John Galsworthy Biography

English Novelist and Playwright, Famous for the Forsyte Family

Aug 12, 2009

Brief biography of English author John Galsworthy, 1932 Nobel Laureate in Literature, a long-time friend of Joseph Conrad.

English writer John Galsowrthy became famous for his series of novels about the fortunes of the Forsyte family, grouped into three trilogies: The Forsyte Saga, A Modern Comedy, and End of the Chapter. His plays, such as Justice and Strife, deal with social issues.

Early Life of John Galsworthy

John Galsworthy was born into a wealthy family in Coombe, Surrey, on August 14, 1867. He studied law and received an expensive education at Harrow and New College. But during a round-the-world voyage to gain experience, he met and became friends with the great novelist Joseph Conrad. This experience convinced him to give up law and to become a writer instead. The two became lifelong friends.

Galsworthy's first book was a collection of short stories called From the Four Winds. It came out when he was 30, and published under the pen name John Sinjohn.

In 1905, after a ten-year affair, he married the wife of his first cousin, Ada. She became the inspiration for many of his leading female characters.

John Galsworthy's Novels The Forsyte Saga

The Forsytes, the fictional upper-class English family, became Galsworthy's best-known creation, which first appeared in an early short story.

The first of The Forsyte Saga novels, The Man of Property, came out when he was 39 years old. It was later included in The Forsyte Saga trilogy. As in the other volumes in the series, Galsworthy examined the way the wealthy English upper-class society was changing as the Victorian era came to an end and the 20th century began.

John Galsworthy's Plays

His first play appeared in the same year that he began writing The Forsyte Saga. His career as a playwright began with the success of The Silver Box, employing his favourite device of presenting families in contrast – the rich and the other, poor. Again, he touched on the subject of social injustices. Some of these popular plays included Justice, Strife, and The Skin Game.

Insight into Galsworthy Works

Galsworthy's works deal with the English upper-middle class. He did not hesitate to criticize the injustices he saw in society. He died in Hampstead on January 31, 1933, at the age of 65.

He was awarded the Order of Merit Award (OM) in 1929 and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1932. His writing remains popular.

Works by John Galsworthy

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