Jean Rhys's four early novels, all published during the twenty years between the two world wars – Quartet (1928), Leaving Mr Mackenzie (1930), Voyage in the Dark (1934), and Good Morning, Midnight (1939) – are often considered together. Their central characters, although ostensibly different, share the same qualities of vulnerability, depression, loneliness and desperation. Forgotten by their families during the interwar years, they perpetually attach themselves to unsuitable men in exchange for alcohol, luxurious clothes, and attention. These four novels are often dismissed by critics as too experimental; they turn instead to Rhys's 1966 masterpiece, Wide Sargasso Sea, for any consideration of the postcolonial, structures of female identity, or the role of the outsider. It was, however, a radio adaptation of Good Morning, Midnight, broadcast in 1958, that returned Rhys to literary fame. Good Morning,...
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Citation: Gildersleeve, Jessica. "Good Morning, Midnight". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 September 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=4930, accessed 09 June 2026.]
