A chilling story of ambition, Daphne du Maurier's third novel has lost none of its ability to unsettle and disturb.
A chilling story of ambition, Daphne du Maurier's third novel has lost none of its ability to unsettle and disturb. Julius Levy has grown up in a peasant family in a village on the banks of the Seine. A quick-witted urchin caught up in the Franco-Prussian War, he is soon forced by tragedy to escape to Algeria. Once there, he learns the ease of swindling, the rewards of love affairs, and the value of secrecy. Before he's 20, he's in London, where his empire-building begins in earnest. Driven by a lifelong hunger for power, he becomes a rich and ruthless man. His one weakness is his daughter Gabriel.
A chilling story of ambition, Daphne du Maurier's third novel has lost none of its ability to unsettle and disturb.
A chilling story of ambition, Daphne du Maurier's third novel has lost none of its ability to unsettle and disturb. Julius Levy has grown up in a peasant family in a village on the banks of the Seine. A quick-witted urchin caught up in the Franco-Prussian War, he is soon forced by tragedy to escape to Algeria. Once there, he learns the ease of swindling, the rewards of love affairs, and the value of secrecy. Before he's 20, he's in London, where his empire-building begins in earnest. Driven by a lifelong hunger for power, he becomes a rich and ruthless man. His one weakness is his daughter Gabriel.
Julius Levy sacrifices everything to a ruthless ambition. After adventures in the Franco-Prussian war and in Algiers he reaches England, where his dreams come true with a swiftness that would have frightened a man less sure of his destiny. As Julius claws his way to wealth, he cares for no one -- until Gabriel is born. The dark passions she inspires in her father will eventually destroy them both ...
“One of the last century's most original literary talents”
She wrote exciting plots, she was highly skilled at arousing suspense, and she was, too, a writer of fearless originality - Guardian
Daphne du Maurier was born in 1906 and educated at home and in Paris. She began writing in 1928, and many of her bestselling novels were set in Cornwall, where she lived for most of her life. She was made a DBE in 1969 and died in 1989.
FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF REBECCA 'She wrote exciting plots, she was highly skilled at arousing suspense' GUARDIAN 'The novel explores incest in a manner that is entirely unexpected for that period' JUSTINE PICARDIE 'One of the last century's most original literary talents' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'His first instinct was to stretch out his hands to the sky. The white clouds seemed so near to him, surely they were easy to hold and to caress, strange-moving things belonging to the wide blue space of heaven . . . ' Julius Levy grows up in a peasant family in a village on the banks of the Seine. A quick-witted urchin caught up in the Franco-Prussian War, he is soon forced by tragedy to escape to Algeria. Once there, he learns the ease of swindling, the rewards of love affairs and the value of secrecy. Before he's twenty, Julius is in London, where his empire-building begins in earnest and he becomes a rich and very ruthless man. Throughout his life, Julius is driven by a hunger for power, caring nothing for others until his daughter, Gabriel, is born. Julius' attachment to her will become his strongest bond and his greatest weakness.
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