New Delhi, July 6 -- Daphne du Maurier may have been born in London, but the British author lost her heart to Cornwall's rugged beauty and haunting atmosphere. This deep and lifelong connection led her to draw heavily on the county's coastline, moors, and mysterious histories, turning them into settings that shaped the mood and characters of her novels.

Born in 1907, Daphne and her two sisters had a privileged childhood, growing up at the family home, Cannon Hall in Hampstead, but the family often trooped to Cornwall for holidays. "The family started looking for a second home and zeroed in on Ferryside, the house that became their home in the waterside town of Fowey on Cornwall's south coast," says Viv Kelly, the proprietor of Old Bissic...