Absent in the Spring and Other Novels: Absent in the Spring / Giant's Bread / The Rose and the Yew Tree

by Mary Westmacott (Pseudonym), Agatha Christie

First published between 1930 and 1956, the six novels written by Agatha Christie under the name Mary Westmacott, regarded by some as the writer's finest work, show a very different side of her talent. What they share with her other fiction is Christie's gift for sharp observations about people, the ambitions that drive them, their relationships, and the conflicts that erupt between them. This omnibus edition brings together three of Westmacott novels:

Absent in the Spring: Stranded between trains, Joan Scudamore finds herself reflecting upon her life, her family, and finally coming to grips with the uncomfortable truths about her life.

Giant's Bread: The story of Vernon Deyre, a composer and pianist whose obsession with art wreaks havoc with the two very different women in his life.

The Rose and the Yew Tree: In one of the finest explorations of the human heart, the compelling story of a deep and abiding love, the conflicts it encompasses, and the price that must be paid.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Agatha Christie, Drama, Romance, Short Stories

656 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Pseudonym used by Agatha Christie to write her dramatic novels about relationships.

Associated Names:
Мэри Вестмакотт (Russian)
Мері Вестмакотт (Ukrainian)

Reviews

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

These stories show the true depth of talent that Agatha Christie had as a writer. Absent in the Spring was so deeply moving and a brilliant reflection of human nature and the lies we tell ourselves...that you almost want to weep at the end. So happy I stumbled across these stories.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you stand back and take a dispassionate look at the situation, Agatha Christie is pretty darn kitschy, even when she's trying to write Deep Novels under a nom de plume. But when you dive on in, they're still scrumptious. 'Absent in the Spring' is particularly devastating in its study of the emotional isolation of a person who consistently chooses denial as a coping strategy.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the storylines included unsavory characters and immoral behavior, each of these stories challenged the reader to think more deeply within about how various decisions made in life affect others. Agatha Christie tells a great story, and you can count on her to have characters that are true to life, if pushing the limits of our own experience in order to challenge our thought.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though I have not read much traditional Agatha Christie this crossed my path as something unique and out of her lane, and possibly self-revelatory? I only read the title story of the three, but it gave me a good sense of her abilities - not just as story teller, but as introspective creator of character. Set in the 20s (?), or at least the remaining years of the English Empire, Joan Scudamore is returning from a visit to her daughter in Iraq, when she is waylaid at a rest house in the desert due to impassable trains. She also has crossed paths incidentally with another (fallen) society woman who is now living an authentic life on her own terms after leaving her husband for another man. The woman tells it like it is and drops a few comments that cause Joan to reflect on her own carefully willed/created life. Husband Rodney is a solicitor after Joan bullied him out of farming. Her daughter married young, presumably to escape her control, and her son is a bit of a layabout with a questionable reputation. After seeds of doubt are planted, they bake in the desert sun - and Joan has some enlightening revelations that could turn her into a better person. It is a true desert experience of biblical lore, with all the trappings of her upper-middle-class life stripped away to confront the actual person she has become. There is some hope that she will change as a result, but also hints that returning to her safe life will nullify any need to do so. Despite a few time-period cringe-y references to native people in the lands she has visited, the story is engaging and thought-provoking and clearly a product of Christie's mastery in revealing exactly what we need to know and when. Enjoyable departure from contemporary fiction.

[Stuart Brynien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wife and mother Joan Scudamore is returning home to England after a visit to Iraq. When she learns that her train has been delayed--and, even worse, that it won't be arriving for several days--she finds herself living in the unappealing accommodations near the station, occasionally even wandering into the desert to while away the time. It is during these sojourns that she reads, writes to her friends and loved ones back home...and does a considerable amount of soul-searching as she re-evaluates herself as a wife and mother. Written in the midst of her much more celebrated mystery-writing career, "Absent in the Spring" is one of those outlier Christie novels, published under her pen name, Mary Westmacott, that is much more interested in the workings or the human heart than in murder. (There isn't a dead body, or a Jane Marple or Hercule Poirot, anywhere in the book.) The style is leisurely, intimate and very stream-of-consciousness as Joan becomes increasingly plagued by self-doubt. Has she been a good person? She's always been convinced that her way was the only way, but was she right? Flashbacks to long-ago conversations with family and friends help her find the answers. The ending--what she decides to do when she finally does make it home--may surprise you. "Absent in the Spring" is the touching story (particularly if you have children of your own) of a supremely confident woman in the throes of, for the first time in her life, a near-debilitating crisis of conscience, and about as un-Christie-like as you can get. Highly recommended.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three novels in one... I always think Christie's writing, lacking the mystery element, comes across as a little bleak. I still love these books. I think I enjoyed Giant's Bread the most; especially how Christie captured the thoughts and imaginings of a young child. Also I found the characters, especially Vernon, Jane, and Sebastian, the most compelling of the three. The story is about ambition and sacrifice and passion for what you do. Absent in the Spring was the most poignant for me; the main character has this incredible, life-altering revelation about what kind of person she really is, and the revelation just kind of trickles away without changing anything. The Rose and Yew Tree... it was melancholy because the whole time you just knew something awful was going to happen; and it wasn't really that awful, it just wasn't the picture-perfect story it could have been, but still it seems sad. Christie captures her own time period beautifully in these three novels.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somebody please tell me that I'm not the only one who didn't know that Agatha Christie had an alter ego (Mary Westmacott)! These novels (I think MW did 6) are not murder mysteries, not anything like what is so popular from AC. They are all life stories, and by the time you get to the end, you really know what is inside the character(s). I thought they were all really well done. I especially liked Absent in the Spring - absent indeed - what a woman! Highly recommend these for a change of pace.

[Ana Sofía · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an anthology of Agatha Christie’s three non-mystery novels. She really does draw very vivid pictures of the characters and all three novels had significant plot twists at the end in her signature style. My favorite was The Rose and the Yew Tree, which sometimes made me feel called out in a way only books can. Absent in the Spring was pretty good, but I thought Giant’s Bread was too long and not paced well.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Absent in the Spring and need to read Giants Bread and The Rose and the Yew Tree.

Absent in the Spring read a lot like parts of Agatha Christie's autobiography- travel to Baghdad and back alone after her first husband left her- but it was much more psychological & frightening. The ending was a disappointment given how much torment Joan went through to get there.

[RL · Rating 4 out of 5]

A middle aged woman stranded alone in the desert, while waiting for a train, faces herself for the first time and like a Saint has an epiphany about her true self, her husband and children. The question is, what is she going to do when back in England. Compelling reading.

[Jonelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Giant’s Bread the most! And this was by far the longest of the three.
Absent in the Spring was a nice story of a life’s reflection that ended up going nowhere 🤨
Rose and The Yew Tree was too wandering and took a longer time to finish.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I love Agatha Christie's mysteries I think she should have stuck with that genre. The three stories in this Mary Westmacott are subpar by comparison.

[Jared · Rating 3 out of 5]

Absent in the Spring

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only read the first and last novels in this just because I was pressed for time, but both were wonderful and they weren't mysteries. Surely I will eventually get all of Christie's novels read!

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written under Agatha Christie's pseudonym. Not murder mysteries, but these novellas fully display Christie's storytelling talents.

Absent in the Spring
4 stars. It was very poignant, and I liked the best of the three stories. Joan Scudamore, a middle-aged woman traveling alone, is returning home from a visit with her daughter in Iraq. Because of train delays, Joan unexpectedly finds herself held up at an isolated rest station in an area of the Middle Eastern desert. She has nothing to do for a few days, so in this space of time with no distractions, she thinks about her marriage, children, friends, and herself. She gradually realizes many unfortunate truths she has consistently allowed herself to deny. She thinks back on those current and past relationships and focuses on the various problems she mostly enabled. Her realizations bring regret, and she resolves to right the wrongs upon her return home. Despite the period of profound self-discovery and her initial good intentions, when he returned to familiar surroundings, she quickly found reasons to settle back into her former routine state of denial, and so nothing will change. This describes a human nature that is unequivocal. Agatha's first husband left her for another woman, which allegedly caused her to have a nervous breakdown that was related to her famous mysterious 1926 eleven day disappearance. Some of Christie's thoughts during that period must have made their way into this story. A memorable read. Published 1944.

Giant's Bread
3.5 stars. Interesting, absorbing story with strong characterizations. The depictions of childhood are superb. When grown, Vernon is a jerk, so having an unfailingly loyal superior friend who cared profoundly about him and two women who loved him despite better life alternatives isn't completely convincing, but I enjoyed the story. The final chapter contained unexpected elements but left me dissatisfied, having glossed over motivations that were central before. I can't resist saying I would have opted for a better title. Published 1930.

The Rose and the Yew Tree
3 stars. Sad romance and a bit too melodramatic for me, but it contains strong characterizations. I liked this the least of the three. Published 1948.

[Becca]

I have always loves Agatha Christie and have gone through a recent kick of rereading all the Marple and Poirot mysteries so I thought I would try this - so far Absent in the Spring was fairly good. poignant and sad but nice. skipped Giants bread and not really loving the last novel, but still good . . .

[Dorothy S · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could there be less likable characters? It was a sludge getting through reading this one. The only favorable thing I have to say would be over the 'Absent in the Spring' - seeing the extent that a Karen takes to lie to herself (to convince herself that she's a good person) was interesting.

[Eileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absent in the Spring - 4 stars; Giant's Bread - 6 stars; The Rose and the Yew Tree - 5.5 stars. Simply excellent characterizations / explorations of human nature.

[Tinquerbelle]

1) Absent in the Spring
2) Giant's Bread
3) The Rose and the Yew Tree

[Mary-Clare · Rating 2 out of 5]

Only read "Absent in the Spring". Not the others in the anthology.

[Ester Sihite]

I think good

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Agatha Christie pen name!