It can get scary: After Midnight by Daphne DuMaurier

My thoughts:

Like many, I adored DuMaurier’s Rebecca and have read it more than once. After reading Rebecca for the first time, I read other DuMaurier titles including My Cousin Rachel, Frenchman’s Creek and Jamaica Inn. I’ve also seen some of the movies and streaming adaptations of this author’s titles.

All that said, I had never read any of DuMaurier’s short stories. This collection is a great place to start or expand one’s knowledge of this author’s eerie talent. I was quite struck by The Blue Lenses. Anyone who has had eye surgery will surely have something to think about here.

Some of these stories are really quite creepy. If that appeals, this book is for you! I know that many will enjoy it. I was quite struck by the blue lenses. Anyone who has had eye surgery will surely have something to think about here.

Note that there is an introduction by Stephen King. It is well worth reading.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for this title. All opinions are my own.

This book was published in September 2025

What it’s about:

from the publisher

From Daphne du Maurier, “a writer of fearless originality” (The Guardian), comes a collection of her thirteen most mesmerizing tales—including iconic stories such as “The Birds” and “Don’t Look Now”—with an introduction by Stephen King.

Daphne du Maurier is best known for Rebecca, “one of the most influential novels of the 20th century” (Sarah Waters) and basis for Alfred Hitchcock’s iconic film adaptation. More than thirty-five years after her death, du Maurier is celebrated for her gothic genius and stunning psychological insight by authors such as Ottessa Moshfegh, Maggie O’Farrell, Lucy Foley, Gillian Flynn, Jennifer Egan, and countless others, including Stephen King and Joe Hill.

After Midnight brings together some of du Maurier’s darkest, most haunting stories, ranging from sophisticated literary thriller to twisted love story. Alongside classics such as “The Birds” and “Don’t Look Now,”—both of which inspired unforgettable films—are gems such as “Monte Verità,” a masterpiece about obsession, mysticism, and tragic love, and “The Alibi,” a chilling tale of an ordinary man’s descent into lies, manipulation, and sinister fantasies that edge dangerously close to reality. In “The Blue Lenses,” a woman recovering from eye surgery finds she now perceives those around her as having animal heads corresponding to their true natures. “Not After Midnight” follows a schoolteacher on holiday in Crete who finds a foreboding message from the chalet’s previous occupant who drowned while swimming at night. In “The Breakthrough,” a scientist conducts experiments to harness the power of death, blurring the line between genius and madness.

Each story in this collection exemplifies du Maurier’s exquisite writing and singular insight into human frailty, jealousy, and the macabre. She “makes worlds in which people and even houses are mysterious and mutable; haunted rooms in which disembodied spirits dance at absolute liberty” (Olivia Laing, author of Crudo). Daphne du Maurier is mistress of the sleight of hand and slow-burning menace, often imitated and rarely surpassed.

Stories include:
-“The Blue Lenses”
-“Don’t Look Now”
-“The Alibi”
-“The Apple Tree”
-“The Birds”
-“Monte Verita”
-“The Pool”
-“The Doll”
-“Ganymede”
-“Leading Lady”
-“Not After Midnight”
-“Split Second”
-“The Breakthrough”

From the publisher:

From the Publisher

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for After Midnight

“Taken together, the 13 tales in After Midnight offer every shade of eerie. Du Maurier’s best stories here also affirm that art remains one of the few reliable forms of immortality.” —Maureen Corrigan, Fresh Air

“Du Maurier is an expert invoker of atmosphere and environment… spellbinding… These stories are the work of a protean, restless, and rather dangerous spirit with a decidedly pagan bent and a craving for solitude. The stories in After Midnight are wild at heart, like the woman who made them.” —Laura Miller, Slate

“A delicious title. An iconic writer. A compendium of her finest gothic tales. After Midnight brings together some of du Maurier’s most celebrated shorter works of psychological terror.” —LitHub

“Du Maurier’s stories have aged extraordinarily well and can still fill modern readers with dreadful unease.” —Library Journal, starred review