Point of View

The Beginning of Spring is written using the third person limited omniscient narrator point of view. Frank Reid is the only character whose thoughts are revealed. When Frank is not present Fitzgerald uses the third person omniscient point of view to tell what took place. In the chapter at the dacha, when Lisa leads Dolly through the woods, the story is told through the eyes and mind of Dolly.

There are instances, particularly in scenes between Frank and Selwyn, where Frank is left feeling that there is more that Selwyn wants to say, but Fitzgerald doesn't disclose more than what Frank observes.

Setting

The novel is set in Moscow in 1913, a year and a quarter before Russia's entry into World War I and over four years before the revolution. There is a feeling among members of the foreign business community that they need to prepare to...