Last Night I Dreamt

Name: Last Night I Dreamt
Price: 69.99 AUD
Availability: PreOrder
ISBN: 9780349020440

A Personal History of the du Mauriers

Paul de Zulueta

$69.99

Hardback

Forthcoming
Pre-Order now

QTY:

English

Virago Press Ltd
08 September 2026

Biography: arts & entertainment; Biography: literary; Social & cultural history; Family history, tracing ancestors

An intimate, revelatory family biography of the iconic writer Daphne du Maurier and her famous ancestors, by her eldest grandson

Born into a famous artistic dynasty, Daphne grew up in an atmosphere of carefree privilege. At a time when girls of her class were not expected to have a career, she defied convention and moved to Cornwall to pursue her ambition to become a writer. There, over six decades, she dreamt up the stories that have sold tens of millions of copies worldwide and still haunt our cultural imagination, including Rebecca, Jamaica Inn and 'The Birds'.

Last Night I Dreamt explores how the turbulence and contradictions of Daphne's own life - spanning war, affairs, a marriage to a renowned but damaged general, and unrequited love - inspired her writing. It also uncovers the powerful influence of her notable forebears, in particular her domineering father Gerald, the most famous actor-manager of his generation; her grandfather George, a renowned Victorian novelist and cartoonist; and the mistress to the Duke of York, Mary Anne Clarke, another woman who refused to obey the rules.

Paul de Zulueta, Daphne's grandson, has drawn on private family archives, new interviews and his own memories of his grandmother, a woman who was central to his early life. In doing so, he gives us an extraordinary look into the world of Daphne du Maurier with rare closeness and emotional candour, and a moving portrait of one of the great British artistic families of the 19th and 20th centuries.

By: Paul de Zulueta
Imprint: Virago Press Ltd
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 240mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 22mm
ISBN: 9780349020440
ISBN 10: 0349020442
Pages: 368
Publication Date: 08 September 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Paul de Zulueta is Daphne du Maurier's eldest grandchild, and son of Tessa, Daphne's elder daughter. Inspired by the memory of Daphne's husband, 'Boy' Browning's, distinguished military career, Paul spent his early 20s in the army. He then developed a career in adult education and personal development. Paul started writing in his early 50s and has written obituaries for The Times, book reviews for the Spectator and is a contributing editor to the Household Division Journal. He has written two books published by Osprey Bloomsbury: Peace, War and Whitehall (ghosted memoirs for Field Marshal Lord Guthrie, Tony Blair's chief of defence staff) and Those Must be The Guards (the authorised history of the Household Division 1969- 2023 with a Foreword by The Princess Royal).