Daphne du Maurier

continued...

been a major industry in both Cornwall and neighboring Devon because of the innumerable hospitable coves, some complete with caves for hiding contraband.
But there's also a replica of du Maurier's study, thought to be quite as the author would have arranged it herself.
Although Jamaica Inn is quaint, and its link with du Maurier's book enticing, her more famous novel, Rebecca, was set on the Cornish coast nearby. Many people have tried to come up with the exact cove on which the house in that book stood. Really, it doesn't matter. The literary value of that book, in which the heroine is something of an anti-heroine and remains nameless throughout, is enough to draw anyone to Cornwall, or put them off entirely, depending. Most modern criticism thinks it is a feminist treatise of sorts, glorifying and strong and unusual Rebecca, possibly gay, and certainly selfish. On the other hand, the unnamed narrator seems to be a solid and stable character, one who, now that the first flush of out-of-the-box feminism is past, might be the more enduring one, and also the more admirable one. If you go to Cornwall, read Rebecca. Then prowl the coasts, and see if the brooding headlands offer any insight into the character of Rebecca or the nameless narrator. And which one might have been the alter ego of du Maurier herself?

Of Cornishmen and Language

King Arthur was a Cornishman, born (according to some) or at least found (according to other historians) at Tintagel. He was slain near Dozmary Pool, or at least, that's the legend.
Also legendary is Cornish pride in their race; they are usually darker and shorter than other Britons, much as the Firbolgs in neighboring Ireland.  They will also point out that Cornwall is not a shire (like Devonshire), but a duchy. The British Crown seems to have tacitly agreed to that, styling Prince Charles also the Duke of Cornwall, and now Camilla as Duchess of Cornwall.
It's a pity the Duke can't speak the language. Perhaps he knows the meanings of three prefixes found on place and people names in Cornwall.  Tre means house, pol means pool and pen means headland. While Cornwall is still sparsely populated compared to much of England, it definitely offers a plethora of pools and headlands, making it just the sort of place for pirates and semi-mythical creatures to live and work.

A "pen" at Tintagel

© 2010 Muffin Dog Press LLC

England Southwest, Vol. 1, no. 3