The Doll by Daphne du Maurier is a compilation of short stories, I know that a lot of people don’t like reading short stories but du Maurier is one of the best at them I think, and if you’re a du Maurier fan then you’ll definitely want to read them. The stories are:

East Wind
The Doll
And Now to God the Father
A Difference in Temperament
Frustration
Piccadilly
Tame Cat
Mazie
Nothing Hurts for Long
Week-End
The Happy Valley
And Her Letters Grew Colder
The Limpet

There’s an introduction by Polly Samson, she says – Within these stories – some good , some less so but all fascinating – are the preoccupations which would possess Daphne du Maurier for a lifetime. The psychological insight that she would later exercise while inhabiting the characters of her novels and biographies is here, but out in the open and turned much more obviously on herself.

Like many writers Daphne du Maurier was obviously drawn to particular themes again and again and it’s interesting to read what turned out to be the kernel of an idea which she returned to in later books.