A Family Man

A Family Man

The Project Gutenberg Ebook of A Family Man (from the 5th Series
Plays)
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Title: A Family Man (from the 5th Series Plays)
Author: John Galsworthy
Release Date: December, 2003 [EBook #4764] [Yes, we are more than
one year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on March 14,
2002]
Edition: 10

Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A FAMILY
MAN--5TH SERIES PLAYS ***
This etext was produced by David Widger
[NOTE: There is a short list of bookmarks, or pointers, at the end of the
file for those who may wish to sample the author's ideas before making
an entire meal of them. D.W.]

A FAMILY MAN
From the 5th Series Plays
By John Galsworthy

CHARACTERS
JOHN BUILDER................ of the firm of Builder & Builder
JULIA....................... His Wife ATHENE...................... His elder
Daughter MAUD........................ His younger Daughter RALPH
BUILDER............... His Brother, and Partner GUY
HERRINGHAME............. A Flying Man ANNIE....................... A
Young Person in Blue CAMILLE..................... Mrs Builder's French
Maid TOPPING..................... Builder's Manservant THE
MAYOR................... Of Breconridge HARRIS...................... His
Secretary FRANCIS CHANTREY............ J.P. MOON........................
A Constable MARTIN...................... A Police Sergeant A
JOURNALIST................ From The Comet THE FIGURE OF A
POACHER THE VOICES AND FACES OF SMALL BOYS

The action passes in the town of Breconridge, the Midlands.

ACT I. SCENE I. BUILDER'S Study. After breakfast. SCENE II. A
Studio.
ACT II. BUILDER'S Study. Lunchtime.
ACT III. SCENE I. THE MAYOR'S Study. 10am the following day.

SCENE II. BUILDER'S Study. The same. Noon. SCENE III.
BUILDER'S Study. The same. Evening.

ACT I
SCENE I
The study of JOHN BUILDER in the provincial town of Breconridge.
A panelled room wherein nothing is ever studied, except perhaps
BUILDER'S face in the mirror over the fireplace. It is, however,
comfortable, and has large leather chairs and a writing table in the
centre, on which is a typewriter, and many papers. At the back is a
large window with French outside shutters, overlooking the street, for
the house is an old one, built in an age when the homes of doctors,
lawyers and so forth were part of a provincial town, and not yet
suburban. There are two or three fine old prints on the walls, Right and
Left; and a fine, old fireplace, Left, with a fender on which one can sit.
A door, Left back, leads into the dining-room, and a door, Right
forward, into the hall.
JOHN BUILDER is sitting in his after-breakfast chair before the fire
with The Times in his hands. He has breakfasted well, and is in that
condition of first-pipe serenity in which the affairs of the. nation seem
almost bearable. He is a tallish, square, personable man of forty-seven,
with a well-coloured, jowly, fullish face, marked under the eyes, which
have very small pupils and a good deal of light in them. His bearing has
force and importance, as of a man accustomed to rising and ownerships,
sure in his opinions, and not lacking in geniality when things go his
way. Essentially a Midlander. His wife, a woman of forty-one, of ivory
tint, with a thin, trim figure and a face so strangely composed as to be
almost like a mask (essentially from Jersey) is putting a nib into a pen-
holder, and filling an inkpot at the writing-table.
As the curtain rises CAMILLE enters with a rather broken-down
cardboard box containing flowers. She is a young woman with a good
figure, a pale face, the warm brown eyes and complete poise of a
Frenchwoman. She takes the box to MRS BUILDER.
MRS BUILDER. The blue vase, please, Camille. CAMILLE fetches a
vase. MRS BUILDER puts the flowers into the vase. CAMILLE
gathers up the debris; and with a glance at BUILDER goes out.
BUILDER. Glorious October! I ought to have a damned good day's

shooting with Chantrey tomorrow.
MRS BUILDER. [Arranging the