The Mischief Makers by Elizabeth Gifford

The Mischief Makers tells the story of author J.M Barrie’s relationship with the du Maurier family, including their daughter Daphne. I had a vague idea there was a connection between he two but hadn’t realised what the connection actually was. The film Finding Neverland always makes me cry, especially where the boy’s mother dies and makes her way into heaven/ Neverland. I knew that all the brothers were adopted by J.M.Barrie but I’d not realised that the boys were Daphne Du Maurier’s cousins. Their mother Sylvia was Gerald du Maurier’s sister, so my first thought was why weren’t the boys adopted by their own family? The author tells the story from Daphne’s perspective from her childhood all the way to middle-age. It’s a psychological study in a lot of ways, because Gifford really takes us into Daphne’s inner world as her life unfolds. Daphne herself filters the world through her psychological readings of Jung and Adler. We move back and forth in time as she examines incidents from her childhood with the benefit of experience and new discoveries she makes. We gain insight into her character and her process as an author, which was wonderful for me because I’m a huge fan of her work.

Daphne grows up in a very complicated situation where she has a very attentive father and a cold, distant mother. This is something she examines closely later o with her adult knowledge of what’s appropriate and her father’s philandering ways with young actresses he starred with in theatre productions. The boys and J.M. Barrie are constant presence too, particularly in the nursery where Daphne would be waiting for the writer to weave stories. She is an imaginative child and Barrie teaches her to use her imagination, conjuring her ‘shadow self’ very like his most famous creation, Peter Pan. Tomboy Daphne is his real life principle boy and their play gives her space to sword fight, climb and take to the high seas in a way that’s frowned upon for girls in her class. There’s a fluidity to Daphne, in terms of both her gender and sexuality. In adulthood her pirate side becomes the bold, beautiful and sexually adventurous Rebecca de Winter. This was a character I’d always associated with Jane Eyre’s Bertha Mason - the original madwoman in the attic. Similarly, the second Mrs de Winter also represents Daphne but the quiet side that’s rarely seen in London. This is the side that craves time alone in Cornwall where she dresses in men’s tweeds and romps through the countryside or goes out sailing from their home in Fowey. As I was reading about this side of her character I was reminded of the young Mrs de Winter’s tweed skirts and her new sister-in-law’s observation that she couldn’t give a fig what she looks like. Fowey is where she goes to be herself, o hunker down with her children and husband Tommy. It’s where she writes and is most at home.

I was very interested in the methods Barrie used to visualise the scenes from his books and plays. It also unlocks the imagination of his young charges, as the boys act out certain scenes such as hanging certain characters in the woods. With Daphne he has an almost hypnotic way of getting her to imagine an island rising from the lake. Could his techniques, which could be seen as hypnotism, have caused Daphne constant sense of being split. What effect did Uncle Jim’s imagination and techniques have on the boys in his care? Daphne remembers Michael being plagued by night terrors about drowning and a stubborn aversion to learning to swim. Are they all too imaginative? It’s clear that mental illness has run in the family, but is this an innate problem or unintentionally learned behaviour?

I loved how Daphne comes across as a very new type of woman, especially in her own society and class. She epitomises the ‘flapper spirit’ but her progression goes much further than the drinking and dancing of the Bright Young Things. She’s different from previous generations of women in her very own way. She wants to write, to live alone in Cornwall and earn her own money. She has never fancied the idea of a husband and children, and has chafed against all the rules of being a young lady set by a mother she refers to as ‘Edwardian’. We get what she means in one sentence - the generation gap is huge. There’s also her fluid sexuality , something that I’ve always suspected as an undercurrent in her most famous novel Rebecca. Mrs Danver’s obsession with her mistress, telling her new mistress about Rebecca’s lustrous hair and showing her the sheer lace of her nightdress. When Daphne visits New York for a plagiarism case about the novel she meets Ellen, the wife of her publisher. She is immediately struck by her hostess’s resemblance to the character both in looks and her ability to look after a guest and put them at their ease. Daphne is overwhelmed by feeling and interprets it as desire, but I could see the second Mrs de Winter gazing out at Rebecca wishing she could be like her. Wouldn’t life be easier if she was this smart, perfect hostess and Tommy’s trophy wife? Although, Tommy largely accepts his rather less organised and talented wife.

Elizabeth Gifford brought Daphne to life for me and having visited the du Maurier home at Ferryside and Menabilly, I could easily imagine her there. It was fascinating to take a trawl through her upbringing and how she ended up down in Cornwall writing. There is also this brilliant sinister edge to the story, with odd psychosexual tension and the questions around J.M. Barrie’s motives in adopting the du Maurier boys. Despite her mother’s wishes, her parents are generous enough to let her live down in Fowey as a young woman. Through her own journals we can see that she is troubled, constantly torn between the self she wants to be and the self she feels she should be. This is the gap between Rebecca and the second Mrs de Winter who is young, inexperienced and not equipped to run a great household in the same way as her predecessor. She questions herself constantly when the truth is that much like Maxim de Winter, her husband loves her for all the qualities she sees as faults. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, that filled in the gaps in my knowledge about a brilliant writer and the psychological place her work came from.

The Mischief Makers by Elisabeth Gifford is a captivating and enchanting tale that explores the complexities of family, secrets, and the bonds that hold us together. Gifford’s evocative storytelling and richly drawn characters pull readers into a world where past mischief and present-day challenges intertwine. Set against a beautifully described backdrop, the novel delves into themes of love, loss, and reconciliation, offering a heartwarming and sometimes bittersweet reflection on the nature of relationships. With its blend of humor, mystery, and emotional depth, The Mischief Makers is a delightful read that reminds us of the power of family and the enduring impact of our shared histories.

Daphne du Maurier's life as a writer, the influence of Peter Pan author Barrie on her family and her often troubled relationships reveal a self-absorbed woman, very much of her class and of the times but startlingly who wrote psychologically complex novels. It also feels like quite a careful and flattering account of the writer. The book skated over the emotions of her sisters (and their sexuality), her children who were often sent away or with Nanny and husband who she adored but seems unable to talk to. As characters they feel remote, rather as Du Maurier herself seemed to perceive them. This book provides a context for du Maurier's plots and characters which I found really interesting. Although this was obviously well-researched, and set out chronologically, I found it a bit plodding and alienating with occasional flights of gothic fancy and obsessions that didn't hugely appeal.

An interesting incursion into the life of Daphne du Maurier and her relationship with JMBarrie who had a significant and deep affect on her life. It shows how her works were influenced by her state of mind

A fictionalized and entertaining piece of Daphne du Maurier's biography featuring her on the edge of a nervous breakdown in the moment that mixes past and the future of her greatest book.
Entertaining, well researched, well written
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Thank you NetGalley and Atlantic Books for this eCopy to review

The Mischief Makers offers a fascinating look into the life of the renowned author Daphne du Maurier, delving into her personal and professional life, exploring the influences and experiences that shaped her writing. Especially, du Maurier’s complex relationship with J.M. Barrie, the creator of Peter Pan. Barrie was a close family friend and had a significant influence on Daphne and her cousins, who were famously known as “The Lost Boys.”

What I Loved:
In-depth Biography: Gifford provides a detailed and well-researched account of du Maurier’s life, from her childhood to her later years. It’s insightful to see how her personal experiences influenced her famous works.
Engaging Writing Style: Gifford’s narrative is both engaging and accessible, making it easy to get lost in the story of du Maurier’s life.
Historical Context: The book does a great job of placing du Maurier’s life within the broader context of the times she lived in, offering a richer understanding of her work and legacy.

Barrie’s presence in their lives was both a source of inspiration and psychological complexity. His whimsical and imaginative nature influenced Daphne’s own storytelling and creative pursuits. However, du Maurier learns late on in her life that Barrie may have been manipulating her and the Lost Boys and their parents for years leading to them suffering lasting psychological damage

Gifford’s exploration of these relationships provides a deep and nuanced understanding of how Barrie’s influence shaped Daphne du Maurier’s life and the lives of her cousins. It’s a poignant reminder of the complexities behind the lives of those who inspire great works of literature.

I most saddened by the demise of her relation with her husband Frederick “Boy” Browning as they had such a good one before the war and Jim's manipulations ruined everything

A fascinating insight into one of my favourite authors

A very readable book about the author Daphne Du Maurier. I have to confess, despite having read Rebecca I knew very little about this writer's life and certainly not that she was married to a war hero who worked for the Queen when he retired from the army.
The book centres round Du Maurier's relationships beginning with her broken relationship with her mother and then moving on to her connections with JM Barrie, author of Peter Pan and the lost boys, and his family of boys that he adopted after their parents' deaths. Du Maurier know Barrie as Uncle Jim and he was an important figure in her childhood, but as she gets older she is forced to accept his friendliness may not have been all it appeared on the surface.
Du Maurier married Tommy, a major in the army. She hated being an army wife and when WW2 comes round and Tommy is abroad she uses her wealth to rent a dilapidated house in Cornwall where she moves with their children. At first the house brings her considerable happiness but hanging over her life is the memory of Uncle Jim.
This is a story that encompasses the rich and famous, affairs, dramas, sexual confusions, family secrets, mental stress and illness and eventually some degree of self-healing.
I very much enjoyed the details of the places, clothing, houses and the contemporary settings and it has certainly encouraged me to read more of Du Maurier's works.
With thanks to Netgalley and Atlantic Books for the early copy in return for an honest review.

The Mischief Makers by Elisabeth Gifford is an autobiographical novel about the enigmatic author Daphne Du Maurier ,every bit as complex and compelling as any of her fictional characters.

The book is very much centred around relationships and hardly any of the close ones in Daphne's world were straightforward, something she ponders on at the beginning of the book which finds her reflecting on her past and on the point of a nervous breakdown.
The book largely centres around one of these relationships,that of her beloved "Uncle Jim", the author best known for writing Peter Pan ,J.M.Barrie. While not a blood relative Barrie adopted Daphne's 5 cousins and they grew in a world of laughter, adventures , and amazing stories woven around those stories that eventually were introduced to the world as Peter Pan. So why after a childhood that was almost literally a fairytale were the boys lives later dogged by tragedy and depression ? Why did that appear to be the fate of many who came into the orbit of someone who on the surface spread laughter and magic wherever he went? As Daphne unravels the complex workings of the mind of Uncle Jim she looks at herself and ponders on her own complexities and how she's affected the lives of those close to her.

At the beginning of the book I was immediately hooked then it seemed to meander somewhat into straight autobiography for a while .Daphne's early life is sketched and her family members are introduced,which of course is essential proved to be clever as from those often vague outlines the various characters become increasingly fleshed out as the book progresses and we learn their true natures and the effect they had on Daphne as their role in her life and thoughts in later life becomes clear.
From what I started this review calling an "autobiographical novel" the book delves deeper and deeper into the psychology of Daphne , those in her various circles and their often,mostly in fact, destructive and dysfunctional relationships with each other .
One love that Daphne did,almost uniquely,not crash into a wall was her love of the beautiful part of Cornwall that she lived in and was the place she found most peace,beautifully described by Elisabeth Gifford, who spent time walking in Daphne's footsteps and even briefly living in the place she loved most as part of her research for this book.

I loved this book, the essential character introduction early chapters nearly had thinking that this was going to be little more than a fictionalised and enlarged Wikipedia article but thankfully I was very wrong. Daphne's life was mixing with the rich and famous, affairs , sexual confusion, family secrets, reflection, mental illness and an eventual awareness of herself and others,not least everyone's favourite Uncle,the man whose most famous book for children hides a darkness in plain sight.