George Du Maurier (1834 – 1896)

Flower Festival 2012:

Arranged by Sheila Wrigglesworth and given in memory of Peter Lee.

George Louis Palmella Busson Du Maurier was of mixed French and English parentage. This created the powerful duality in his character  which is reflected in the theme of split personality in novels like ‘Peter Ibbetson’, ‘Trilby’ and ‘The Martian’. A nostalgic day dreamer and lover of fantasy, music and art  Du Maurier participated in the rich cultural scene in Hampstead where he lived with his wife and 5 children from 1869 to 1895.  Blind in one eye from  the age of 23 he nevertheless became one of the most skilful illustrators of the period. His novel ‘Trilby’ appeared in 1894 and introduced readers to a strange world of  hypnotism, Darwinism, Eugenics and Mesmerism. The word ‘Trilby’ has entered the English language as the name of a hat with a narrow brim and indented crown after that worn by Little Billie in some of Du Maurier’s illustrations and in the London play version of the novel.

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This page was last updated on July 17th, 2012.