John Galsworthy: A Short Biography

John Galsworthy, whose biography is presented in this article, is an English playwright and prose writer of the 19th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Biography

John was born in Surrey County in 1867. His family was not poor because his father owned a large company, he was also a licensed lawyer, and his mother was the daughter of a serious industrialist.

John Galsworthy was to follow in the footsteps of his father. He studied at the prestigious Harrow School, then entered Oxford University. Among his main hobbies were sports and reading. Galsworthy even became a master at playing football and cricket. Among the literary preferences were Thackeray, Dickens.

After graduation, he did not beginlegal practice, and went to travel. Formally, this trip was of a business nature (family business), but in fact John Galsworthy simply pretended that he was interested.

In 1904, his father dies, and John finds complete freedom of action.

In 1921 he founded and became president of the PEN club.

Soon, Galsworthy began to suffer terrible headaches. Doctors diagnosed a brain tumor. John could not attend the Nobel Prize ceremony because of his illness.

He died in 1933 in London. Galsworthy wished to be cremated. His ash was dispelled from the plane over the top of Bury Hill.

Personal life

John Galsworthy was married, but this marriage was not easy for him. Ada Pearson, his chosen one, was the wife of his cousin Arthur Galsworthy.

John met the adorable Ada at her wedding. And after she believed in his literary talent - fell in love irrevocably!

The marriage of Ada and Arthur was unhappy. The mutual sympathy of John and the girl grew. Lovers secretly met almost ten years, and in 1905 they finally got married.

Ada too cared for her husband, not letting goit out of sight for a second. Perhaps that's why at the age of 44, John Galsworthy met the young dancer Margaret. She fell in love immediately, the writer just got carried away, but seeing the suffering of his wife, who felt the chill from his side, broke with Margaret.

Between the spouses there never again appeared those trembling feelings that were before. Ada considered her husband a traitor. But his death simply crushed the poor woman.

Until her death, she reread two poems written for her by John, and remembered her love.

Literary career

In 1987, a collection of short stories was publishedJohn Galsworthy. The second publication was the novel "Joslin." Then the writer created under a pseudonym, but everyone knew that it was John Galsworthy. Reviews about his works were somewhat contradictory, but not negative, which pleased.

In 1906 the play "The Silver Box" was released,which has become quite successful. The themes that the writer raised in his works concerned class relations, inequality of society. His dramas began to be staged in theaters of London.

On the account Galsworthy twenty novels, twenty-seven plays, three poetic collections, many stories and essays. But the most important thing in his life was the Forsyte Saga.

"The Forsyte Saga"

The history of the Forsyth family was created from 1906 to1921 year. The main theme of the novels is the life of social classes. The author sympathizes with his heroes, but can not help talking about their snobbery, greed and even immorality. Most of these qualities were characteristic of the upper stratum of that time.

John Galsworthy, whose photographs were published in all London newspapers after the publication of novels, was the first to question the ideals of modern society.

John writes about three generations of the Forsyte family, takes a lot from the personal life and destinies of the people around him.

This monumental work includes the novel "Salvation of Forsytes", published in 1901.

Then followed a series of novels, united under the general title "The Saga of Forsytes":

1. The owner (1906)
2. In the loop (1920)
3. For rent (1921).

Between them the interludes of 1918 "The Last Summer of Forsythe" and 1920 "Awakening" were bored.

In 1929-1930, Galsworthy publishes a collection of short stories "On the Forsyth Exchange," and in the foreword points out that without reading the "saga" the meaning will not be clear.

Several times the novels were filmed. One of the best works is the television film Air Force (1967), after which the name John Galsworthy again became a hearsay.

The Hollywood version of 1949 was created by Metro Goldwyn Meyer.