What is the name of the mansion in Daphne du Maurier's 'Rebecca'?
Answer
Manderley
Answer
Manderley
The mansion in Daphne du Maurier's 'Rebecca' is named Manderley.
Manderley is the country estate owned by Maxim de Winter, the wealthy widower who marries the novel's unnamed narrator. After their courtship in Monte Carlo, the new Mrs de Winter travels with Maxim to the estate, where she finds herself overshadowed by the memory of his first wife, Rebecca. The house becomes the novel's central Gothic presence: beautiful, imposing, and psychologically threatening.
The famous opening sentence announces its importance: “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” Although Rebecca herself is dead before the story begins, her influence fills the rooms, servants' routines, and social rituals. Mrs Danvers, the housekeeper, preserves Rebecca's bedroom and belongings as though her former mistress might return.
Manderley is fictional, but du Maurier drew on real places. Descriptions were influenced by Milton Hall in Cambridgeshire and Menabilly, the Cornish house where she later lived. The novel suggests Cornwall through place-names and atmosphere, while film adaptations have made the setting more explicitly Cornish. By the ending, Manderley is destroyed by fire.
Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Aug. 2026