One of Ursula’s lovers during World War II. Crighton is an Admiral in the Navy, having fought in World War I. He is fifteen years older than Ursula. When they begin their affair, Crighton is married with daughters. In some timelines, Crighton breaks off their relationship at the beginning of the war; in others, he separates from his wife, and he and Ursula move in together.
Crighton Quotes in Life After Life
The Life After Life quotes below are all either spoken by Crighton or refer to Crighton. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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A Long Hard War, Nov 1940
Quotes
Some hours later they had both woken up at the same time and made love. It was the kind of love (lust, to be honest about it) that survivors of disasters must practice—or people who are anticipating disaster—free of all restraint, savage at times and yet strangely tender and affectionate.
Related Characters:
Ursula Todd, Crighton, Ralph, Fred Smith
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Life After Life LitChart as a printable PDF.
Crighton Character Timeline in Life After Life
The timeline below shows where the character Crighton appears in Life After Life. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
A Lovely Day Tomorrow (I), 2 September 1939
Pamela asks how “The Man from the Admiralty” is. Ursula has been involved with Crighton for a year. He is fifteen years older than Ursula, married, and has three daughters....
(full context)
Crighton had been at the Battle of Jutland and had “seen much,” but his life had...
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A Lovely Day Tomorrow (I), November 1940
Ursula is no longer seeing Crighton—the declaration of war had made him guilty, and they had parted ways, even though he...
(full context)
...works in the same building as Ursula. Ralph is sardonic, leftwing, utopian, and nothing like Crighton.
(full context)
The previous day Crighton had sent Ursula a note, asking if she had seen a gold engraved cigarette case...
(full context)
A Lovely Day Tomorrow (II), 2 September 1939
That evening Ursula meets Crighton (summoned by a coy note) for dinner at the Savoy. She wears one of her...
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A Lovely Day Tomorrow (II), April 1940
...takes off the wedding ring she wears for appearances’ sake when she’s not at work. Crighton kisses her goodbye and tells her to have a nice time.
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Ursula interrupts Maurice to say that she doesn’t feel “on the shelf,” and wishes that Crighton were there at the table. Teddy supports her, saying she does all right on her...
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Ursula returns to Crighton and tells him tales of the day as they lie in bed drinking hot chocolate....
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A Lovely Day Tomorrow (II), November 1940
...Ralph—who had made it clear that he wanted them to mean more to each other. Crighton calls Ralph her “other man.”
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A Lovely Day Tomorrow (III), September 1940
Ursula misses Crighton. He had invited her to dinner the night before the war was declared only to...
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A Long Hard War, October 1940 (I)
...and go to bed together. They had then had sex (though Ursula had thought of Crighton the whole time).
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...herself as Renee, and offered Ursula a cigarette; Ursula realized the cigarette case belonged to Crighton. Ursula returned to the lounge, and she, Jimmy and Millie then went drinking all evening....
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A Long Hard War, May 1941
Ursula meets up with Crighton and returns his cigarette case. When Ursula tells him where she found it, he says...
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A Long Hard War, November 1943
...contrast, has wept continuously for days, and had to be comforted like a child by Crighton and Miss Woolf. Now she feels nothing.
(full context)
