This week, we’re giving away three copies of Last Night I Dreamt by Paul de Zulueta. Written by her grandson from private family archives, this intimate biography reveals how Daphne du Maurier's turbulent life and remarkable ancestors shaped the stories that made her a literary icon. Here’s the blurb:
An intimate, revelatory family biography of the iconic writer Daphne du Maurier and her famous ancestors, by her eldest grandson.
Born into a well-known artistic dynasty, Daphne du Maurier grew up in an atmosphere of carefree privilege – but at a time when women of her class were not expected to have a career. She however 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, complex family dynamics, 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.
If you’d like to win a copy, simply enter your details in the form below. Three lucky people will win a copy!
Entries close midday (Syd/Melb time) Monday 28 September 2026. Winners will be notified within a week of the competition closing.
GOOD LUCK!
THIS COMPETITION HAS NOW CLOSED. THANKS FOR YOUR ENTRIES! WINNERS WILL BE CONTACTED BY EMAIL AND ANNOUNCED IN OUR NEWSLETTER.
