"Rebecca" is a Gothic novel by Daphne du Maurier, first published in 1938. The story is narrated by an unnamed young woman who becomes the second Mrs. de Winter. It begins with her recalling her time as a paid companion to a wealthy American woman, Mrs. Van Hopper, in Monte Carlo. There, she meets the enigmatic and wealthy widower Maximilian "Maxim" de Winter, who abruptly proposes marriage to her.