The Birds (story)

Last updated

"The Birds"
Short story by Daphne du Maurier
CountryUnited Kingdom
Genre(s)Horror, thriller, novelette
Publication
Published in The Apple Tree
Publisher Penguin Books
Media typePrint
Publication date1952

"The Birds" is a horror story by the British writer Daphne du Maurier, first published in her 1952 collection The Apple Tree . The story is set in du Maurier's home county of Cornwall shortly after the end of the Second World War. A farmhand, his family and community come under lethal attack from flocks of birds.

Contents

The story was the inspiration for Alfred Hitchcock's film The Birds , released in 1963, the same year that The Apple Tree was reprinted as The Birds and Other Stories. In 2009, the Irish playwright Conor McPherson adapted the story for the stage at Dublin's Gate Theatre.

Plot

Nat Hocken, a disabled war veteran, works part time for Mr Trigg at his farm on the Cornish coast. One day in early December, he notices unusually large flocks of birds behaving restlessly, and he muses that they have received a message that winter is coming.

That night the weather turns bitterly cold. Nat hears a bird insistently tapping on his bedroom window, and when he opens it half a dozen birds fly at his face and try to peck his eyes. Hearing his children screaming, he rushes into their room to find that they are being set upon by many more. Using a blanket as a weapon, he kills as many birds as he can. In the morning he clears up fifty dead robins, finches and other small birds. The others have left.

Nat tells his neighbours about the night's events but is not believed. As he walks to the beach to dispose of the dead birds, he realises that what appear to be whitecaps on the sea are actually tens of thousands of gulls riding the waves, apparently waiting. On the wireless, the BBC reports that birds have been massing all over Britain and that people are being attacked. Anticipating another assault, this time from the gulls, Nat boards up his cottage windows. The BBC announcer appears not to understand the severity of what is to come. By 3 o'clock the gulls have taken flight in vast numbers, darkening the sky.

Picking up his daughter from the school bus stop, Nat spots Mr Trigg who agrees to take her home in his car. Mr Trigg is unfazed by the official announcements and plans to shoot the birds for sport. Nat hurries home on foot. Just as he reaches the final field, the gulls descend and attack, tearing at his hands, wrists and neck. Bleeding, he manages to stumble in through his door as a gannet high above him folds its wings and drops like a stone.

Across the country massive flocks of birds gather, acting purposefully to force entry into buildings. A national emergency is declared, and people are told not to leave their homes. The news announcer states that the BBC will be going silent for the night and will resume broadcasting the next morning.

Nat brings the family into the kitchen for safety, from where they can hear the muffled sounds of birds pressed together on the window sills, trying to force an entry. During dinner, they hear the sound of naval guns, and of aeroplanes overhead, followed by the sound of planes crashing as birds fling themselves against the propellors. Eventually the assault dies down. Nat deduces that the birds attack only when the tide is coming in.

The next day, wireless broadcasts do not resume. The birds once again set upon the cottage, even forcing their way down the chimney. During a lull as the tide recedes, Nat and his family walk to Mr Trigg's farm to seek supplies. They pass piles of dead birds, with those still living peering at them from afar. Finding nobody alive at the farm, they gather supplies and return home. As the tide turns, the birds resume their assault. Nat listens to the sound of splintering wood as the hawks concentrate their attack on the doors. He smokes his last cigarette, then throws the empty pack into the fire and watches it burn.

Interpretation

One interpretation of the story suggests that it reflects the British experience during the Second World War, evoking anxieties about the government's failure to protect their citizens and intrusions into domestic spaces by aggressive interlopers. [1]

Background

Du Maurier's inspiration for the story was the sight of a farmer being attacked by a flock of gulls as he ploughed a field. [2]

Radio and TV dramatisations

The story has been dramatised for radio and TV on several occasions, including:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daphne du Maurier</span> English novelist (1907–1989)

Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, was an English novelist, biographer and playwright. Her parents were actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and his wife, actress Muriel Beaumont. Her grandfather was George du Maurier, a writer and cartoonist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George du Maurier</span> French-British cartoonist and novelist (1834–1896)

George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier was a Franco-British cartoonist and writer known for work in Punch and a Gothic novel Trilby, featuring the character Svengali. His son was the actor Sir Gerald du Maurier. The writers Angela du Maurier and Daphne du Maurier and the artist Jeanne du Maurier were all granddaughters of George. He was also father of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies and grandfather of the five boys who inspired J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan.

<i>The Birds</i> (film) 1963 film by Alfred Hitchcock

The Birds is a 1963 American natural horror-thriller film produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, released by Universal Pictures. Loosely based on the 1952 short story of the same name by Daphne du Maurier, it focuses on a series of sudden and unexplained violent bird attacks on the people of Bodega Bay, California, over the course of a few days.

Jonathan Stephen Firth is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in such noted British television productions as Middlemarch, Far from the Madding Crowd, and Victoria & Albert.

James Laurenson is a New Zealand stage and screen actor.

<i>Rebecca</i> (novel) 1938 novel by Daphne du Maurier

Rebecca is a 1938 Gothic novel written by English author Daphne du Maurier. The novel depicts an unnamed young woman who impetuously marries a wealthy widower, before discovering that both he and his household are haunted by the memory of his late first wife, Rebecca.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerald du Maurier</span> British actor (1873–1934)

Sir Gerald Hubert Edward Busson du Maurier was an English actor and manager. He was the son of author George du Maurier and his wife, Emma Wightwick, and the brother of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies. In 1903, he married the actress Muriel Beaumont, with whom he had three daughters: writers Angela du Maurier (1904–2002) and Dame Daphne du Maurier (1907–1989), and painter Jeanne du Maurier (1911–1997). His popularity was due to his subtle and naturalistic acting: a "delicately realistic style of acting that sought to suggest rather than to state the deeper emotions". His Times obituary said of his career: "His parentage assured him of engagements in the best of company to begin with; but it was his own talent that took advantage of them."

<i>Jamaica Inn</i> (novel) 1936 novel by Daphne du Maurier

Jamaica Inn is a novel by the English writer Daphne du Maurier, first published in 1936. It was later made into a film, also called Jamaica Inn, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It is a period piece set in Cornwall around 1815. It was inspired by du Maurier's 1930 stay at the real Jamaica Inn, which still exists as a pub in the middle of Bodmin Moor.

<i>My Cousin Rachel</i> 1951 novel by Daphne du Maurier

My Cousin Rachel is a Gothic novel written by English author Daphne du Maurier, published in 1951. Bearing thematic similarities to her earlier and more famous novel Rebecca, it is a mystery-romance, set primarily on a large estate in Cornwall.

<i>The House on the Strand</i> 1969 novel by Daphne du Maurier

The House on the Strand is a novel by Daphne du Maurier, first published in the UK in 1969 by Victor Gollancz, with a jacket illustration by her daughter, Flavia Tower. The US edition was published by Doubleday.

<i>The Years Between</i> (play) 1945 play by Daphne du Maurier

The Years Between is a play by the English writer Daphne du Maurier, better known as a novelist and particularly as the author of Rebecca. This is one of two original plays that she wrote. The other is September Tide (1948).

"Listen to the Mocking Bird" (1855) is an American popular song of the mid-19th century. Its lyrics were composed by Septimus Winner under the pseudonym "Alice Hawthorne", and its music was by Richard Milburn.

<i>The Birds and Other Stories</i> 1952 short stories by Daphne du Maurier

The Birds and Other Stories is a collection of stories by the British author Daphne du Maurier. It was originally published by Gollancz in the United Kingdom in 1952 as The Apple Tree: A Short Novel and Several Long Stories, and was re-issued by Penguin in 1963 under the current title. In the United States an expanded version was published in 1953 under the title Kiss Me Again, Stranger: A Collection of Eight Stories, Long and Short by Doubleday including two additional stories, "The Split Second" and "No Motive".

<i>The Breaking Point</i> (short story collection) 1959 short story collection by Daphne du Maurier

The Breaking Point is a collection of eight short stories by Daphne du Maurier first published in 1959 by Victor Gollancz in the UK and Doubleday in the US. It has also been published under the title The Blue Lenses and Other Stories. The stories were written at a time when du Maurier herself came close to a severe nervous breakdown and reflect her own psychological stress. Du Maurier herself acknowledged she had come close to madness immediately before she wrote them; and they were part of her cure – "the means by which she wrote herself back to sanity". The original book had illustrations before each story by Margot Tomes.

<i>An Englishmans Home</i> 1909 play by Guy du Maurier

An Englishman's Home is a threat-of-invasion play by Guy du Maurier, first produced in 1909. The title is a reference to the expression "an Englishman's home is his castle".

Francis Baker was a British writer of novels and short stories, mainly on fantastic or supernatural themes. He was also an actor, musician and television scriptwriter. His best-known works are his novels, The Birds (1936) and Miss Hargreaves (1940), and his memoir, I Follow But Myself (1968).

Adaptations of <i>Jane Eyre</i>

Jane Eyre, the 1847 novel by English writer Charlotte Brontë, has frequently been adapted for film, radio, television, and theatre, and has also inspired a number of rewritings and reinterpretations.

<i>Jamaica Inn</i> (2014 TV series) British TV series or programme

Jamaica Inn is a British drama television series that was first broadcast on BBC One for three consecutive nights from 21 to 23 April 2014. The three-part series, written by Emma Frost, is an adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's 1936 gothic novel Jamaica Inn. It was poorly received, becoming a subject of controversy and making national news over its mumbling cast and other sound problems.

Lux Summer Theatre is a CBS Radio anthology series which ran during the summer of 1953 in the Lux Radio Theatre's regular one-hour timeslot. Fourteen episodes aired from June through August of that year.

<i>Daphne</i> (2007 film) 2007 television biographical drama film

Daphne is a 2007 British biographical drama film written by Amy Jenkins and directed by Clare Beavan. The film is based on the authorised biography, Daphne du Maurier: The Secret Life of the Renowned Storyteller by Margaret Forster. It stars Geraldine Somerville, Elizabeth McGovern and Janet McTeer. It premiered on BBC Two on 12 May 2007. It was filmed on location in London, Devon and Cornwall, where du Maurier spent much of her life and most of her works are set.

References

  1. ↑ Cengage Learning, Gale (2016). A Study Guide for Daphne du Maurier's 'The Birds'. Gale Division of Cengage Learning Incorporated. pp. 1–3. ISBN   9781410341372.
  2. ↑ Maunder, Andrew (1 January 2007). The Facts on File Companion to the British Short Story. Infobase Publishing. p. 128. ISBN   978-0-8160-7496-9.
  3. ↑ "Features". The Pittsburgh Press. 20 July 1953. p. 27. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  4. ↑ "Radio Highlights". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 10 July 1954. p. 5. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  5. ↑ "TV Key Previews". The Record (New Jersey). 31 May 1955. p. 35. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  6. ↑ "Afternoon Theatre strand".
  7. ↑ The Birds from the BBC Radio 4 website
  8. ↑ Daphne du Maurier – The Birds from the BBC website

Streaming audio

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.