My Cousin Rachel is a Gothic novel written by English author Daphne du Maurier. It was published in 1951 and shares similar themes with her earlier and more famous novel Rebecca. The story is a mystery-romance that mainly takes place on a large estate in Cornwall.

The novel follows a young man named Philip Ashley, who becomes very interested in his cousin Ambrose’s widow, Rachel. When Rachel moves to Cornwall to live with him, Philip gives her control of the entire estate. However, he later suspects that she is trying to harm him.

The story began with a portrait of Rachel Carew at Antony House in Cornwall. Du Maurier saw this portrait and used it as inspiration for her novel.

Synopsis

In the 1830s, Ambrose Ashley, who is 43 years old, owns a large country estate on the Cornish coast. He has been the guardian of his orphaned 24-year-old cousin, Philip, since Philip was 18 months old. Philip grew up without any women in the household. After completing schooling and university, Philip returns to live on the estate, where he is happy. Life is good except for Ambrose’s health problems, which require him to spend winters in warmer climates. As damp weather approaches, Ambrose travels to Italy for his third winter abroad and leaves Philip to manage the estate.

Philip receives regular letters from Ambrose in Italy. Ambrose writes that he has met a cousin named Rachel, the widowed Contessa Sangalletti, in Florence. In spring, Ambrose says he and Rachel are married and have no plans to return to Cornwall. Over time, the tone of Ambrose’s letters changes. He complains about the sun, the stuffy atmosphere of the Villa Sangalletti, and severe headaches. In a July letter, Ambrose mentions that a friend of Rachel, named Rainaldi, recommended a different doctor. Ambrose claims he trusts no one and says Rachel watches him constantly.

Philip discusses the letter with his godfather, Nick Kendall, who suggests Ambrose may have a brain tumor. Philip travels to Italy and arrives at the Villa Sangalletti, where he learns Ambrose has died and Rachel has left. When Philip returns to Cornwall, Nick tells him he received a message from Rainaldi confirming two facts: Ambrose’s death was caused by a brain tumor, and since Ambrose never changed his will in Rachel’s favor, Philip remains the heir to the estate and will inherit it when he turns 25. Philip does not trust Rachel and believes she was responsible for Ambrose’s death.

Two weeks later, Nick receives word that Rachel has arrived by boat at Plymouth. Philip invites her to stay with him, initially to confront her. With little experience with women, Philip becomes infatuated by Rachel’s beauty and charm as they share herbal tea she brews. He throws a letter from Ambrose, which calls Rachel his “torment,” into the fire.

Philip arranges for Rachel to receive a generous allowance after she suggests teaching Italian to earn money. Rachel also reveals that Ambrose had fallen out of love with her after she had a miscarriage. Their relationship becomes more affectionate.

Philip discovers a letter from Ambrose, written three months before his death. In it, Ambrose tells Philip about his illness and mentions Rachel’s reckless spending and her habit of turning to Rainaldi instead of him. He wonders if they are trying to poison him and asks Philip to visit him. Rachel later shows Philip an unsigned will in which Ambrose left his property to her. Philip begins to trust Rachel again.

Rachel stays for Christmas celebrations and wears the family pearl necklace. Philip’s godfather, Nick Kendall, learns Rachel has drastically overdrawn her bank account and warns Philip that she was known for extravagance and lust in Florence. Despite this, Philip arranges for the estate to be transferred to Rachel when he turns 25.

On his birthday, Philip goes to Rachel’s room at midnight and gives her the family jewels. She asks, “Is there nothing else you want? Tell me, and you shall have it,” and he replies, “I know now what I lack.” She takes him to her bed, and they make love. The next day, Philip announces he and Rachel are getting married, but she denies this in front of friends. Later, she tells him that sleeping with him was her way of thanking him. He believed this sealed their engagement.

Not long after, Philip falls ill for many weeks, and Rachel nurses him. Philip searches Rachel’s room and finds seeds of the poisonous laburnum tree in a packet, a tree he had noticed in the Italian villa. When he is well enough to go outside, he sees the terraced gardens are complete, and work has begun on a sunken garden. The foreman tells Philip the bridge over the garden is a framework and will not support weight.

Philip suspects Rachel tried to poison him and, with Louise Kendall’s help, searches her room. They find nothing to prove Rachel’s guilt and wonder if they are misjudging her. Meanwhile, Rachel walks to the terraced garden and steps onto the bridge over the sunken garden. Philip knew where she was going but did not warn her. He finds her broken body among the timber and stone. He takes her in his arms, and she looks at him, calling him Ambrose before she dies.

Adaptations

The first film version of My Cousin Rachel, directed by Henry Koster and starring Richard Burton and Olivia de Havilland, was released in 1952. The book's author, Daphne du Maurier, and the original director, George Cukor, reviewed a draft of the screenplay and found it not true to the novel. Du Maurier called it "quite desperate." However, critics Bosley Crowther and Leonard Maltin said the film was a good adaptation.

A four-part television version, starring Christopher Guard and Geraldine Chaplin, was shown in 1983. Professor Nina Auerbach said this version was "superficially" more faithful to the book, including a more detailed portrayal of Rachel.

In 1953, My Cousin Rachel was presented as a radio play by Lux Radio Broadcasts, with Olivia De Havilland and Ron Randell playing Rachel and Philip.

A radio adaptation of My Cousin Rachel by BBC Radio 4 aired on December 4, 1993, at 7:50 p.m. It starred Francesca Annis and Adam Godley and was written by Bryony Lavery and directed by Claire Grove. It was later rebroadcast on October 7, 2023, on Radio 4's sister channel, Radio 4 Extra.

Another radio version of My Cousin Rachel by BBC Radio 4 first aired in April 2011, with Damian Lewis and Lia Williams in the lead roles. It was rebroadcast on May 2013 on Radio 4 Extra.

On April 17, 2012, a stage adaptation of My Cousin Rachel by Joseph O’Connor premiered at the Gate Theatre in Dublin. Hannah Yelland played Rachel in this version.

A film adaptation directed by Roger Michell, starring Rachel Weisz, Sam Claflin, and Iain Glen, was released in June 2017.

Legacy

The novel is honored by the My Cousin Rachel Walk, a path that is 5 miles (8 kilometers) long and located on the Barton lands in Cornwall, where parts of the story happen.