Daphne du Maurier’s complex personal relationships and struggles with her sexuality have been further illuminated through recently revisited family correspondence and biographical research. While traditional accounts have focused on du Maurier's jealousy over her partner Tommy’s former fiancée, Jan Ricardo, new insights suggest a more intricate background that shaped her writings and personal life.

Du Maurier’s engagement to Jan Ricardo ended in 1929, after which Ricardo tragically died by suicide in 1944. However, evidence indicates that du Maurier’s emotional life was not simply defined by this episode. In 2014, biographical discoveries made during a visit to a finishing school outside Paris, where du Maurier studied, revealed a passionate relationship with her French teacher, Fernande—also known as Yvon or Ferdy—during the mid-1920s.

Letters from du Maurier at the time, addressed to her governess Maud Waddell, reveal an intense connection with Fernande. Du Maurier described being “coiled in her net” and referenced “Venice” as a coded term for lesbianism. The pair spent the summer of 1925 together at a beach hotel in Brittany, where du Maurier not only experienced this early relationship but also began envisioning her future as a writer living by the sea.

This vision came to fruition the following year, when du Maurier’s parents, Sir Gerald du Maurier—a prominent actor-manager—and his wife Muriel, purchased a house named Ferryside in Fowey, Cornwall. The acquisition was publicly justified by concerns for their daughter’s health, which biographers now regard as a cover for deeper family dynamics. While her physical health was sound, du Maurier faced mental health challenges related to her sexuality, a reality her parents acknowledged privately despite societal prejudices of the time.

Family dynamics were further complicated by incidents involving du Maurier’s father’s first wife, who had an extramarital affair at the family estate of Menabilly. According to biographer Richard, du Maurier’s exploration of jealousy in her work may have been influenced by these familial tensions. Her father’s second wife, John du Maurier’s former spouse, reportedly did not wish to reside at Menabilly, possibly due to lingering feelings linked to her predecessor.

Additionally, du Maurier’s personal life was marked by intense, sometimes tumultuous romantic fixations on both men and women, such as the actress Molly Kerr, who starred in one of Gerald du Maurier’s plays. Gerald is said to have threatened to damage Kerr’s career to ensure she distanced herself from Daphne. Such episodes reflect the challenges du Maurier faced in negotiating her desires within the constraints of her family and society.

These revelations add nuance to the understanding of Daphne du Maurier’s life and work, highlighting the intersection of her personal experiences with her literary themes of love, jealousy, and identity.