I'm giving this 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4. I wasn't expecting a plotline that hinged on an experimental hallucinogenic drug in a Daphne du Maurier novel, but that's exactly what we get. Richard, fresh from leaving his London job, is staying with his old friend Magnus in Cornwall. He agrees to participate in an experiment involving a mysterious drug Magnus has been testing. After taking it, Richard finds himself transported to the 14th century, tethered to a steward named Roger, who becomes his ...

In 1960s Cornwall, Dick Young is only half-heartedly engaging with his family and the world he lives in. Why? Because he's addicted to going back into the past, to the 14th century, where he's consumed with the lives and intrigues of the court there. He's been using a new discovery from a professor friend to time travel, but can't be seen or engage in any way with the past. He becomes obsessed with trying to change the past, and there's just no way that will end well, will it? This is essentiall...

Filling in the BlanksWhen it comes to time travel stories, I always prefer the ones that take us into the past...Why the past and not the future?Well... the roots of the present lie in the past, and... sometimes... I just wish... I could go back and sort some things out!However, I'm letting some intrusive thoughts sneak into this review, because apart from time travel, this line of thinking has nothing to do with the plot of *The House on the Strand* by Daphne du Maurier!So, what's *The House on...

I was one of them, and they did not know it. I belonged amongst them, and they did not know it. This, I think, was the essence of what it meant to me. To be bound, yet free; to be alone, yet in their company; to be born in my own time yet living, unknown, in theirs. Daphne du Maurier's tale of morbid obsession in "The House on the Strand" is several things: a gloomy treatise on addiction and how it disintegrates the world of the addicted; a romantic paean to Tywardreath in Cornwall, close to...

Who would have thought that the words 'time travel' and 'Daphne du Maurier' could even appear in the same sentence? Yet, that's exactly what she delivers in The House on the Strand, and honestly, she pulls it off brilliantly!I was completely captivated by the Cornish setting, recognizing so many places I've visited myself – places Du Maurier clearly adored. The main character embarks on a journey through time (or does he?), finding himself in the fourteenth century, able only to observe events w...

Years ago, I devoured this CRAZY-GOOD book called "Blinding Light" by Paul Theroux, and at times, *The House on the Strand* brought it all back. Just...CRAZY, but utterly addicting!!! In both novels, we're sucked into the protagonist's mind as they trip on some kind of hallucinogenic drug. The tension, the suspense, the sheer fantasy—it's all C.R.A.Z.Y!!! And so, so good! For readers seeking thrilling book reviews, this one's a wild ride. I'll admit, I slightly preferred Theroux's book; *The H...

Daphne du Maurier and time travel? Sure, let's give it a shot. That was my entire thought process when I decided to buy "The House on the Strand" from a secondhand bookstore last summer. Rebecca is terrifying and brilliant, and I figured that if du Maurier applied even a portion of her talent to this story, it wouldn't be half bad. And it wasn't. I still prefer Rebecca, but who doesn't? Our protagonist is Dick Young, and he's agreed to be part of an experiment done by his college friend, Profe...

The next stop in my time travel marathon (November being Science Fiction Month) was *The House on the Strand*, the 1969 novel by Daphne du Maurier. I was delighted to learn that the author of *Rebecca* and *The Birds* had attempted to fuse one of her Gothic romances with a time travel adventure, and I had high expectations for this book. If written by anyone but du Maurier, it's unlikely I would've finished it. The author's depiction of how time travel could become an addiction and dissolve a mo...

Quite a few of Daphne du Maurier's novels and short stories have been adapted into films, which is how many people discover her work. *The House on the Strand* is one of her lesser-known novels, the penultimate one she wrote, published in 1969. It's an unusual story about time travel and mind-expanding drugs – themes that felt very relevant for the time. Du Maurier throws us right into the thick of things with a beautifully written and vividly descriptive scene. Our protagonist, Dick, is in the...

Daphne du Maurier writes incredibly deep books that cleverly disguise themselves as mysteries or romances. No two are alike, and in **The House on the Strand** she delves into the world of time travel (or maybe she doesn’t!). After all, have you ever read a du Maurier novel that *didn’t* leave you with more questions than answers?We’re pulled into the world of Richard Young, a man at a crossroads, contemplating his next move. His slightly eccentric, mad-scientist-esque friend, Magnus, has lent R...