Gerald; a Portrait, by Daphne Du Maurier

Londoner Sir Gerald Hubert Edward Busson du Maurier lived from 1873 - 1934. He was a popular actor both on stage and in films. He became financially well off 1910 - 1925 when he managed for owner Frank Curzon Wyndham's Theatre in London. He then moved on with less success to managing the St James's Theatre. His sister's sons inspired J.M. Barrie to write PETER PAN, or THE BOY WHO WOULDN'T GROW UP. Du Maurier played both Captain Hook and George Darling in the 1904 stage premiere. *** Sir Gerald and his actress wife had three daughters: a painter and two novelists. Second daughter Daphne du Maurier (later to write REBECCA) penned GERALD: A PORTRAIT not long after her father's death from colon cancer. She portrayed him, it seems to me, as Peter Pan or at least as a boy who never grew up. The man himself never realized his potential. He had no religion, no serious interests, was an incessant practical joker and made life truly miserable for his three daughters as they passed beyond puberty and explored their sexuality without making him their confidant in their amours. *** As she matured, Dame Daphne du Maurier (1907 - 1989) became firmly convinced that each and every human being "echoes" his or her ancestors. Not just their blood, their genes, their DNA, but also the lives they lived, the books they read, the enemies they made. To understand her father, Sir Gerald du Maurier, it was, therefore, necessary to understand his parents, brothers and sisters and their friends and milieu. Thus the first quarter of GERALD: A PORTRAIT focuses on Gerald's parents. They were George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier (1834 – 1896) and Emma Wightwick, who married in 1863. George was born in France, bilingual in French and English, a renowned painter and later cartoonist for PUNCH. Late in life he wrote three novels, of which the most famous is TRILBY and its sinister character the musical genius/hypnotist Svengali. Gerald du Maurier, as a very young actor, played in the stage version of his father's novel, TRILBY. Daphne never met her grandfather, but she read his novels and letters and seemed to love absolutely everything she learned of this genial, loving forebear. *** Readers who want to garner all they can learn about Daphne du Maurier will of necessity learn all they can about her distinguished family. GERALD: A PORTRAIT is a grand place to start. -OOO-