Absent in the Spring is a novel written by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by Collins in August 1944 and in the US by Farrar & Rinehart later in the same year. It was the third of six novels Christie wrote under the pen name Mary Westmacott. The UK edition sold for eight shillings and sixpence (7/6) and the US edition at $2.50.
Unlike Christie’s mystery novels, this book is a psychological character study of a woman stranded alone during a train journey, forced to confront uncomfortable truths about her own life. Christie later described it as the one book she felt wrote itself, emerging almost effortlessly over three days. Critical reception was respectable but limited, as Westmacott titles attracted a smaller readership than Christie’s detective fiction. The novel remained out of print for periods during the 1950s and 1960s. Following Christie’s death in 1976, renewed interest in her non-crime work led to reissues. In the 1980s, Arlen House and later HarperCollins republished Absent in the Spring as part of complete Mary Westmacott collections.
Publication history
- 1944, William Collins & Sons (London), August 1944, Hardcover, 160 pp
- 1944, Farrar & Rinehart (New York), 1944, Hardcover, 250 pp
- 1967, Dell Books, Paperback, 192 pp 1971, Arbor House, Hardback, 250 pp
- 1974, Fontana Books (Imprint of HarperCollins), Paperback, 192 pp
The novel was first serialised in the US in Good Housekeeping in two abridged instalments from July to August 1944.
Absent in the Spring – First Edition Book Identification Guide
The books are listed in the order of publication. While the majority of Agatha Christie’s books were first published in the UK. There are many titles that were first published in the US. The title of the book may differs from the UK edition in some cases.
| Year | Title | Publisher | First edition/printing identification points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1944 | Absent in the Spring | William Collins & Sons, London, [1944] | First edition. "1942" on single line stated on the copyright page. No statement of later printings. Gray cloth lettered in black. Written under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. Price 7/6. |
| 1944 | Absent in the Spring | Farrar & Rinehart, NY, 1944 | First American edition. "Copyright, 1944" stated on the copyright page. No statement of later printings. Tan cloth lettered in gold. Price $ 2.50. |
Note about Book Club Editions (BCE) and reprints:
UK: You can see statements of later reprint dates or of book club on the copyright page.
US: The US reprint publishers usually use the same sheets as the first edition and are harder to identify by looking at the title page or the copyright page. One may identify a BCE by looking at the DJ, which doesn’t have a price on top of the front flap and a “Book Club Edition” imprint at the bottom. If the dust jacked is clipped at both the top/bottom of the front flap. You can safely assume it’s a BCE . If the book is missing the dust jacket. Later BCE editions can be identified by its plain boards, while first printings are issued in quarter cloth.
Please refer to the gallery for detailed images of true first edition bindings and dust jackets.
Absent in the Spring – First Edition Dust Jacket Identification Guide
First edition bindings and various dust jacket printings identification.
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