The Housekeeper

‘Exquisitely drawn, poignant and devastating. Rose Tremain is masterful in her depiction of a summer romance, and how a shared experience can be so utterly different for the people involved’ * Stacey Halls, author of The Familiars *
‘An absolute masterclass in character and style. The Housekeeper is a novel of patient observation and irresistible passion all at once. Just as this novel grows from between the lines of another, so we see the great layering of Tremain’s writing. It is, in some ways, a book of half-lived lives. It is also a book of what can be imagined, the possibilities of desires followed, ambitions pursued’ * Claire Lynch, author of A Family Matter *
‘A sweeping, atmospheric story of forbidden love, power and privilege. The Housekeeper shines a devastating light on one of the most iconic characters in twentieth-century fiction and the nature of authorship itself. A must-read for all du Maurier fans’ * Erin Kelly, author of The Night Stairs *
‘It takes a brave author to reimagine Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca. Luckily, Rose Tremain is more than up to the task… thrilling’ * The Times, Autumn Picks of 2026 *
This brilliant construction is a Rubik’s Cube that yields multiple meanings while Tremain, a master storyteller, keeps the reader compelled * Financial Times *
[The Housekeeper is] arguably as compelling as the original * Country Life *
Melancholy, moving and cinematic * Daily Mail *
Rich in gothic atmosphere, betrayal and longing, this is an absorbing, beautifully written reimagining that will especially resonate with readers and fans of Rebecca * Woman *
What makes Tremain such a master of narrative is the palpable joy she takes in the act of creation. There’s an almost childlike relish to her world-building and a glorious freedom to her imagination. Approaching her fiction in a spirit of pure play, she conjures a world so sensory and atmospheric it completely ensnares the reader * The Times *

Rose Tremain’s novels and short stories have been published in thirty countries and have won many awards, including:

• Orange Prize for The Road Home
• Dylan Thomas Award for The Colonel’s Daughter and Other Stories
• Whitbread Novel of the Year for Music & Silence
• James Tait Black Memorial Prize and France’s Prix Femina for Sacred Country
• South Bank Sky Arts Award for The Gustav Sonata

Her most recent novel is Absolutely and Forever (2023), which was a Sunday Times Book of the Year.

The Housekeeper is currently in production as a major film, directed by Richard Eyre, with script by Tremain, and starring Anthony Hopkins and Helena Bonham Carter.

Rose Tremain was made a CBE in 2007 and a Dame in 2020. She lives in Norfolk and London with the biographer, Richard Holmes.

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