Frenchman's Creek
Encyclopedia
Frenchman's Creek is a 1941 historical novel
by Daphne du Maurier
. Set in Cornwall
during the reign of Charles II
, it tells the story of a love affair between an impulsive English lady and a French pirate.
court society. There she finds that the property, unoccupied for several years, is being used as a base by a notorious French pirate who has been terrorizing the Cornish coast. Dona finds that the pirate, Jean-Benoit Aubéry, is not a desperate character at all, but rather a more educated and cultured man than her own doltish husband, and they fall in love.
Dona dresses as a boy and joins the pirate crew on an expedition to cut out and capture a richly laden merchant ship belonging to one of her neighbors. The attack is a success, but the news of it brings Dona's husband Harry and his friend Rockingham to Cornwall, disrupting her idyllic romance. Harry, Rockingham, and the other locals meet at Navron to plot how to capture the pirate, but Aubéry and his crew cleverly manage to capture and rob their would-be captors instead. Rockingham, who has had designs on Dona himself, perceives the relationship between her and Aubéry, and Dona is forced to kill him in self-defense when he attacks her in a jealous rage. Meanwhile, Aubéry was captured while trying to return to his ship, and Dona hatches a plot for his release. In the end, however, she realizes that she must remain with her husband and children instead of escaping to France with Aubéry.
starring Joan Fontaine
, Arturo de Córdova
, and Basil Rathbone
(as Rockingham) is a fairly faithful adaptation of the novel. It also starred Nigel Bruce
, Rathbone's old Sherlock Holmes
film partner, in their only non-Holmes/Watson screen appearance together.
A television film of 1998 starred Tara FitzGerald
as Dona, James Fleet
as her husband, and Anthony Delon
as the Frenchman. Whilst possibly more historically accurate, it varied greatly from the Du Maurier original.
Historical novel
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...
by Daphne du Maurier
Daphne du Maurier
Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning DBE was a British author and playwright.Many of her works have been adapted into films, including the novels Rebecca and Jamaica Inn and the short stories "The Birds" and "Don't Look Now". The first three were directed by Alfred Hitchcock.Her elder sister was...
. Set in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
during the reign of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
, it tells the story of a love affair between an impulsive English lady and a French pirate.
Synopsis
Dona, Lady St. Columb, makes a sudden visit with her children to Navron, her husband's remote estate in Cornwall, in a fit of disgust with her shallow life in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
court society. There she finds that the property, unoccupied for several years, is being used as a base by a notorious French pirate who has been terrorizing the Cornish coast. Dona finds that the pirate, Jean-Benoit Aubéry, is not a desperate character at all, but rather a more educated and cultured man than her own doltish husband, and they fall in love.
Dona dresses as a boy and joins the pirate crew on an expedition to cut out and capture a richly laden merchant ship belonging to one of her neighbors. The attack is a success, but the news of it brings Dona's husband Harry and his friend Rockingham to Cornwall, disrupting her idyllic romance. Harry, Rockingham, and the other locals meet at Navron to plot how to capture the pirate, but Aubéry and his crew cleverly manage to capture and rob their would-be captors instead. Rockingham, who has had designs on Dona himself, perceives the relationship between her and Aubéry, and Dona is forced to kill him in self-defense when he attacks her in a jealous rage. Meanwhile, Aubéry was captured while trying to return to his ship, and Dona hatches a plot for his release. In the end, however, she realizes that she must remain with her husband and children instead of escaping to France with Aubéry.
Criticism
Frenchman's Creek is a difficult novel to categorize. The plot outline is that of a swashbuckling adventure story, but the writing style is dreamy and languid, and the story and characters are presented in a highly romanticized manner. In some ways, the novel can be seen as a precursor to modern historical romances, but again the more literary writing style and lack of sexual explicitness, as much as the ambiguous ending, set it apart from that genre.Adaptations
The 1944 film, Frenchman's CreekFrenchman's Creek (film)
Frenchman's Creek is a 1944 adaptation of the Daphne du Maurier novel , released by Paramount Pictures. The film starred Joan Fontaine, Arturo de Córdova, Basil Rathbone, Cecil Kellaway, and Nigel Bruce. Filmed in Technicolor, it was directed by Mitchell Leisen...
starring Joan Fontaine
Joan Fontaine
Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland , known professionally as Joan Fontaine, is a British American actress. She and her elder sister Olivia de Havilland are two of the last surviving leading ladies from Hollywood of the 1930s....
, Arturo de Córdova
Arturo de Córdova
Arturo de Córdova was a Mexican film actor. He made over one hundred films in all.-Career:He was born in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico. Most of Córdova's films were made in Mexico and he became a major motion picture actor in Latin America and Spain winning three Silver Ariel's and received four other...
, and Basil Rathbone
Basil Rathbone
Sir Basil Rathbone, KBE, MC, Kt was an English actor. He rose to prominence in England as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in over 70 films, primarily costume dramas, swashbucklers, and, occasionally, horror films...
(as Rockingham) is a fairly faithful adaptation of the novel. It also starred Nigel Bruce
Nigel Bruce
William Nigel Ernle Bruce , best known as Nigel Bruce, was a British character actor on stage and screen. He was best known for his portrayal of Doctor Watson in a series of films and in the radio series The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes...
, Rathbone's old Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
film partner, in their only non-Holmes/Watson screen appearance together.
A television film of 1998 starred Tara FitzGerald
Tara Fitzgerald
Tara Anne Cassandra Fitzgerald is an English actress who has appeared in feature films, television, radio and the stage....
as Dona, James Fleet
James Fleet
James Edward Fleet is an English actor. He is most famous for his roles as the bumbling and well-meaning Tom in the 1994 British romantic comedy film Four Weddings and a Funeral, and the dim-witted Hugo Horton in the BBC situation comedy television series The Vicar of Dibley.-Personal life:Fleet...
as her husband, and Anthony Delon
Anthony Delon
Anthony Delon is a French-American actor, and son of actors Alain Delon and Nathalie Delon .-Selected filmography:* Poliss...
as the Frenchman. Whilst possibly more historically accurate, it varied greatly from the Du Maurier original.