she had, in a similar fashion, behaved thus with countless others, with Rockingham, with all Harry’s friends and acquaintances, that she was nothing but a spoilt whore, lusting after new sensations, without even a whore’s excuse of poverty. She wondered why the thought that he might believe this of her should cause her such intolerable pain…” Lastly this one, on good-bye:“And what is the use, thought Dona, of going over this in my mind, for all that is finished, and done with, and will not happen again, for the ship must sail before she is discovered. And here am I, lying on my bed at Navron, and there is he, down in the creek, and we are not together any more, and this then, that I am feeling now, is the hell that comes with love, the hell and the damnation and the agony beyond all enduring, because after the beauty and the loveliness comes the sorrow and the pain.”

A highly romantic tale of star-crossed lovers and piracy this doesn’t seem like the kind of thing I’d like or even read, but I was in a funny mood one day and decided to buy it. Sometimes a girl needs something light and romantic and there aren’t many books of this description on my shelves. That said I wasn’t going to get just any chick lit; it had to be quality. Having read three other du Maurier novels I thought this was a safe bet.And it largely was. Nothing was particularly subtle here. Husband was a dullard who was primarily interested in gambling and drinking. Wife was comparatively brilliant and suddenly possessed of a desire to better herself. Best friend was rapacious, sly and had sway over the husband. Pirate was suave, daring and sensitive; just the ticket for a bored housewife. Local gentry were oafs with high opinions of themselves. All deliciously rendered for scorn and admiration all around.After a slow and deliberately tortured build-up, Dona finally leaves her matron self abed and goes adventuring with her pirate. It is very romantic; forest walks, charcoal sketches of the beloved, banter, fishing, dining al fresco, more banter, moonlight swims etc, etc, etc. However enjoyable it is, they both know it can’t last and most of their conversations are about this. Even after a horrific battle, capture and escape we know they are going to part and because of the graceful and attentive way it was done, we don’t even mind. There are hints of possible meetings to come and that gives one hope. But we’re proud of Dona because she chooses her married life. It’s unselfish and honorable. Now she’s tasted freedom, she can bear her fallow domestic existence with equanimity. The memories of her wild adventures, unknown by her family, will carry her though.

Dona St. Columb is sick of her life in Restoration London. In order to get away from the life she has led and the actions she has take - some of which do not make her very proud of herself - she takes her children and all but flees to her husband’s estate in Cornwall. Once there, she is called upon by an insufferable neighbor who requests that she summon her husband from London in order that he might help their neighbors rid themselves of a dastardly pirate who has been terrorizing the area. Dona is no shrinking violet to be scared of a little thing like a pirate. In fact, she ends up befriending - and more - the Frenchman, joining him in love and adventure before the gentlemen of the surrounding area close in upon him.This was the first novel of du Marurier’s I have read and I must say, it was definitely enjoyable. She has quite a way with words, the language she used was simply beautiful. I particularly liked the opening of the novel, where a fisherman from the story’s future begins to feel the pull of the creek and the story of Dona and the Frenchman. It was definitely more romance-y than I really prefer, although only suggestive and not explicit. The romance aspect of the story is the one thing I really didn’t like, actually. I didn’t really get how exactly Dona and the Frenchman fell in love. It wasn’t a nice, gradual deepening of emotion, it seemed more as if they like and lusted for one another, perhaps Dona lusting most of all for something different than what she had in her life. That part just didn’t really work for me, but then I’m not a fan of romances.Despite my slight problem with the central relationship in the book, I did like “Frenchman’s Creek.” The prose and the adventure story were enough for me to be thoroughly satisfied.

Frenchman’s Creek is an adventure story. Set in the 17th century, the story revolves around Dona St. Columb, a aristocratic woman who rebels against society’s constraints. She escapes to the family’s long-abandoned estate in Cornwall, where a band of pirates have beset her neighbors. Soon Dona falls in with the pirates’ leader, the elusive Frenchman of the title. Their romance is facilitated by one of Dona’s servants, William. Frenchman’s Creek is perhaps the fifth or sixth Daphne Du Maurier novel I’ve read. It’s not her best, but it’s pretty good nonetheless. This novel works well as an adventure story and historical fiction, but some parts of the plot were hard for me to believe. For example, I found it hard to believe that Dona’s husband, Harry, could have been as clueless about his wife’s activities, even when they were going on right under his nose. I also found it hard to understand why the neighbors didn’t notice anything amiss, either! I also felt that it was hard to get a real take on the Frenchman’s character. The romance was a bit stilted too. You sort of have to suspend your sense of disbelief while reading this book. In the end, though, this was an intriguing, fast-paged story about a woman forced to make choices.