Rose Tremain’s The Housekeeper Transforms Short Story into Expanded Du Maurier Homage

Rose Tremain has released her 17th novel, The Housekeeper, which serves as an expanded homage to Daphne du Maurier’s classic Rebecca. By imagining the events that may have inspired the beloved novel, Tremain explores the relationship between Du Maurier and a fictional Polish-Jewish housekeeper, adding a new entry to the long lineage of notable works that originated as short stories.

This expansion follows a tradition that includes Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway, which grew from her short story Mrs Dalloway in Bond Street, as well as works by Evan S Connell and Jeffrey Eugenides. More recently, Rachel Cusk’s Project, published in the New Yorker in September 2025, formed the opening of her novel Life of M. Tremain first introduced the concept in a 2014 story included in her collection The American Lover.

The narrative centers on Lilianne Danowski, a Polish Jew who escaped the pogroms with her father during childhood. Now employed at Manderville Hall near Fowey in Cornwall, Danowski manages the household staff with reserved efficiency. When Du Maurier visits for lunch, she is guided through the estate by Danowski, referred to as Danni by her employers because her surname was considered too difficult to pronounce.

During the tour, Danowski proudly encourages Du Maurier to examine the meticulously preserved bedroom of her former mistress and leads her to the boathouse. These experiences and a subsequent passionate year-long affair form the basis of the novel, depicting how the historical figure of Mrs Danvers might have been shaped. Tremain’s work continues to examine complex human relationships and the hidden histories behind famous literary works.