The Housekeeper

'An absolute masterclass' CLAIRE LYNCH 'She lifted me high, high up into another world, and then let me fall . . . Daphne du Maurier stole my life.' A dramatic story of forbidden love, from enduring bestseller Rose Tremain Mrs Danowski - known as Danni - is the housekeeper of a grand masnion on the wild coast of Cornwall. When glamorous young writer Daphne du Maurier visits Manderville Hall to research her new novel, she and Danni are drawn into a clandestine and intoxicating affair. For Danni, it is an all-consuming love; for Daphne a submission to long-suppressed desires. But their fragile secret is vulnerable to prying eyes and destined for heartbreak. When Daphne's novel launches to triumphant success, Danni is distraught to find herself transformed into a malign and jealous character on the page. She seeks respite from the hurt by telling her own story: The Housekeeper. What unforeseen encounters, what forbidden feelings can inspire a writer? With flair and panache, Rose Tremain has invented the story of how a great novel of the past came into being and in turn creates a masterwork of her own. 'Exquisitely drawn, poignant and devastating' STACEY HALLS 'A sweeping, atmospheric story of forbidden love, power and privilege' ERIN KELLY

Rose Tremain's novels and short stories have been published in thirty countries and have won many awards, including the Orange Prize (The Road Home), the Dylan Thomas Award (The Colonel's Daughter and Other Stories), the Whitbread Novel of the Year (Music & Silence) the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and France's Prix Femina (Sacred Country), and the South Bank Sky Arts Award (The Gustav Sonata). Her most recent novel is Absolutely and Forever (2023), which was a Sunday Times Book of the Year. The Housekeeper is currently in production as a major film, directed by Richard Eyre, with script by Tremain, and starring Anthony Hopkins and Helena Bonham Carter. Rose Tremain was made a CBE in 2007 and a Dame in 2020. She lives in Norfolk and London with the biographer, Richard Holmes.