3 Review(s)

The biography delves into Du Maurier’s background, his early life as the son of French immigrants in England, and his struggles with health problems, particularly his loss of vision, which eventually led him to abandon his initial ambitions as a painter and pursue a career in illustration. Wood examines Du Maurier’s rise to prominence through his work at Punch, where his keen observational skills and wit allowed him to mock the pretensions and foibles of Victorian middle and upper-class society, particularly in the realms of fashion, social manners, and the growing influence of the bourgeoisie.Wood also explores Du Maurier’s transition from satirical illustrator to novelist, focusing on the enormous success of Trilby (1894), which became a cultural phenomenon and introduced the character Svengali into the literary canon. The novel’s themes of art, control, and the Bohemian lifestyle resonated with readers, and Wood provides insight into how Du Maurier’s personal experiences and observations of the artistic world influenced his writing.