the County Chronicle

The County Chronicle is the local newspaper serving Kerrith and the surrounding district, and it becomes a persistent source of harassment for Maxim de Winter and his second wife during the crisis following the discovery of Rebecca's boat. The paper's reporters repeatedly telephone Manderley seeking confirmation of rumors about the body found in the cabin, and the newspaper later publishes sensational front-page coverage that includes an old photograph of Maxim and a crude account of his remarriage, causing him further distress.

First Contact and Harassment

On the evening after the inquest, a reporter from the County Chronicle telephones Manderley and asks Maxim whether it is true that the boat belonging to the late Mrs de Winter has been found. Maxim confirms that a boat has been found but says it might not be her boat at all. The reporter then asks if Maxim can confirm the rumor that a body has been found in the cabin. Maxim refuses to make any statement and tells the reporter not to ring him again. The following morning, when the second Mrs de Winter is in the morning-room, Robert announces that the County Chronicle is on the telephone again. She tells Robert to say she is not at home. Mrs Danvers, who is present, asks why the County Chronicle wanted to speak to her, and the second Mrs de Winter replies that she has no idea.

Sensational Front-Page Coverage

When Frith brings the local paper that evening, there are great headlines across the top of the page. The paper contains a long column down the front page and an awful blurred photograph of Maxim that must have been taken at least fifteen years earlier. The article describes Rebecca as beautiful, talented, and loved by all who knew her, having been drowned a year ago, and then states that Maxim married again the following spring, bringing his bride straight to Manderley and giving the big fancy dress ball in her honor—and that the following morning the body of his first wife was found trapped in the cabin of her sailing boat at the bottom of the bay. The story is sprinkled with inaccuracies that make it strong meat for readers. Maxim sounds vile in it, a sort of satyr. The second Mrs de Winter hides the paper under a cushion so Maxim should not see it, but the morning editions bring the same story in the London papers as well, with a picture of Manderley and the story underneath. Each paper makes great play of the fact that Rebecca's body was found the day after the fancy dress ball, as though there was something deliberate about it; both papers use the same word, "ironic." Maxim grows whiter and whiter as he reads the papers one after the other.

Narrative Role and Significance

The County Chronicle functions as the local mouthpiece that transforms a private tragedy into public spectacle, amplifying the scandal that Maxim dreads. Its reporters' persistent telephone calls force the de Winters to retreat behind Frank Crawley's protective screen—Frank tells the exchange to put all calls for Manderley through to the office, where he can deal with them. The newspaper's sensational coverage, with its crude juxtaposition of the ball and the discovery of the body, embodies the kind of gossip and publicity that Maxim has always feared, and it contributes to the atmosphere of siege that surrounds Manderley during the inquest period.