John Galsworthy letters (RLC.Ms.515)

Biographical note

John Galsworthy (1867-1933), an English novelist and playwright, was born on August 14, 1867, in Surrey, England, into a wealthy and well established family. He studied law at Oxford and graduated in 1889. Galsworthy showed little interest in being a lawyer and after developing a close relationship with author Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) in 1892, Galsworthy began writing. By 1897, he had his first book of short stories published and in the following year his first novel, Jocelyn, was published. In 1906, Galsworthy published the first novel in his series The Foryste Saga, which placed him among the distinguished authors of his time and for which he is best known today. Galsworthy was also a prominent playwright, which garnered him the most attention during his lifetime. He spent his time between his homes in Bury, West Sussex, England, and his London home, The Grove, in Hempstead. In 1932, Galsworthy was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. He died in his London home on January 31, 1933.