Daphne du Maurier was a British novelist, playwright and short story writer. She is best known for her novel 'Rebecca', which was later adapted into an Academy Award-winning film by Alfred Hitchcock. Du Maurier also wrote the novels 'Jamaica Inn' and 'My Cousin Rachel'. She was a member of the literary society, The Inklings, and was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1969.