A few weeks ago my sister-in-law and I were packing bookshelves and we tossed out several books, as one does while spring-cleaning. Amongst them was one by Daphne du Maurier, which I promptly saved from the pile. I’ve only read one of du Maurier’s books (Rebecca), but it’s one of my favourites. The movie adaptation – directed by Alfred Hitchcock – was infused with the same gothic eeriness as the book, and Hitchcock’s adaptation of her novelette The Birds is equally superb.