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Daphne du Maurier

The official Daphne du Maurier website, approved by her Estate

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The du Maurier Fowey Literary Festival Online Fundraising Auction – 22nd November to 1st December 2024 – which lots would you like to bid on?


Fowey Festival Auction poster 2024


The Fowey Literary Festival online fundraising auction started at 6pm on Friday and is live until 6pm on Sunday, 1st December.  There are over fifty lots to bid on, and you will find an excellent and varied choice of lots, providing something to interest everyone.  To join the auction, simply scan the QR code or click on this link: https://www.jumblebee.co.uk/thedumaurierfoweyliteraryfestivalauction2024

Joining the auction is really easy; just follow the Sign-in link, and then you will be ready to start bidding.

Lots include some great activities such as a cruise on the river Fowey for two people, a trip on a tug, and a four-hour double kayak hire.  There are some great places to eat, including a cream tea for two at the Cornish Bakery, afternoon tea at Fowey Harbour Hotel and lunch for two at The Old Quay House.  Then there are treats such as the opportunity to have your pet's portrait painted, a Spa Day for two at the Cornwall Hotel and Spa, a one-hour 1:1 yoga class, a two-hour 1:1 lampshade making workshop, or perhaps you would like to treat yourself to a beautiful pair of River Pearl earrings or a box of Roly's fudge.  There are a number of signed books to bid on, including  The Dictator by Iain Dale, one of the festival's new Patrons, Doggedly Onward: A Life in Poems by Pam Ayres and The Siege by Ben Macintyre.  Then, there are several lovely pictures,  including original artwork, photographs and some prints.

For those of you who are particularly interested in Daphne du Maurier-related items, there are plenty of lots for you to bid on.  First of all, there is a beautiful inscribed and signed photograph of Daphne sitting on the steps of Kilmarth with her two dogs, Mac and Kenzie.  There is an almost identical photograph in an international auction currently, and that one has an estimate of 100 - 120 euros, so our one, with a starting price of £15.00, is a fabulous offer. 


DduM photo signed

Daphne du Maurier and her two dogs, Mac and Kenzie, signed photograph


There are three du Maurier titles: A library first edition of Jamaica Inn in its dustwrapper, a US first of The Progress of Julius and a signed copy of The Winding Stair in its dustwrapper.  There are also two model du Maurier cigarette vans, one red and the other blue.  The Daphne du Maurier website has donated all these items as we are always very keen to support the Fowey Literary Festival. 


DduM auction lots

A selection of the du Maurier related lots available at the Fowey Literary Festival Online Auction, currently


There is a lovely hardback copy of The Mischief Makers published in October 2024 and generously donated by its author, Elisabeth Gifford.  Here is what the writer Elizabeth Buchan and The Sunday Times has to say about The Mischief Makers:

What a brilliant idea to explore the dramas of Daphne du Maurier's interior life and her struggle to understand her own psyche.  Her connection to J.M Barrie, creator of Peter Pan and the "lost boys" was crucial, while her marriage to Boy Browning triggered emotional dissonance and complications, which were mirrored in her books.  A fascinating read. - Elizabeth Buchan, author of TWO WOMEN IN ROME.

As compelling as any of du Maurier's own works - Sunday Times.


Additionally, there is a rare Commemorative Postage Cover.  This one is dated 1997, with the 37p postage stamp of Daphne du Maurier postmarked for the last day of the 1997 Festival and signed by Daphne du Maurier's three children – Tessa Montgomery, Flavia Leng and Kits Browning.  And finally, a set of six du Maurier Festival mugs that were commissioned for the first Fowey Festival in 1997.

Do have a look because there are all these things and so much more for you to bid on, and all money raised will go towards making the du Maurier Fowey Literary Festival in May 2025 an extra special time for everyone.

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