John Galsworthy (; 14 August 1867 – 31 January 1933) was an English novelist and playwright. Notable works include '' The Forsyte Saga'' (1906–1921) and its sequels, ''A Modern Comedy'' and ''End of the Chapter''. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1932.

Life

Galsworthy was born at what is now known as Galsworthy House (then called Parkhurst) on Kingston Hill in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, the son of John and Blanche Bailey (''née'' Bartleet) Galsworthy. His family was prosperous and well established, with a large property in

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...

that is now the site of three schools: Marymount International School,

Rokeby Preparatory School Rokeby School is an independent all male preparatory day school in Kingston upon Thames, London. Its headmaster is Jason Peck. The school offers an education from 4 to 13 years through the integration of a pre- preparatory school and a preparat ...

, and Holy Cross Preparatory School. He attended Harrow and New College, Oxford. He took a Second in Law (Jurisprudentia) at Oxford in 1889, then trained as a barrister and was called to the bar in 1890. However, he was not keen to begin practising law and instead travelled abroad to look after the family's trans-European shipping agency. During these travels, he met Joseph Conrad in 1893, then the first mate of a sailing-ship moored in the harbour of

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, and the two future novelists became close friends. In 1895 Galsworthy began an affair with Ada Nemesis Pearson Cooper (1864–1956), the wife of his cousin Major Arthur Galsworthy. After her divorce ten years later, they were married on 23 September 1905 and stayed together until his death in 1933. Before their marriage, they often stayed clandestinely in a farmhouse called Wingstone that was in the village of

Manaton Manaton is a village situated to the southeast of Dartmoor National Park, Devon, England. The 15th-century church, located in a prominent spot due north of the village green, is dedicated to Winefride, St Winifred. Three of the six bells in its ...

on Dartmoor, Devon. In 1908 Galsworthy took a long lease on part of the building, and it was their regular second home until 1923.

Career

''From the Four Winds'', a collection of short stories, was Galsworthy's first published work in 1897. These and several subsequent works were published under the pen name of John Sinjohn, and it was not until ''The Island Pharisees'' (1904) that he began publishing under his own name, probably owing to the recent death of his father. His first full-length novel, ''Jocelyn'', was published in an edition of 750 under the name of John Sinjohn—he later refused to have it republished. His first play, '' The Silver Box'' (1906),—in which the theft of a prostitute's purse by a rich 'young man of good family' is placed beside the theft of a silver cigarette case from the rich man's father's house by 'a poor devil', with very different repercussions, though justice was clearly done in each case—became a success, and he followed it up with ''The Man of Property'' (1906), the first book of a Forsyte trilogy. Although he continued writing both plays and novels, it was as a playwright that he was mainly appreciated at the time. Along with those of other writers of the period, such as

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

, his plays addressed the

class system A social class is a grouping of people into a set of hierarchical social categories, the most common being the upper, middle and lower classes. Membership in a social class can for example be dependent on education, wealth, occupation, incom ...

and other social issues, two of the best known being '' Strife'' (1909) and ''

The Skin Game The Skin Game may refer to: * ''The Skin Game'' (play), a play by John Galsworthy * ''The Skin Game'' (1921 film), a 1921 Dutch film, based on the play * ''The Skin Game'' (1931 film), a 1931 film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, also based on the ...

'' (1920). John galsworthy

He is now far better known for his novels, particularly '' The Forsyte Saga'', his trilogy about the eponymous family and connected lives. These books, as with many of his other works, deal with social class, and upper-middle class lives in particular. Although sympathetic to his characters, he highlights their insular, snobbish, and acquisitive attitudes and their suffocating moral codes. He is viewed as one of the first writers of the

Edwardian era The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Vic ...

who challenged some of the ideals of society depicted in the preceding literature of Victorian England. The depiction of a woman in an unhappy marriage furnishes another recurring theme in his work. The character of Irene in ''The Forsyte Saga'' is drawn from Ada Pearson, though her previous marriage was not as miserable as that of the character. The publishers William Heinemann were responsible for the publication of much of his work. In 1924 he agreed to write a

preface __NOTOC__ A preface () or proem () is an introduction to a book or other literary work written by the work's author. An introductory essay written by a different person is a '' foreword'' and precedes an author's preface. The preface often close ...

free of charge, to secure the publication of ''The Spanish Farm'', the debut novel of family friend R. H. Mottram; the book was duly published by

Chatto and Windus Chatto & Windus is an imprint of Penguin Random House that was formerly an independent book publishing company founded in London in 1855 by John Camden Hotten. Following Hotten's death, the firm would reorganize under the names of his business ...

to great acclaim.

Causes and honours

Causes

Through his writings Galsworthy campaigned for a variety of causes, including prison reform, women's rights, and

animal welfare Animal welfare is the well-being of non-human animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures such as longevit ...

, and also against censorship. Galsworthy was a supporter of British involvement in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. In an article for '' The Daily News'' on 31 August 1914 Galsworthy called for war on Germany to protect

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

. Galsworthy added "What are we going to do for Belgium — for this most gallant of little countries, ground, because of sheer loyalty, under an iron heel?" During the First World War he worked in a hospital in France as an orderly, after being passed over for military service, and in 1917 turned down a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...

, for which he was nominated by Prime Minister

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for lea ...

, on the precept that a writer's reward comes simply from writing itself. Galsworthy opposed the slaughter of animals and fought for

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the s ...

. He was also a humanitarian and a member of the

Humanitarian League The Humanitarian League was a British radical advocacy group formed by Henry S. Salt and others to promote the principle that it is wrong to inflict avoidable suffering on any sentient being. It was based in London and operated between 1891 ...

. He opposed hunting and supported the League for the Prohibition of Cruel Sports.

Honours

Galsworthy was offered and refused a knighthood in 1918, but he was incorrectly stated to have received the knighthood because his letter to decline the knighthood was lost. Galsworthy was in 1921 elected to be the first president of the PEN International literary association. He was appointed to the Order of Merit in 1929. He was awarded the 1932 Nobel Prize for Literature, after his nomination by

Henrik Schück Henrik Schück (2 November 1855 – 3 October 1947) was a Swedish literary historian, university professor and author. Biography Johan Henrik Emil Schück was a professor at the Lund University 1890–1898. He was a professor at Uppsala Univers ...

who was a member of the

Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy ( sv, Svenska Akademien), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish language authority. Outside Scandinavia, it is bes ...

, and he donated the prize money from the Nobel Prize to PEN International. He was too ill to attend the Nobel Prize Ceremony on 10 December 1932, and he died seven weeks later.

Death

Galsworthy during the final seven years of his life lived at Bury, West Sussex, but he died from a brain tumour at his London home, Grove Lodge in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the London Borough o ...

, and he was cremated at Woking, after which his ashes were scattered over the

South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the eas ...

from an aeroplane. There are also memorials to him in Highgate (West) Cemetery and in the cloisters of New College, Oxford, that are by

Eric Gill Arthur Eric Rowton Gill, (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the '' Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as ″the greatest artist-cr ...

. The popularity of his fiction declined subsequent to his death, until the highly popular black-and-white television adaptation '' The Forsyte Saga'' (1967) increased public interest in his work. A trove of John Galsworthy's letters and papers is held at the Special Collections of the University of Birmingham. A building at Kingston University, which was opened during 2007, and Galsworthy Road in Kingston, which is the location of

Kingston Hospital Kingston Hospital is an acute hospital in Kingston upon Thames, England. It is managed by the Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. It has an Accident & Emergency Unit, a popular midwife-led Maternity unit, and an sexually transmitted infecti ...

, are named for him.

Family

Galsworthy's sister Lilian (1864–1924) was married to the German painter and lithographer

Georg Sauter Georg Sauter (20 April 1866 – 20 December 1937) was a German-English painter, lithographer and draftsman. Life In 1880 Georg Sauter began training as a house painter and then worked in Munich with a painter master. Later he took drawing less ...

from 1894. With the beginning of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Sauter was interned as an enemy alien at

Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace is a Grade II listed entertainment and sports venue in London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. It is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and the later Tottenham Wood Farm. Origi ...

and later expelled. Their son Rudolf Sauter (1895–1971) was also a painter and graphic artist, who among other things, illustrated the works of his uncle.

Notable adaptations

'' The Forsyte Saga'' has been filmed several times: * '' That Forsyte Woman'' (1949), dir. by

Compton Bennett Herbert William Compton Bennett (15 January 1900 – 11 August 1974), better known as Compton Bennett, was an English film director, writer and producer. He is perhaps best known for directing the 1945 film '' The Seventh Veil'' and the 1950 ve ...

, an MGM adaptation in which

Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian-American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, freque ...

played a rare villainous role as Soames. * ''The Forsyte Saga'' (1967 TV series), directed by James Cellan Jones, David Giles, starring

Eric Porter Eric Richard Porter (8 April 192815 May 1995) was an English actor of stage, film and television. Early life Porter was born in Shepherd's Bush, London, to bus conductor Richard John Porter and Phoebe Elizabeth (née Spall). His parents hope ...

, Nyree Dawn Porter, Kenneth More, and Susan Hampshire, 26 parts. * ''The Forsyte Saga'' (2002 TV series), dir. by Christopher Menaul, starring Gina McKee, Damian Lewis, Rupert Graves, and Corin Redgrave, 13 parts. ''The White Monkey'' was made into a silent film of the same name in 1925, directed by Phil Rosen, and starring Barbara La Marr, Thomas Holding, and

Henry Victor Henry Victor (2 October 1892 – 15 March 1945) was an English-born character actor who had his highest profile in the film silent era, he appeared in numerous film roles in Britain, before emigrating to the US in 1939 where he continued h ...

. ''

'' was adapted and directed by

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

in 1931. It starred C.V. France,

Helen Haye Helen Haye (born Helen Hay, 28 August 1874 – 1 September 1957) was a British stage and film actress.
New York Times. 3 Septem ...

, Jill Esmond,

Edmund Gwenn Edmund Gwenn (born Edmund John Kellaway; 26 September 1877 – 6 September 1959) was an English actor. On film, he is best remembered for his role as Kris Kringle in the Christmas film ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947), for which he won th ...

, John Longden and Phyllis Konstam. ''

Escape Escape or Escaping may refer to: Computing * Escape character, in computing and telecommunication, a character which signifies that what follows takes an alternative interpretation ** Escape sequence, a series of characters used to trigger some s ...

'' was filmed in 1930 and 1948. The latter was directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, starring Rex Harrison,

Peggy Cummins Peggy Cummins (born Augusta Margaret Diane Fuller; 18 December 1925 – 29 December 2017) was an Irish actress, born in Wales, who is best known for her performance in Joseph H. Lewis's ''Gun Crazy'' (1950), playing a trigger-happy '' femme f ...

, and

William Hartnell William Henry Hartnell (8 January 1908 – 23 April 1975) was an English actor. He is best remembered for his portrayal of the first incarnation of the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' from 1963 to 1966. In film, Hartnell notably appeared in '' Brig ...

. The screenplay was by Philip Dunne. ''

One More River ''One More River'' is a 1934 American drama film mystery directed by James Whale. It was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures and starred Colin Clive, Diana Wynyard and stage actress Mrs Patrick Campbell in one of her very few films. Th ...

'' (a film version of Galsworthy's ''Over the River'') was filmed by

James Whale James Whale (22 July 1889 – 29 May 1957) was an English film director, theatre director and actor, who spent the greater part of his career in Hollywood. He is best remembered for several horror films: '' Frankenstein'' (1931), '' The ...

in 1934. The film starred Frank Lawton, Colin Clive (one of Whale's most frequently used actors) and Diana Wynyard, and featured

Mrs. Patrick Campbell Beatrice Rose Stella Tanner (9 February 1865 – 9 April 1940), better known by her stage name Mrs Patrick Campbell or Mrs Pat, was an English stage actress, best known for appearing in plays by Shakespeare, Shaw and Barrie. She also toured the ...

in a rare sound film appearance. '' The First and the Last'', a short play, was adapted as ''

21 Days ''21 Days'' (also known as ''21 Days Together'', ''The First and the Last'' and ''Three Weeks Together'') is a 1940 British drama film based on the short 1919 play '' The First and the Last'' by John Galsworthy. It was directed by Basil Dean an ...

'', starring Vivien Leigh and

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage ...

. Galsworthy's short story ''The Apple Tree'' was adapted into a radio play for

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

's ''Lady Esther Almanac'' radio series on CBS, first broadcast on 12 January 1942; the play was again produced by Welles for CBS on ''The Mercury Summer Theatre'' of 6 September 1946. The 1988 film '' A Summer Story'' was also based on ''The Apple Tree''. The ''

NBC University Theater The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are ...

'' aired radio adaptations of his plays ''

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

'' on 31 October 1948 and ''The Patrician'' on 26 February 1950. The Mob, adapted by John Foley in 2004 for the

BBC Radio World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the British Government through the Foreign Secretary's office. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception are ...

Works

The Forsyte Chronicles

# ''The Salvation of a Forsyte (The Salvation of Swithin Forsyte)'' (1900) # ''On Forsyte 'Change'' (1930) (re-published 1986 as "Uncollected Forsyte") # ''Danaë'' (1905–06) in ''Forsytes, Pendyces, and Others'' (1935) # ''The Man of Property'' (1906) – first book of '' The Forsyte Saga'' (1922) # ''The Country House'',(1907) # "Indian Summer of a Forsyte" (1918) – first interlude of ''The Forsyte Saga'' in Five Tales (1918) # ''In Chancery'' (1920) – second book of ''The Forsyte Saga'' # "Awakening" (1920) – second interlude of ''The Forsyte Saga'' # ''To Let'' (1921) – third book of ''The Forsyte Saga'' # ''The White Monkey'' (1924) – first book of ''A Modern Comedy'' (1929) # ''The Silver Spoon'' (1926) – second book of ''A Modern Comedy'' # "A Silent Wooing" (1927) – first Interlude of ''A Modern Comedy'' # "Passers-By" (1927) – second Interlude of ''A Modern Comedy'' # ''Swan Song'' (1928) – third book of ''A Modern Comedy'' # ''Maid in Waiting'' (1931) – first book of ''End of the Chapter'' (1934) # ''Flowering Wilderness'' (1932) – second book of ''End of the Chapter'' # ''One More River'' (originally ''Over the River'') (1933) – third book of ''End of the Chapter''

Plays

* '' The Silver Box'', 1906 * '' Strife'', 1909 * ''Joy'', 1909 * ''

'', 1910 * ''The Little Dream'', 1911 * ''The Pigeon'', 1912 * '' The Eldest Son'', 1912 * ''The Fugitive'', 1913 * ''The Mob'', 1914 * ''The Little Man'', 1915 * ''A Bit o' Love'', 1915 * ''The Foundations'', 1917 * '' The First and the Last'', 1919 * ''

'', 1920 *''A Family Man'', 1922 * '' Loyalties'', 1922 * ''Windows'', 1922 * ''

'', 1926 * ''Punch and Go'', 1935

Essays

* Quality, 1912, * ''The Inn of Tranquility'', 1912, * ''Addresses in America'', 1912 * ''Two Essays on Conrad'', 1930

Collections

* ''The Manaton Edition'', 1923–26 (30 vols.) * ''The Grove Edition'', 1927–34 (27 Vols.)

Other works

* ''From the Four Winds'', 1897 (as John Sinjohn) * ''Jocelyn'', 1898 (as John Sinjohn) * ''Villa Rubein and Other Stories'', 1900 (as John Sinjohn) * ''A Man of Devon'', 1901 (as John Sinjohn) * ''The Island Pharisees'', 1904 * ''A Commentary'', 1908 * ''Fraternity'', 1909 * ''A Justification for the Censorship of Plays'', 1909 * ''A Motley'', 1910 * ''The Japanese Quince'', 1910 * ''The Spirit of Punishment'', 1910 * ''Horses in Mines'', 1910 * '' The Patrician'', 1911 * ''Moods, Songs, and Doggerels'', 1912
''For Love of Beasts''
1912
''Treatment of Animals''
1913
''The Slaughter of Animals For Food''
1913 * ''The Dark Flower'', 1913 * ''The Freelands'', 1915 * ''A Sheaf'', 1916 * ''Beyond'', 1917 * ''Five Tales'', 1918 (Contents: "The First and Last", "A Stoic", " The Apple Tree", "The Juryman", and "Indian Summer of a Forsyte" (the first interlude of '' The Forsyte Saga'') * ''Saint's Progress'', 1919 * ''Tatterdemalion (short stories)'', 1920 * ''Captures'', 1923 * ''Abracadabra'', 1924 * ''The Forest'', 1924 * ''Old English'', 1924 * ''The Show'', 1925 * ''Caravan: The Assembled Tales of John Galsworthy'', New York: Charles Scribner's Sons 1925 * ''Verses New and Old'', 1926 (poems) * ''Castles in Spain'', 1927 * '' Bambi'', Mar 16, 1928, wrote the foreword to Felix Salten's now famous novel * ''Exiled'', 1929 * ''The Roof'', 1929 * ''Soames and the Flag'', 1930 * ''The Creation of Character in Literature'', 1931 (The Romanes Lecture for 1931). * ''Forty Poems'', 1932 * ''Autobiographical Letters of Galsworthy: A Correspondence with Frank Harris'', 1933 * ''Collected Poems'', 1934 * ''The Life and Letters'', 1935 * ''The Winter Garden'', 1935 * ''Forsytes, Pendyces and Others'', 1935 * ''Selected Short Stories'', 1935 * ''Glimpses and Reflections'', 1937 * ''Galsworthy's Letters to Leon Lion'', 1968 * ''Letters from John Galsworthy 1900–1932'', 1970

Notes and references

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

Interview
with Galsworthy biographer Jeffrey Reznick on "New Books in History".
John Galsworthy letters
Available online through Lehigh University'
I Remain: A Digital Archive of Letters, Manuscripts, and Ephemera
* ;Physical collections
The Papers of John Galsworthy
at Dartmouth College Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Galsworthy, John 1867 births 1933 deaths Alumni of New College, Oxford Animal rights scholars Animal welfare scholars Anti-vivisectionists British Nobel laureates Neurological disease deaths in England Deaths from brain cancer in England English animal rights activists English dramatists and playwrights English humanitarians 20th-century English novelists PEN International Nobel laureates in Literature People educated at Harrow School People from Kingston upon Thames English Nobel laureates 19th-century English non-fiction writers Members of the Order of Merit English male dramatists and playwrights English essayists English male novelists 19th-century male writers