Agatha Christie, Absent in the Spring

Amy Lee (The Open University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Kerry Myler (Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1944

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Crime and Detective
Novel

Resources

This intense psychological drama is one of the few non-detective fictions Christie has written in her career, and is considered by some to be one of the best works she ever penned. Although the type of story is completely different from her famous detective fiction, readers may still recognise the trademark Christie attention to details and economical but efficient characterisation.

The phrase “Absent in the Spring” is taken from Shakespeare's Sonnet 98 (“From you I have been absent in the spring”). This line is responsible for a train of thoughts Joan Scudamore undergoes on her journey of self-reflection and understanding. Joan, at the beginning of the novel, is a happy 48-year-old wife and mother. She is staying …

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.

762 words

Citation: Lee, Amy. "Absent in the Spring". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 October 2003 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=6863, accessed 25 November 2024.]

Save this article