Book Review: "The King's General" by Daphne Du Maurier

If you're interested, you can find reviews of other Daphne Du Maurier books I've read below:

And so, now we are on The King's General. When I was in university (yes, that's a long while ago now, let's not mention how many years it has been), I was taking a film module in which we had to adapt a short story for the screen and write our own production script for it. I chose The Apple Tree by Daphne Du Maurier mainly because it fascinated me. No it wasn't my favourite short story, but at the time I got really into it. Ever since then I have definitely been meaning to read more of her works as I had only by then, read the famous ones and of course, my personal favourite by her: My Cousin Rachel. The one thing we have to love about The King's General though is that it is set in a place that is the inspiration for Manderley, the haunting atmosphere of Rebecca, her most widely-read novel.

The novel is set during the English Civil Wars and stars Honor who also narrates the book. When Honor's eldest brother dies of smallpox, there is a shift in the air in which we are foreshadowed a failed marriage. Her brother had only been married a few months when he was struck down and died of smallpox and the wife he had eventually moves away. This sets up the book for what might happens later, but what happens later of course, is laden with far more turbulence as the wars break out by then. Du Maurier's talent is to set the scene for us and the death of the eldest brother comes so swiftly that we almost don't register it - though we should not ignore it entirely - it is an omen.

When Honor is eighteen, she meets the brother of her own brother's widow, his name is Richard. The two fall in love and they too, decide to get married. Of course, understanding that the theme of marriage is laden with tragedy means that this wedding might be a great ceremony to all, but the underlining is dark and often troubling. It's like two consecutive notes on a piano being played at the same time, quietly in the background of a happier occasion. Of course, we don't have to wait too long as Honor is injured in a riding accident and loses the use of her legs entirely. However, remember when I said that they decided to get married - well the riding accident has put Honor off marrying him entirely. It is like she sees what we see. Du Maurier's characters who see what the reader can see beneath the surface are not uncommon and so, we should think of this as 'dodging a bullet' and yet, there is still story to come which suggest that the bullet may actually just be inches from everyone's faces, frozen in mid-air.

We get news about Richard's life in which he has had three children: Joe (illegitimate but his favourite), Dick (legitimate but neglected by his father) and Elizabeth who is kind of just there because she lives with her mother who is (surprise, surprise) estranged from Richard. This is where Honor moves to Menabilly - the inspiration for Manderley and of course, she is going to encounter Richard for however an uncomfortable time. This is because Richard is injured in the war and it is the brave and independent Honor who helps him to get better. I don't know about you but I genuinely don't think Richard deserves this amount of kindness, especially when he is clearly neglecting his middle child because he's not as rambunctious and all-around impulsive as the older son.

It's then that Joe is captured and executed - Richard's grief is almost final and the glimmer of sympathy we feel for him comes rushing to the surface but, not for long since we remember that he still doesn't love his middle child enough and that middle child is now feeling and harbouring the resentment of a life in the shadows. When the war is brought to Cornwall, Richard is betrayed in battle and thus, the story grows into something else entirely.

I am leaving out the ending but I was engrossed in this book from start to finish. It is one of those doomed novels that is so common of Du Maurier and is perhaps her greatest strength. No, it is not one of her well-known ones but if you can read it then I guarantee, you will not be able to put it down.