Panic Spring
Encyclopedia
Panic Spring is a novel by Lawrence Durrell
, published in 1937
by Covici-Friede under the pseudonym Charles Norden. It is set on a fictional Greek
Island, Mavrodaphne, in the Ionian Sea
somewhere between Patras
, Kephalonia, and Ithaca
. The island, however, resembles Corfu
strongly, and in at least one inscribed copy of the novel, Durrell includes a map of Corfu identified as Mavrodaphne.
The novel progresses through multiple perspectives in the successive chapters, each focusing on a different character. As a whole, the novel shows Durrell's myriad influences of this period, ranging from Remy de Gourmont
to Richard Aldington
, D. H. Lawrence
, and several Elizabethan writers.
's Decline and Fall
. Shortly after arriving on the island, he meets Gordon and Walsh, both characters from Durrell's Pied Piper of Lovers
.
In the third chapter, Rumanades' personal history is narrated, leading up through his display of fireworks on Mavrodaphne. This includes his capitalist successes and his acquisition of his fortune, as well as his failed marriage that his wealth could not control.
The fourth and fifth chapters have Marlowe moving into one of Rumanades' villas on the island and meeting the remaining characters, Francis and Fonvisin. The narrative then turns to Marlowe's interests in Quietism.
The subsequent chapters focus heavily on the individual characters in their own narratives: Walsh, Fonvisin, and Francis.
Returning to the present moment on Mavrodaphne, the tenth chapter, "The Music," narrates a gramophone concert leading to an evening spent on a high cliff, with Francis, Marlowe, and Walsh in conversation.
Marlowe then begins to write his treatise on Quietism, and Francis is called away from the island back to London, for which she is given a farewell celebration. However, before she can leave, Rumanades dies of a fever brought on by an evening spent in poor weather thinking of his lost wife. One of the priests dies on the same night, and this throws the small community of expatriates into turmoil as they must vacate the island, putting an end to their escape from financial crises, revolution, and the impending World War.
. On the island, a group of expatriates from primarily Britain and Russia are enjoying the titular spring, and each chapter is written from a different character's perspective, giving his or her history leading up to their arrival on the island. Other chapters, "The Music" in particular, are set in the present on the island. The narrative style and allusive references are unique to each chapter, giving each its own stylistic independence and demonstrating Durrell's exploration of a variety of modernist modes. The chapter "Walsh" continues from Durrell's previous novel Pied Piper of Lovers
.
The novel frequently alludes to the political turmoil in Germany, with reference the Berlin Olympics, as well as financial crises in the world and Greek political unrest. The character Gorden, who is in Durrell's 1935 novel Pied Piper of Lovers
, is echoed George Orwell
's 1936 novel Keep the Aspidistra Flying
, and both he and Francis in Panic Spring echo Orwell, rounding out the series of references.
The novel also emphasizes the rural life of the village and a collaborative community of exiles who have no apparent need for money or government. This is set against remembrances of the city, London, financial dependency and despair, and political unrest.
Lawrence Durrell
Lawrence George Durrell was an expatriate British novelist, poet, dramatist, and travel writer, though he resisted affiliation with Britain and preferred to be considered cosmopolitan...
, published in 1937
1937 in literature
The year 1937 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*January 9 - The first issue of Look magazine goes on sale in the United States.*Thomas Quinn Curtiss meets Klaus Mann.-New books:*Eric Ambler - Uncommon Danger...
by Covici-Friede under the pseudonym Charles Norden. It is set on a fictional Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
Island, Mavrodaphne, in the Ionian Sea
Ionian Sea
The Ionian Sea , is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, south of the Adriatic Sea. It is bounded by southern Italy including Calabria, Sicily and the Salento peninsula to the west, southern Albania to the north, and a large number of Greek islands, including Corfu, Zante, Kephalonia, Ithaka, and...
somewhere between Patras
Patras
Patras , ) is Greece's third largest urban area and the regional capital of West Greece, located in northern Peloponnese, 215 kilometers west of Athens...
, Kephalonia, and Ithaca
Ithaca
Ithaca or Ithaka is an island located in the Ionian Sea, in Greece, with an area of and a little more than three thousand inhabitants. It is also a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and the only municipality of the regional unit. It lies off the northeast coast of Kefalonia and...
. The island, however, resembles Corfu
Corfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
strongly, and in at least one inscribed copy of the novel, Durrell includes a map of Corfu identified as Mavrodaphne.
The novel progresses through multiple perspectives in the successive chapters, each focusing on a different character. As a whole, the novel shows Durrell's myriad influences of this period, ranging from Remy de Gourmont
Remy de Gourmont
Remy de Gourmont was a French Symbolist poet, novelist, and influential critic. He was widely read in his era, and an important influence on Blaise Cendrars...
to Richard Aldington
Richard Aldington
Richard Aldington , born Edward Godfree Aldington, was an English writer and poet.Aldington was best known for his World War I poetry, the 1929 novel, Death of a Hero, and the controversy arising from his 1955 Lawrence of Arabia: A Biographical Inquiry...
, D. H. Lawrence
D. H. Lawrence
David Herbert Richards Lawrence was an English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic and painter who published as D. H. Lawrence. His collected works represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanising effects of modernity and industrialisation...
, and several Elizabethan writers.
Plot summary
The character Marlowe is stranded in Brindisi during political strife in Greece, and he is eventually conveyed to Mavrodaphne by the boatman Christ who serves Rumanades, a highly successful businessman who owns Mavrodaphne. He is a disillusioned schoolteacher akin to Evelyn WaughEvelyn Waugh
Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh , known as Evelyn Waugh, was an English writer of novels, travel books and biographies. He was also a prolific journalist and reviewer...
's Decline and Fall
Decline and Fall
Decline and Fall is a novel by the English author Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1928. It was Waugh's first published novel; an earlier attempt, entitled The Temple at Thatch, was destroyed by Waugh while still in manuscript form. Decline and Fall is based in part on Waugh's undergraduate years...
. Shortly after arriving on the island, he meets Gordon and Walsh, both characters from Durrell's Pied Piper of Lovers
Pied Piper of Lovers
Pied Piper of Lovers, published in 1935, is Lawrence Durrell's first novel. It is followed by Panic Spring, which partly continues the actions of its characters. The novel is in large part autobiographical and focuses on the protagonist's childhood in India and maturation in London.-Plot...
.
In the third chapter, Rumanades' personal history is narrated, leading up through his display of fireworks on Mavrodaphne. This includes his capitalist successes and his acquisition of his fortune, as well as his failed marriage that his wealth could not control.
The fourth and fifth chapters have Marlowe moving into one of Rumanades' villas on the island and meeting the remaining characters, Francis and Fonvisin. The narrative then turns to Marlowe's interests in Quietism.
The subsequent chapters focus heavily on the individual characters in their own narratives: Walsh, Fonvisin, and Francis.
Returning to the present moment on Mavrodaphne, the tenth chapter, "The Music," narrates a gramophone concert leading to an evening spent on a high cliff, with Francis, Marlowe, and Walsh in conversation.
Marlowe then begins to write his treatise on Quietism, and Francis is called away from the island back to London, for which she is given a farewell celebration. However, before she can leave, Rumanades dies of a fever brought on by an evening spent in poor weather thinking of his lost wife. One of the priests dies on the same night, and this throws the small community of expatriates into turmoil as they must vacate the island, putting an end to their escape from financial crises, revolution, and the impending World War.
The Scene
The novel is set on a fictional Greek island named Mavrodaphne, after the black grapes and wine of PatrasPatras
Patras , ) is Greece's third largest urban area and the regional capital of West Greece, located in northern Peloponnese, 215 kilometers west of Athens...
. On the island, a group of expatriates from primarily Britain and Russia are enjoying the titular spring, and each chapter is written from a different character's perspective, giving his or her history leading up to their arrival on the island. Other chapters, "The Music" in particular, are set in the present on the island. The narrative style and allusive references are unique to each chapter, giving each its own stylistic independence and demonstrating Durrell's exploration of a variety of modernist modes. The chapter "Walsh" continues from Durrell's previous novel Pied Piper of Lovers
Pied Piper of Lovers
Pied Piper of Lovers, published in 1935, is Lawrence Durrell's first novel. It is followed by Panic Spring, which partly continues the actions of its characters. The novel is in large part autobiographical and focuses on the protagonist's childhood in India and maturation in London.-Plot...
.
The novel frequently alludes to the political turmoil in Germany, with reference the Berlin Olympics, as well as financial crises in the world and Greek political unrest. The character Gorden, who is in Durrell's 1935 novel Pied Piper of Lovers
Pied Piper of Lovers
Pied Piper of Lovers, published in 1935, is Lawrence Durrell's first novel. It is followed by Panic Spring, which partly continues the actions of its characters. The novel is in large part autobiographical and focuses on the protagonist's childhood in India and maturation in London.-Plot...
, is echoed George Orwell
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
's 1936 novel Keep the Aspidistra Flying
Keep the Aspidistra Flying
Keep the Aspidistra Flying, first published 1936, is a socially critical novel by George Orwell. It is set in 1930s London. The main theme is Gordon Comstock's romantic ambition to defy worship of the money-god and status, and the dismal life that results....
, and both he and Francis in Panic Spring echo Orwell, rounding out the series of references.
The novel also emphasizes the rural life of the village and a collaborative community of exiles who have no apparent need for money or government. This is set against remembrances of the city, London, financial dependency and despair, and political unrest.
Further reading
- Christensen, Peter G. "The Achievement and Failure: Durrell's Three Early Novels." Lawrence Durrell: Comprehending the Whole. Eds. Julius Rowan Raper, Melody L. Enscore, and Paige Matthey Bynum. Columbia: U of Missouri P, 1995. 22–32.
- Brigham, James A. "An Unacknowledged Trilogy." Deus Loci: The Lawrence Durrell Newsletter 2.3 (1979): 3-12.
- Gifford, James. "Editor's Preface." Panic Spring: A Romance. Lawrence Durrell. Ed. James Gifford. Victoria, BC: ELS Editions, 2008. vii-xiv.
- Kaczvinsky, Donald P. "Panic Spring and Durrell's 'Heraldic' Birds of Rebirth." Lawrence Durrell: Comprehending the Whole. Eds. Julius Rowan Raper, Melody L. Enscore, and Paige Matthey Bynum. Columbia: U of Missouri P, 1995. 33–44.
- MacNiven, Ian S. "Ur-Durrell." Lawrence Durrell: Comprehending the Whole. Eds. Julius Rowan Raper, Melody Enscore, and Paige Bynum. Columbia: U of Missouri P, 1995. 11–21.
- Morrison, Ray. A Smile in His Mind's Eye: A Study of the Early Works of Lawrence Durrell. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2005.
- Pine, Richard. "Introduction." Panic Spring: A Romance. Lawrence Durrell. Ed. James Gifford. Victoria, BC: ELS Editions, 2008. xv-xxxii.
- ---. Lawrence Durrell: The Mindscape. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 1994. 2nd ed. Corfu: Durrell School of Corfu, 2005.
External links
- Panic Spring, ELS Editions
- The International Lawrence Durrell Society Official website of ILDS
- Durrell 2012: The Lawrence Durrell Centenary Centenary event website and Durrell Journal
- The Durrell School of Corfu School dedicated to the works and lives Lawrence and Gerald Durrell