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100 Notable Quotes By Daphne Du Maurier That Make Her Timeless

Famous As: English Novelist, Biographer and Playwright
Born On: May 13, 1907
Died On: April 19, 1989
Born In: London, England
Died At Age: 81
Daphne Du Maurier was an English writer and playwright, who become one of the most-well known literary figures of the 20th century. Maurier was born in a highly connected family, her mother being the actress Muriel Beaumont and father, the actor manager Sir Gerald Du Maurier. The connections of her family made it possible for her to get into the world of literature, however it must be said that it was only through her own prowess that she became a world renowned author of great repute. After writing for a while for a magazine named ‘Bystander’, she published her first novel ‘The Loving Spirit’ in 1931. Most of her books were based on love stories that mostly had a happy ending. That was probably a big reason why her novels and plays gained a lot of popularity. Some of her most famous works, which went on to become cult classics and are read even today are the novels ‘Rebecca and Jamaica Inn’, while the short stories ‘Don’t Look Now’ and ‘The Birds’ are also considered to be among her finest works. Her work, thoughts and writings are still read widely. Here are some of the most profound quotes from the life, times and works of Daphne Du Maurier that you would surely enjoy. 
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But luxury has never appealed to me, I like simple things, books, being alone, or with somebody who understands.

But luxury has never appealed to me, I like simple things, books, being alone, or with somebody who understands.

Daphne du Maurier
Women want love to be a novel. Men, a short story.

Women want love to be a novel. Men, a short story.

Daphne du Maurier
Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.

Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.

Daphne du Maurier
Happiness is not a possession to be prized, it is a quality of thought, a state of mind.

Happiness is not a possession to be prized, it is a quality of thought, a state of mind.

Daphne du Maurier
I am glad it cannot happen twice, the fever of first love. For it is a fever, and a burden, too, whatever the poets may say.

I am glad it cannot happen twice, the fever of first love. For it is a fever, and a burden, too, whatever the poets may say.

Daphne du Maurier
I wish I was a woman of about thirty-six dressed in black satin with a string of pearls.

I wish I was a woman of about thirty-six dressed in black satin with a string of pearls.

Daphne du Maurier
I suppose sooner or later in the life of everyone comes a moment of trial. We all of us have our particular devil who rides us and torments us, and we must give battle in the end.

I suppose sooner or later in the life of everyone comes a moment of trial. We all of us have our particular devil who rides us and torments us, and we must give battle in the end.

Daphne du Maurier
Men are simpler than you imagine my sweet child. But what goes on in the twisted, tortuous minds of women would baffle anyone.

Men are simpler than you imagine my sweet child. But what goes on in the twisted, tortuous minds of women would baffle anyone.

Daphne du Maurier
Either you go to America with Mrs. Van Hopper or you come home to Manderley with me.

Either you go to America with Mrs. Van Hopper or you come home to Manderley with me." "Do you mean you want a secretary or something?" "No, I'm asking you to marry me, you little fool.

Daphne du Maurier
Writers should be read, but neither seen nor heard.

Writers should be read, but neither seen nor heard.

Daphne du Maurier
We're not meant for happiness, you and I.

We're not meant for happiness, you and I.

Daphne du Maurier
I have no talent for making new friends, but oh such genius for fidelity to old ones.

I have no talent for making new friends, but oh such genius for fidelity to old ones.

Daphne du Maurier
Because I want to; because I must; because now and forever more this is where I belong to be.

Because I want to; because I must; because now and forever more this is where I belong to be.

Daphne du Maurier
There is no going back in life. There is no return. No second chance.

There is no going back in life. There is no return. No second chance.

Daphne du Maurier
...the routine of life goes on, whatever happens, we do the same things, go through the little performance of eating, sleeping, washing. No crisis can break through the crust of habit.

...the routine of life goes on, whatever happens, we do the same things, go through the little performance of eating, sleeping, washing. No crisis can break through the crust of habit.

Daphne du Maurier
It wouldn't make for sanity would it, living with the devil.

It wouldn't make for sanity would it, living with the devil.

Daphne du Maurier
Come and see us if you feel like it,' she said. 'I always expect people to ask themselves. Life is too short to send out invitations.

Come and see us if you feel like it,' she said. 'I always expect people to ask themselves. Life is too short to send out invitations.

Daphne du Maurier
I believe there is a theory that men and women emerge finer and stronger after suffering, and that to advance in this or any world we must endure ordeal by fire.

I believe there is a theory that men and women emerge finer and stronger after suffering, and that to advance in this or any world we must endure ordeal by fire.

Daphne du Maurier
Will you look into my eyes and tell me that you love me now?

Will you look into my eyes and tell me that you love me now?

Daphne du Maurier
The point is, life has to be endured, and lived. But how to live it is the problem.

The point is, life has to be endured, and lived. But how to live it is the problem.

Daphne du Maurier
I wondered why it was that places are so much lovelier when one is
alone.

I wondered why it was that places are so much lovelier when one is alone.

Daphne du Maurier
A dreamer, I walked enchanted, and nothing held me back.

A dreamer, I walked enchanted, and nothing held me back.

Daphne du Maurier
Every moment was a precious thing, having in it the essence of finality.

Every moment was a precious thing, having in it the essence of finality.

Daphne du Maurier
Time will mellow it, make it a moment for laughter. But now it was not funny, now I did not laugh. It was not the future, it was the present. It was too vivid and too real.

Time will mellow it, make it a moment for laughter. But now it was not funny, now I did not laugh. It was not the future, it was the present. It was too vivid and too real.

Daphne du Maurier
Boredom is a pleasing antidote for fear

Boredom is a pleasing antidote for fear

Daphne du Maurier
Why this man should love that woman, what queer chemical mix-up in our blood draws us to one another, who can tell?

Why this man should love that woman, what queer chemical mix-up in our blood draws us to one another, who can tell?

Daphne du Maurier
I had build up false pictures in my mind and sat before them. I had never had the courage to demand the truth.

I had build up false pictures in my mind and sat before them. I had never had the courage to demand the truth.

Daphne du Maurier
The moment of crisis had come, and I must face it. My old fears, my diffidence, my shyness, my hopeless sense of inferiority, must be conquered now and thrust aside. If I failed now I should fail forever.

The moment of crisis had come, and I must face it. My old fears, my diffidence, my shyness, my hopeless sense of inferiority, must be conquered now and thrust aside. If I failed now I should fail forever.

Daphne du Maurier
We are all ghosts of yesterday, and the phantom of tomorrow awaits us alike in sunshine or in shadow, dimly perceived at times, never entirely lost.

We are all ghosts of yesterday, and the phantom of tomorrow awaits us alike in sunshine or in shadow, dimly perceived at times, never entirely lost.

Daphne du Maurier
I held out my arms to him and he came to me like a child.

I held out my arms to him and he came to me like a child.

Daphne du Maurier
She knew that this was happiness, this was living as she had always wished to live.

She knew that this was happiness, this was living as she had always wished to live.

Daphne du Maurier
Dead men tell no tales, Mary.

Dead men tell no tales, Mary.

Daphne du Maurier
If you think I'm one of those people who try to be funny at breakfast you're wrong. I'm invariably ill-tempered in the early morning.

If you think I'm one of those people who try to be funny at breakfast you're wrong. I'm invariably ill-tempered in the early morning.

Daphne du Maurier
I would have gone too but I wanted to come straight back to you.I kept thinking of you, waiting here, all by yourself, not knowing what was going to happen.

I would have gone too but I wanted to come straight back to you.I kept thinking of you, waiting here, all by yourself, not knowing what was going to happen.

Daphne du Maurier
We all of us have our particular devil who ruses us and torments us, and we must give battle in the end.

We all of us have our particular devil who ruses us and torments us, and we must give battle in the end.

Daphne du Maurier
I don't mind. I like being alone.

I don't mind. I like being alone.

Daphne du Maurier
...but I should say that kindliness, and sincerity, and if I may say so--modesty--are worth far more to a man, to a husband, than all the wit and beauty in the world.

...but I should say that kindliness, and sincerity, and if I may say so--modesty--are worth far more to a man, to a husband, than all the wit and beauty in the world.

Daphne du Maurier
We've got a bond in common, you and I. We are both alone in the world.

We've got a bond in common, you and I. We are both alone in the world.

Daphne du Maurier
And this then, that I am feeling now, is the hell that comes with love, the hell and the damnation and the agony beyond all enduring, because after the beauty and the loveliness comes the sorrow and the pain.

And this then, that I am feeling now, is the hell that comes with love, the hell and the damnation and the agony beyond all enduring, because after the beauty and the loveliness comes the sorrow and the pain.

Daphne du Maurier
... and through it all and afterwards they would be together, making their own world where nothing mattered but the things they could give to one another, the loveliness, the silence, and the peace.

... and through it all and afterwards they would be together, making their own world where nothing mattered but the things they could give to one another, the loveliness, the silence, and the peace.

Daphne du Maurier
There is no going back in life, no return, no second chance. I cannot call back the spoken word or the accomplished deed.

There is no going back in life, no return, no second chance. I cannot call back the spoken word or the accomplished deed.

Daphne du Maurier
When she smiled it was as though she embraced the world.

When she smiled it was as though she embraced the world.

Daphne du Maurier
You understand now... how simple life becomes when things like mirrors are forgotten.

You understand now... how simple life becomes when things like mirrors are forgotten.

Daphne du Maurier
Life was a series of greetings and farewells, one was always saying good-bye to something, to someone.

Life was a series of greetings and farewells, one was always saying good-bye to something, to someone.

Daphne du Maurier
Living as we do in an age of noise and bluster, success is now measured accordingly. We must all be seen, and heard, and on the air.

Living as we do in an age of noise and bluster, success is now measured accordingly. We must all be seen, and heard, and on the air.

Daphne du Maurier
How lacking in intuition men could be in persuading themselves that mending some stranger's socks, and attending to his comfort, could content a woman...

How lacking in intuition men could be in persuading themselves that mending some stranger's socks, and attending to his comfort, could content a woman...

Daphne du Maurier
He stole horses' you'll say to yourself, 'and he didn't care for women; and but for my pride I'd have been with him now.

He stole horses' you'll say to yourself, 'and he didn't care for women; and but for my pride I'd have been with him now.

Daphne du Maurier
I thought of all those heroines of fiction who looked pretty when they cried, and what a contrast I must make with a blotched and swollen face, and red rims to my eyes.

I thought of all those heroines of fiction who looked pretty when they cried, and what a contrast I must make with a blotched and swollen face, and red rims to my eyes.

Daphne du Maurier
I could not ask for forgiveness for something I had not done. As scapegoat, I could only bear the fault.

I could not ask for forgiveness for something I had not done. As scapegoat, I could only bear the fault.

Daphne du Maurier
I wonder ... when it was that the world first went amiss, and men forgot how to live and to love and to be happy.

I wonder ... when it was that the world first went amiss, and men forgot how to live and to love and to be happy.

Daphne du Maurier
An empty house can be as lonely as a full hotel

An empty house can be as lonely as a full hotel" he said at length."The trouble is that it is less impersonal.

Daphne du Maurier
Watch that boy. He's going to startle somebody someday.

Watch that boy. He's going to startle somebody someday.

Daphne du Maurier
No, Mary had no illusions about romance. Falling in love was a pretty name for it, that was all.

No, Mary had no illusions about romance. Falling in love was a pretty name for it, that was all.

Daphne du Maurier
What degradation lay in being young.

What degradation lay in being young.

Daphne du Maurier
A familiar name on its own, however, does not carry its bearer far unless the talent is there, and the will to work.

A familiar name on its own, however, does not carry its bearer far unless the talent is there, and the will to work.

Daphne du Maurier
Why, he wondered, should he remember her suddenly, on such a day, watching the rain falling on the apple trees?

Why, he wondered, should he remember her suddenly, on such a day, watching the rain falling on the apple trees?

Daphne du Maurier
All whispers and echoes from a past that is gone teem into the sleeper's brain, and he is with them, and part of them.

All whispers and echoes from a past that is gone teem into the sleeper's brain, and he is with them, and part of them.

Daphne du Maurier
I felt rather exhausted, and wondered, rather shocked at my callous thought, why old people were sometimes such a strain. Worse than young children or puppies because one had to be polite.

I felt rather exhausted, and wondered, rather shocked at my callous thought, why old people were sometimes such a strain. Worse than young children or puppies because one had to be polite.

Daphne du Maurier
People who mattered could not take the humdrum world. But this was not the world, it was enchantment; and all of it was mine.

People who mattered could not take the humdrum world. But this was not the world, it was enchantment; and all of it was mine.

Daphne du Maurier
From the very first, I knew that it would be so...I smiled to myself, and said,

From the very first, I knew that it would be so...I smiled to myself, and said, "That -- and none other.

Daphne du Maurier
So you see, when war comes to one’s village, one’s doorstep, it isn’t tragic and impersonal any longer. It is just an excuse to vomit private hatred. That is why I am not a great patriot.

So you see, when war comes to one’s village, one’s doorstep, it isn’t tragic and impersonal any longer. It is just an excuse to vomit private hatred. That is why I am not a great patriot.

Daphne du Maurier
Looking from the window at the fantastic light and colour of my glittering fairy-world of fact that holds no tenderness, no quietude, I long suddenly for peace, for understanding.

Looking from the window at the fantastic light and colour of my glittering fairy-world of fact that holds no tenderness, no quietude, I long suddenly for peace, for understanding.

Daphne du Maurier
…you guessed that somewhere, in heaven knew what country and what guise, there was someone who was part of your body and your brain, and that without him you were lost, a straw blown by the wind.

…you guessed that somewhere, in heaven knew what country and what guise, there was someone who was part of your body and your brain, and that without him you were lost, a straw blown by the wind.

Daphne du Maurier
If there’s one thing that makes a man sick, it’s to have his ale poured out of an ugly hand.

If there’s one thing that makes a man sick, it’s to have his ale poured out of an ugly hand.

Daphne du Maurier
How pleasant,' Dona said, peeling her fruit; 'the rest of us can only run away from time to time, and however much we pretend to be free, we know it is only for a little while - our hands and our feet are tied.

How pleasant,' Dona said, peeling her fruit; 'the rest of us can only run away from time to time, and however much we pretend to be free, we know it is only for a little while - our hands and our feet are tied.

Daphne du Maurier
You had to endure something yourself before it touched you.

You had to endure something yourself before it touched you.

Daphne du Maurier
I would not be young again, if you offered me the world. But then I'm prejudiced.'
'You talk,' I said, 'as if you were ninety-nine.'
'For a woman I very nearly am,' she said. 'I'm thirty five.

I would not be young again, if you offered me the world. But then I'm prejudiced.' 'You talk,' I said, 'as if you were ninety-nine.' 'For a woman I very nearly am,' she said. 'I'm thirty five.

Daphne du Maurier
You have blotted out the past for me, far more effectively than all the bright lights of Monte Carlo.

You have blotted out the past for me, far more effectively than all the bright lights of Monte Carlo.

Daphne du Maurier
There was something rather blousy about roses in full bloom, something shallow and raucous, like women with untidy hair

There was something rather blousy about roses in full bloom, something shallow and raucous, like women with untidy hair

Daphne du Maurier
People who travel are always fugitives.

People who travel are always fugitives.

Daphne du Maurier
It's funny,' I noted in the diary, 'how often I seem to build a story around one sentence, nearly always the last one, too. The themes are a bit depressing but I just can't get rid of that.

It's funny,' I noted in the diary, 'how often I seem to build a story around one sentence, nearly always the last one, too. The themes are a bit depressing but I just can't get rid of that.

Daphne du Maurier
And, though there should be a world of difference between the smile of a man and the bared fangs of a wolf, with Joss Merlyn they were one and the same.

And, though there should be a world of difference between the smile of a man and the bared fangs of a wolf, with Joss Merlyn they were one and the same.

Daphne du Maurier
Maxim's voice, clear and strong,

Maxim's voice, clear and strong, "Will someone take my wife outside?She is going to faint.

Daphne du Maurier
He was young and ardent in a hundred happy ways.

He was young and ardent in a hundred happy ways.

Daphne du Maurier
She's dearer than life itself, that's all I know.

She's dearer than life itself, that's all I know.

Daphne du Maurier
But the point is this Monsieur...the reason why Madame complains of you is not because of the immorality in itself; but because, so she tells me, you make immorality delicious.

But the point is this Monsieur...the reason why Madame complains of you is not because of the immorality in itself; but because, so she tells me, you make immorality delicious.

Daphne du Maurier
As I stood there,hushed and still,I could swear that the house was not an empty shell but lived and breathed as it had lived before.

As I stood there,hushed and still,I could swear that the house was not an empty shell but lived and breathed as it had lived before.

Daphne du Maurier
She had contemplated life so long it had become indifferent to her.

She had contemplated life so long it had become indifferent to her.

Daphne du Maurier
And he went on eating his marmalade as though everything were natural.

And he went on eating his marmalade as though everything were natural.

Daphne du Maurier
My afternoon had spoilt me for the hours that still remained,

My afternoon had spoilt me for the hours that still remained,

Daphne du Maurier
Anger and jealousy were things that could be conquered.

Anger and jealousy were things that could be conquered.

Daphne du Maurier
She would have stood by Giles’s side, and shaken hands with people, a smile on her face. I could not do that. I had not the pride, I had not the guts. I was badly bred.

She would have stood by Giles’s side, and shaken hands with people, a smile on her face. I could not do that. I had not the pride, I had not the guts. I was badly bred.

Daphne du Maurier
...I will shed no more tears, like a spoilt child. For whatever happens we have had what we have had. No one can take that from us. And I have been alive, who was never alive before.

...I will shed no more tears, like a spoilt child. For whatever happens we have had what we have had. No one can take that from us. And I have been alive, who was never alive before.

Daphne du Maurier
....but in future keep the things that hurt to myself alone. They can be my secret indulgence.

....but in future keep the things that hurt to myself alone. They can be my secret indulgence.

Daphne du Maurier
Time could not wreck the perfect symmetry of those walls, nor the site itself, a jewel in the hollow of a hand.

Time could not wreck the perfect symmetry of those walls, nor the site itself, a jewel in the hollow of a hand.

Daphne du Maurier
The feel of her own pillow, and of her own blankets reassured her. Both were familiar. And being tired was familiar too, it was a solid bodily ache, like the tiredness after too much jumping or cricket.

The feel of her own pillow, and of her own blankets reassured her. Both were familiar. And being tired was familiar too, it was a solid bodily ache, like the tiredness after too much jumping or cricket.

Daphne du Maurier
But a lonely man is an unnatural man, and soon comes to perplexity. From perplexity to fantasy. From fantasy to madness.

But a lonely man is an unnatural man, and soon comes to perplexity. From perplexity to fantasy. From fantasy to madness.

Daphne du Maurier
I did so obediently, and waited for her approval.

I did so obediently, and waited for her approval.

Daphne du Maurier
Do you know so little about children, Monsieur Jean,' she asked, 'that you imagine, because they don't cry, therefore they feel nothing? If so, you're much mistaken.

Do you know so little about children, Monsieur Jean,' she asked, 'that you imagine, because they don't cry, therefore they feel nothing? If so, you're much mistaken.

Daphne du Maurier
It doesn't make for sanity, does it, living with the devil.

It doesn't make for sanity, does it, living with the devil.

Daphne du Maurier
Tact was a quality unknown to her, discretion too, and because gossip was the breath of life to her this stranger must be served for her dissection.

Tact was a quality unknown to her, discretion too, and because gossip was the breath of life to her this stranger must be served for her dissection.

Daphne du Maurier
Oh, God, I though, this is like two people in a play, in a moment the curtain will come down, we shall bow to the audience, and go off to our dressing-rooms.

Oh, God, I though, this is like two people in a play, in a moment the curtain will come down, we shall bow to the audience, and go off to our dressing-rooms.

Daphne du Maurier
... the inevitable lorgnette, the enemy to other people's privacy.

... the inevitable lorgnette, the enemy to other people's privacy.

Daphne du Maurier
The house was a sepulcher, our fear and suffering lay buried in the ruins. There would be no resurrection.

The house was a sepulcher, our fear and suffering lay buried in the ruins. There would be no resurrection.

Daphne du Maurier
I thought how little we know about the feelings of old people.

I thought how little we know about the feelings of old people.

Daphne du Maurier
..If we killed women for their tongues all men would be murderers.

..If we killed women for their tongues all men would be murderers.

Daphne du Maurier
...The fact that it's black transforms it. Has the same effect on women that black stockings have on men.

...The fact that it's black transforms it. Has the same effect on women that black stockings have on men.

Daphne du Maurier
I was like a little scrubby schoolboy with a passion for a sixth-form prefect, and he kinder, and far more inaccessible.

I was like a little scrubby schoolboy with a passion for a sixth-form prefect, and he kinder, and far more inaccessible.

Daphne du Maurier
Les images défilaient par centaines derrière mes yeux fermés, chose vues, choses sues et choses oubliées.

Les images défilaient par centaines derrière mes yeux fermés, chose vues, choses sues et choses oubliées.

Daphne du Maurier