My Cousin Rachel

Philip Ashley grows up on a Cornish estate under the care of his older cousin Ambrose, a confirmed bachelor. When Ambrose is sent to Italy for his health, he meets their distant cousin Rachel, a widow, and marries her. His letters home turn troubled and fearful.

Philip travels to Florence to see for himself. He arrives too late: Ambrose is dead, and Rachel has already left.

Some time afterward, Rachel comes to Cornwall. Philip is ready to hate her. Instead he falls under her spell, though small details keep feeding his suspicion about how Ambrose died and what she wants from the Ashley estate.

This gothic novel, published in 1951 and set in the 1830s, is told entirely through Philip's eyes. Readers see only what he sees, and the book never settles whether Rachel is guilty or innocent. It is often read beside Rebecca for its dread and its ambiguous heroine, and the question of Rachel has kept readers arguing ever since.