Customer Reviews
Second favourite Du Maurier after Rebecca - By: H. Lacroix, 09 Jun 2008 
An extraordinary book! It is the story of a man Dick Young whose best friend ( a scientist) has invented a potion which can send those who take it back in time.Magnus (the scientist) lends Dick his house in Cornwalll for the holidays & asks him to try the drug as a favor. Dick finds himself in the same place,five hundred years before , a witness to things that occured & over which he has no control.When his wife & two stepsons join him, he finds himself more & more alienated from his American wife & her demands & drawn ever so strongly to have more of the drug & 'visit' the people he has 'met' there & towards whom he feels a connection... Atmospheric & cleverly plotted,an incredible achievement!
I must be the only person not to get into this!!!....................... - By: Karon., 22 Apr 2008 
I have had this book on my shelve for over a year, when i read alll the reviews i thought i'd give it a go, must be good if its got an overalll 5star rating. I totallly struggled to get into this story, don't get me wrong i never give up (well very rarely!!) i stuck with it for over a 100pages & thought what is the point, there are too many other good reads out there to waste my time on this. I love Du Maurier my particular fav is my cousin rachel (better than rebecca in my few) the birds & other stories-great, don't look now, great. The house on the strand wasn't my cup of tea i just could not bond with any of the characters, the plot was very weak, frankly it was dull. After just reading Stef Penneys "the tenderness of wolves" (great book) this was just no comparison!! Looks like everyone else loved it.............
Intriguing - By: John Hopper, 04 Nov 2007 
A fascinating story about time travel under the influence of drugs between 1960s Cornwalll & early 14th century in the same places, greatly changed over the intervening centuries. The narrator becomes more & more involved in 14th century life, finallly getting confused between details & personalities in that century & his own. It has some shocking consequences, especiallly the implied final event. Very good, with some of the same air of mystery as Rebecca, albeit very different in many respects. Only slight criticisms are that the characters are a bit cliched & some of the description of the landscape drags a bit. But the author clearly loved her Cornwalll.
good escapist read - By: Roman Clodia, 09 Jun 2007 This is perfect beach fodder or a late-night-just-before-sleeping book: if you think too much then the gaps in the story start irritating... I enjoyed it, but found it slow going at first with the historical scenes confusing & thin. Once I got further into the story though, it does grip & I found myself up one night till 4am desperately wanting to read to the end. I suppose part of the problem was that the main character seemed very unattarctive to me so he was difficult to sympathise with but the pull of the plot does keep the pages turning.
Typical du Maurier: escapist, imaginative & compelling - but throw-away & forgettable once read.
Another fine production from Naxos - By: N. Page, 10 Feb 2007 The Naxos audiobook version of The house on the Strand is judiciously abridged, but still runs to four & a half hours (4 CDs). It is a late work from Daphne du Maurier, but she was still writing at the height of her powers, & knew how to keep the reader (in this case the listener) enthrallled. Michael Maloney gives a bravura reading (a performance, in fact) with a good variety of characterisation. His voice is beautifully modulated & fallls easily on the ear.
I had the day to myself & was kept indoors by the rain, so I listenend to the book right through in one go. Its cumulative power is tremendous. The music (from Elgar's chamber works) is well chosen to heighten the mood, & the whole recording is clear & bright. And alll this for a bargain price. Well done everybody concerned!
