LAST night I dreamed I went back to Manderlay again". . .That sentence introduces one of the most popular novels ever written in Cornwall. The work of local authoress Daphne du Maurier, "Rebecca" eventually became an Academy Award-winning Alfred Hitchcock classic starring Joan Fontaine as the ingenue, Laurence Olivier in the role of Maxim de Winter (both nominees for best actor awards) and Judith Anderson evil Mrs. Danvers, with an assist from George Sanders.

Those who have seen this spellbinding mystery on the late show. . .as well as her other favourites. . .can also visit actual sites used as locations. Not only for "Rebecca", but "Frenchman's Creek","Jamaica Inn" (Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara) and other widely acclaimed work that brought her such fame and fortune. . .

"The Loving Spirit","The King's General", "The Birds" (Tippi Hedron), "The Parasite", "My Cousin Rachel", "The Scapegoat", "The Flight of the Falcon", "Rule Britannia" and "The House On The Strand" were among them.

Her work also included some notable biographies. . . "The du Mauriers" based on her very colourful ancestors, "The Infernal World of Bramwell Bronte:, "The Golden Lads" and "The Winding Stair". There were also volumes of very popular short stories, even a travel book, "Vanishing Cornwall."

Daphne du Maurier's personal life was every bit as intriguing as her novels. Born into a prominent family, her father was actor-manager Gerald du Maurier, very famous in his day. Her book "The du Mauriers" also placed emphasis on grandfather George du Maurier, novelist ("Trilby"), and illustrator for Punch.

She herself had movie-star glamour and led a charmed life before beginning to write. Born May 13, 1907 she was the second daughter and grew up in London with her two sisters, governess-educated at home.

Her youth was spent sailing and travelling, with Cornwall an important part of it starting in early childhood. At first her family only spent holidays there, then in 1926 bought a second home in the area she grew to love.

It was there, at Ferryside, Bodinnick, that she wrote her first novel, "A Loving Spirit", with her father's encouragement. A major publisher printed her first book when Daphne was in her early twenties. She had begun working on it while living a quiet idyllic life at her family's cottage.

Fame was almost immediate, so was marriage to Major Frederick Browning who later became Lieutenant General Sir Frederick "Boy" Browning. They met in a quite extraordinary way, one worthy of a du Maurier novel. Major Browning had read the novel and been so impressed he actually sailed to Fowey, very near where she lived, especially to meet the author.

They married at local Langelos Church in 1932 and continued to spend as much holiday time in Cornwall as possible. Then during WW II when her husband was away in the service, she rented a house in Fowey called Readymoney (wouldn't that be an interesting title for a book!) and stayed there with her three children.

Walking along this dramatic coastline remains one of Cornwall's great pleasures, even today. It was while doing just that, Daphne discovered Menabilly which was soon to become quite famous thanks to her talented pen. Owned by the Rashleigh family, she enquired about renting it and moved there in 1943.

The home was an impressive mansion near Fowey (pronounced Foy and became her model for Manderlay in "Rebecca". After her husband's death, she moved to the marginally smaller Kilmarth in 1969, also owned by the Rashleighs.

Today visitors park their car at the top of the hill above Fowey, admittedly a destination many overseas travellers have never heard of. Readers generally know the author was based in Cornwall, but aren't sure exactly where.

Stroll down through the village. If it's tea time, linger over a steaming pot of tea at Crumbs, or chat with locals over a drink at Ship Inn. There is much here to interest the traveller. A tempting combination of river estuary and assorted waterways make it popular with boating enthusiasts, fishermen and walkers.

ot exactly a place in the headlines today, it was so important as a port in its early history that in 1380 the Spanish attempted to destroy it, followed by another try by the French in 1457. Sir Francis Drake, and Sir Walter Raleigh were among those who sailed from here and James Cook surveyed the harbour in 1786 as a young lieutenant. the chart that resulted from his work hangs in the office of the Harbour Commissioner.

Even Queen Victoria was among visitors in 1846. But it took the very attractive young writer to really put it on Britain's map.

A great deal of its charm comes from the necklace of small villages that are along the estuary. It's in this area, in places like Bodinnick, that du Maurier spent part of her youth.

There's a little bit of everything in Fowey and its surrounding area. . .from the mediaeval and Tudor to ancient churches, time capsule narrow passageways, cobbled walks, a fortified manor house, undiscovered corners unchanged by time. . .but all are best enjoyed a bit off-season, because the region has a devoted British following.

Ask directions to Menabilly and stretch your legs walking there around the coast. It comes as something of a shock to see the estate intact after recalling the dramatic film scene of it in flames on screen. Tracking down locations used in du Maurier novels is so popular here that actual guided walking tours are offered visiting those sites. Make local inquiry.

Du Maurier loved Cornwall and that affection shines on every page of her work. Fascinated with her family's roots, she spent considerable time researching them along with area history and made it an integral part of her best selling plots.

A very private person, she much preferred sailing offshore Cornwall's dramatic coast, rather than travelling up to London to promote books that had made her very wealthy. Some might label her reclusive, but those who view the two historic places she lived will understand her reluctance to ever leave them.

Kilmarth, where she moved after her husband's death in 1965, was very much a slice of Cornwall's history. It had been owned by a mediaeval steward early as 1327, then acquired by the Rashleighs whose descendants were still owners during my visit to the area. Fans will recognise it as a location in her volume "The House On The Strand".

Another of her great pleasures was riding out across the moors to savour the open, unspoiled landscape. It was while crossing bodmin Moor with author Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch's daughter that she got the inspiration for "Jamaica Inn" when they got lost in the mists.

In a scene typical of one of her own novels, they came upon that actual inn which at that time seemed almost built into the moor itself. Look for it just off the A30 near Bolventon Village not far from Launceston. That's pronounced "Lanson" locally and has an interesting Norman Castle with marvellous panoramic views.

There's a reason why Jamaica Inn ranks among England's most famed pubs. Cornwall has always been known as a location favoured by smugglers. And it was here at Jamaica Inn, deep in this bleak landscape that smugglers stopped to refresh themselves when carrying contraband across the moor. It was a wild and tempestuous era and events covered in her novel are no exaggeration.

The one-time owner of the inn made his money on a Jamaican sugar cane plantation and named his Cornwall venture after that Caribbean island where he had prospered.

In fact, if you're planning a trip to this region, reading some of du Maurier's novels is a very good introduction. Plan to stop at the Daphne du Maurier Literary Centre in Fowey. It retraces the area's literary heritage with information on du Maurier and other prominent Cornwall writers we'll be telling you about next week. The influence this region had on their works is very strong. It's open daily 9:30 to 5 p.m.

Three videos are also shown. One covers Daphne du Maurier's Cornwall. After watching it, you will want to re-read your favourites and ready to rush off to a library in search of them. Or buy one in the gift shop there which offers a wide range of books.

There are also two videos exploring life in this lively port. Although things look very tranquil here now, local treasure-seekers once sailed off to French coastal towns as very successful raiders. Their contraband built a prosperous town, and the plot of "Jamaica Inn" is not a stretch of facts, either . . . luring ships onto the rocky Cornish coast to loot their cargo was very profitable "business" back then.

Fowey enjoys a very sheltered location on a deep water channel with creeks and an estuary long popular with sailors and fishermen. The mysterious "Rebecca", who seems to haunt Manderlay, was one of them.

You'll want to allow time to explore Fowey's narrow streets still edged by vintage whitewashed houses. Although some Cornish towns have succumbed to over development, there are many who remain very unchanged.

History and legend are blended here in heady doses. Just south of Jamaica Inn is Dozmary Pool, the lake where King Arthur is said to have thrown Excalibar. It's in this lake the hand, according to legend, reached up to take the sword. We'll be talking a bit more about King Arthur legends so popular here later in this series.

A great deal of the enjoyment in exploring an area like this is settling in for a few days and there are a number of interesting possibilities. One is the Ferryman's Cottage in Fowey, actually second home of a Professor. It's location offers good views from the house and its riverside patio and balcony. You'll find more on excellent Cornwall web sites.

rom late April to late September there's a ferry, the thirty-five seat "Hanibal James" that shuttles between Fowey and Mevagissey. Passengers often see "basking" sharks, dolphins, gannets and plenty of yachts and sailboats along this route.

The centuries-old coaching house, Jamaica Inn, is definitely one-of-a-kind place to stay. Some of its accommodations have four poster beds, all are en suite and have impressive views out over Bodmin Moor. Prices range from ninety-five pounds for such a suite, including breakfast.

There's an interesting collection of smuggling memorabilia and a Daphne du Maurier room paying homage to the writer who immortalised the site in her novel.

If you find the possibility of a ghostly encounter unnerving, be warned. There is talk of horses hooves and wagon wheels clattering across its cobbled courtyard. Tales of footsteps down hallways in the middle of the night, the cloaked man reportedly seen walking through closed doors and conversations overheard in a foreign tongue, possibly ancient Cornish.

Even Britain's Ghost Society has arrived on scene for investigations. We've been told their attention especially focused on bedroom number four upstairs, the restaurant, Stable Bar and Smugglers Bar.

The eighth Daphne du Maurier Festival of Arts and Literature was held this past May overlooking Fowey Estuary. Over three dozen stars participated and there were also guided walks, drama, lectures and a long list of activities. . .but expect crowds.

When du Maurier died in 1989 at age 82, she had in a sense written her own obituary with these words:

"I walked this land with a dreamer's freedom and with a waking man's perception . . . places, houses whispered to me their secrets and shared with me their sorrows and their joys. And in return I gave them something of myself, a few of my novels passing into the folklore of this ancient place."

(? From "Lorna Doone" to "Poldark")