Absent in the Spring and Other Novels: Absent in the Spring — Giant's Bread — The Rose and the Yew Tree (Mary Westmacott Omnibus, No. 1)
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.
Customer Review: Too odd
I found this book very hard to read considering all I have read are Agathas suspense novels. I was rather dissapointing to see this type of writing style. Her suspense and romantic novels are both very well written out but to see this side of her kind of ruined the whole detective novels. I wouldn't recommend this to readers who like her original style…
Customer Review: Another perspective from Agatha Christie.
Fans of Agatha Christie's mystery novels will not be disappointed in these more standard novels, which she published under the name Mary Westmacott. "Absent in the Spring" is a magnificent novel, the story of a woman unexpectedly stranded in a desert outpost with no distractions, who is forced for the first time to see herself and others objectively. A simple concept, but difficult to write. Christie handles the matter superbly, and in her autobiography, lists this as one of her favorite novels. "Absent in the Spring" is even more interesting when you consider she wrote the book in 3 days during the London Blitz!
Most of the novels Christie wrote as Mary Westmacott are semi-autobiographical, or reveal conflicts or persons present in her own life. Christie fans will want to include this collection of novels for insight into the author's life, thought processes, and internal emotional struggles. The other novels in this collection, especially "Giant's Bread", are also excellent novels, but the collection would be worth reading just for "Absent in the Spring."