Wednesday 16 May 2007

Daphne du Mauriers Children at The Festival

To mark the Centenary of the birth of Daphne du Maurier, her three children Lady Tessa Montgomery, Lady Flavia Leng and Christian “Kits” Browning, came together on stage for the first time ever to recount their memories and discuss what it was like to grow up with a mother who was one of the most successful authors in the country.
Helen Taylor, author of The Daphne du Maurier Companion, joined them on stage to lead the discussion.
Every seat in The du Maurier Theatre had been filled with admirers who had travelled from all over the World to have the opportunity to hear first hand about the life of one of Britain's most popular novelists.
Helen began the discussion by asking the three children “What would your mother think of you being here together on stage at a festival, talking about her?”
Lady Tessa felt that she would be highly amused; Lady Flavia playfully said “payback time” and son Kits Browning thought she would have seen it as “get them out there working”.
When asked if she would have been pleased with the festival, Lady Flavia replied that she would have been truly gratified.
The audience were treated to an afternoon of family stories, their relationships with their mother, how they felt about her work and what influences did it have on them and their own lives.
Helen asked “If your mother were sitting here today on her 100th birthday, what would she think of The Daphne du Maurier Festival?”
All three children felt that Daphne would have been thrilled and very happy with the festival. She would have given a big thank you to everyone here today and also to all who appreciate her.
Helen Taylor gratefully thanked Lady Tessa, Lady Flavia and Kits for joining the panel with her and for sharing some wonderful memories and ended with wishing Daphne du Maurier a happy 100th Birthday!
Many, if not all who attended “The Children’s View” found it to be a truly unique and memorable occasion.

By Deborah Brennan

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2 comments:

All Blog Spots said...

very sweet blog , god bless :)

Deborah said...

Thank you for your kind comment. I had the pleasure of attending this discussion and although I had only read one of Daphne du Mauriers books, "Rebecca" and saw the film, I found it very interesting and I would now like to read more of Daphnes work.
Thank you again
Deborah