The Scapegoat was first published in 1957, making it one of DMM's later works.
I ended up rewatching the movie after finishing the book and really wonder why the film makers choose to go dark instead of light with their version. The movie version took a much darker tack. The book turned out to be very positive and life-affirming. The book and the movie differed most in the ending, although the movie is set in England not France, and Jean became Johnny. John is definitely the hero of the story. It was fun to read about how he managed to figure out all the various threads of Jean's life, and wonderful to see how he was able to mend the family and the business. Incredibly, John is able to step into Jean's shoes-they are identical, and John's French is perfect. Matthew Rhys played John and Johnny in the British movie based on the novel. John also feels he has made a mess of his life and is headed to a monastery to try to find a reason for living. He tricks John into being his scapegoat - assuming his identity so he can disappear without causing a manhunt. In The Scapegoat, Jean has made an utter mess of his life, his family business is going under, his daughter is flighty and quasi-suicidal, his sister is a religious fanatic who hasn't spoken to him for 20 years, his mother is a morphine addict, his brother hates him.you get the picture.
Very much a Prince and the Pauper story that Mark Twain played around with, and Dickens had a go at in A Tale of Two Cities. Basic story is that a boring British academician (John) whose specialty is French history meets his doppelganger, a roguish French count (Jean), in a bar and Jean tricks John into changing places with him. The Scapegoat was a classic DMM thriller.
Once again, Dame Daphne didn't let me down. So, of course, I got a copy of the book, which I hadn't read when I watched the movie, and it sat on my shelf until the GoodReads True Book Talk group read it in March.
I stumbled upon a movie version of The Scapegoat by Daphne du Maurier a few years ago and was fascinated by the story.