The House on the Strand

Did you know Daphne Du Maurier wrote a time travel novel? Her 1969 novel, while lesser known, progressively explores mind-altering substances as a mode of time travel. The book opens in the middle of Dick Young’s trip to 14th century Cornwall, described in vivid, atmospheric detail. Dick’s friend Professor Magnus Lane loaned him a house, so long as Dick helps the professor with his scientific experiments. After taking the professor’s new drug, Dick finds himself tripping all the way back to medieval times. Time travel proves intoxicating for Dick, who increasingly loathes the modern world—but is he really traveling back in time, or is he imagining his trips due to the drug’s effects? Du Maurier crafts a story that begs us to question the very nature of reality.