After Midnight
Best for
Readers who want slow-building dread and psychological unease in short form, especially Rebecca fans curious about du Maurier's wider range, with a mix of domestic gothic, supernatural and psychological tales across thirteen stories.
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LuvemBooks Verdict
Best for: Readers who want slow-building dread and psychological unease in short form, especially Rebecca fans curious about du Maurier's wider range, with a mix of domestic gothic, supernatural and psychological tales across thirteen stories.
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- Is it worth reading?
- Reviewers largely say yes. The Bookmarks reviewer argued the tales have endured well. Always With a Book was impressed by how tension builds even over short distances. The caveats are practical: favourites vary from reader to reader, and NPR found one standout lacking intensity, so it rewards patience rather than a hunger for scares.
- Similar books
- For more of du Maurier's own range, Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel are the natural next steps for readers who know her mainly as a novelist. For other short-story collections with an eerie edge, Shirley Jackson's The Lottery and Other Stories and Stephen King's Night Shift fit the mood. Bradbury Stories: 100 of His Most Celebrated Tales offers a different, more speculative flavour of the uncanny.
- Who should read this?
- The Always With a Book blogger recommended it most directly to du Maurier readers who have only read Rebecca. It also suits anyone seeking a spooky-season read with literary depth who is happy to take it one story at a time.
- What age is it for?
- This is a book written for adults. Fictionophile described the stories as bizarre, macabre and mostly downright unsettling, and Always With a Book warned against reading them before bed. No reviewer states a specific minimum age.
- About Daphne du Maurier
- Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, was an English novelist, biographer and playwright.
- How does it compare with Stephen King's short horror?
- Reviewers frame it as an older, more psychological register than King's own short horror. King himself wrote the introduction, and the Bookmarks reviewer said it is not to be missed. The emphasis here is domestic gothic, atmosphere and eerie twists rather than overt shocks.
- What are the main themes?
- Themes named across the reviews include obsession and tragic love ("Monte Verità" and "Ganymede"), the slide into lies and fantasy ("The Alibi"), and madness versus the supernatural. NPR also read the best stories as affirming that art is one of the few reliable forms of immortality.
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