An Author in Daphne du Maurier's Archive

About

Join the University of Exeter Special Collections and Elisabeth Gifford, author of The Mischief Makers (2024), for a discussion about how she used Daphne du Maurier's archive to inform and inspire her work.

The Mischief Makers is a fictionalised reimagining of Daphne du Maurier's life. Elisabeth researched her book using materials held at the University of Exeter, the largest publicly accessible archive of literary papers by Daphne du Maurier, which includes her manuscripts, typescripts, papers and correspondence.

This special event will feature a conversation with the author about her research journey, inspirations, and the writing of the novel. Elisabeth will be conversation with Annie Price, archivist at Special Collections. The event will include an audience Q&A, and a chance to speak to Elisabeth and University of Exeter Special Collections staff after the talk. Following the talk, visitors can browse a special display of original material from the Daphne du Maurier collections, inviting you to begin your own exploration of the archives!

This event is part of the Being Human Festival, the UK's national festival of the humanities, taking place 6 - 15 November 2025. Led by the School of Advanced Study, University of London, with generous support from Research England, in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the British Academy. For further information please see beinghumanfestival.org.

The event is FREE, but ticketed. A waitlist is available.

For information about the event and to book tickets, please visit: https://www.beinghumanfestival.org/events/author-daphne-du-mauriers-archive