The Scapegoat

By: Daphne du Maurier

Narrated by: Paul Shelley

Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

By chance, John and Jean - one English, the other French - meet in a provincial railway station. Their resemblance to each other is uncanny, and they spend the next few hours talking and drinking - until at last John falls into a drunken stupor. It's to be his last carefree moment, for when he wakes, Jean has stolen his identity and disappeared. So the Englishman steps into the Frenchman's shoes, and faces a variety of perplexing roles - as owner of a chateau, director of a failing business, head of a fractious family, and master of nothing.

Gripping and complex, The Scapegoat is a masterful exploration of doubling and identity, and of the dark side of the self.

©2013, 1956, 1957 Daphne du Maurier (P)2014 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"A dazzlingly clever and immensely entertaining novel." ( New York Times)

Such an intriguing story. Beautifully performed.

I was immediately swept up in this story. It never lagged or ceased to entertain. Paul Shelley was the perfect narrator. Do yourself a favor and give this one a listen.

Captivating. Compelling.

Superb narration does justice to this tale, one much more nuanced, psychologically complex & redemptive than most body double plots. Even had the novel lacked these sophisticated elements, it would still have been a rollicking good story; with them it is a gem.

My favorite Daphne DuMaurier book so far!

If you could sum up The Scapegoat in three words, what would they be?

Couldn't put it down!

What did you like best about this story?

Great premise for a story and well written!

Any additional comments?

I started this book on audio but was so hooked, I also bought it on Kindle for $2.99 because I could not put it down!

Good, but...

Du Maurier is a seminol author who helped to pave the path for women in mystery/suspense. Though this book is not really a nail-biter, it's an interesting premise with good writing. The disappointing part of this book is that a woman is raped and instead of being outraged at the man who did it, she provides life advice and compliments his personality. The substitute man sleeps with a woman who thinks he is her boyfriend. She was consenting to her boyfriend, not some rando whose name she didn't even know. He misled her to get in her pants. I know this was written long ago, but who would not be upset if this happened to them? It's unrealistic.

DuMaurier never pandered...

to sentimentalism for her endings. Beautifully written, she exposes the weakness and frailty of man. At the same time she gives us a glimpse of what consequence may result were we to escape our own life into anothers.

Intriguing Storyline!

This is my third book from Daphne du Maurier. I read Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel and The Scapegoat was every bit as good. I enjoyed the characters and the story throughout the book. There were no areas where I lost interest in what was going to happen next. The ending was disappointing and rather open but life doesn’t always have definite endings .

Daphne never disappoints.

Once again she weaves a tail so interesting so intricate that you can’t stop listening I love the ending it was so slow that it gave me the opportunity to explore several endings of my own

Fantastic reading!

I picked up this title because it was a Daphne du Maurier book, and so far I have loved everything that comes out of her pen. But I must confess that I was pleasantly surprised with this book. It's entertaining and original, a new take on a possible old theme, people changing characters and personalities.
I gladly recommend this book to anyone in Audible and can assure everyone that you will not regret it.
Love it much!
Allina San Juan

superb book

loved listening to this book. Well written and a great narrator! Well worth one's time.

Ending Options

The narrator read it very well. There could have been so many different ending possibilities and guess this ending was as good as any. I think I would have liked a little happier ending. But I don't know how a happier ending could have been achieved.