9 h 0 minAudiobook4 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 221 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 221 pagesAbout this book
What happens when a family fears scandal more than the harm its rules can cause?
At Worsted Skeynes, Horace Pendyce treats land, church and village as parts of one settled order. His family’s name belongs to that order too. In John Galsworthy’s The Country House, the quiet routines of rural English gentry come under strain when private feeling refuses to stay within the bounds of rank and good manners.
George Pendyce, the restless heir, becomes entangled with Helen Bellew, a woman unhappy in her marriage. His mother, Margery, responds with a tenderness her husband’s rigid outlook leaves little room for. As the family guards its reputation, Galsworthy asks what respectability protects—and whose feelings it requires people to set aside.
What you’ll discover
- An estate’s settled order Enter Worsted Skeynes, where land and custom shape what a family expects from its own.
- A mother’s gentler view Meet Margery, whose concern for her son brings tenderness into a household governed by rank.
- An heir under pressure Follow George as his bond with Helen strains the role his family sets for him.
- The uses of silence See how manners, property and discretion help a respectable family defend its place.
- A cool, fair eye Explore Galsworthy’s measured study of class, where personal feeling tests the limits of social rules.
Who will love it
For readers who love observant English social fiction, family pressure and the clash between private passion and the rules of rank.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A squire and his ordered world
- Margery and George feel the strain
- Passion meets the rules of rank
- What the novel judges and how
Who’s who
- Horace PendyceThe squire of Worsted Skeynes, who holds that land, church and custom form a settled order to be kept whole.
- Margery PendyceHis wife, a gentle and feeling woman whose deepest concern is her son.
- George PendyceTheir heir, restless and drawn to pleasure, who cannot easily fit the role the family has set for him.
- Helen BellewA woman unhappy in her marriage, whose bond with George puts the family's code under strain.
- Mr ParamorThe family solicitor, a practical man who knows how to handle delicate matters quietly.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 9 h 0 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 4 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in, 221 pages: 9,95 USD when you start free, 15,95 USD on its own.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in, 221 pages: 16,95 USD when you start free, 22,95 USD on its own.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear The Country House in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
The Country House
by John Galsworthy · 1907
At Worsted Skeynes, George's bond with an unhappily married woman puts the Pendyce family's code under strain.
Medium level5–10 hours to read25 languages
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
The Country House is a novel by John Galsworthy, published in 1907. It was his first great success in fiction, and it came before the Forsyte books made his name.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A squire and his ordered world
The novel opens on the Pendyce family, whose life is bound up with the land. Horace Pendyce is the squire, a man who treats the estate, the church and the village as parts of one settled order. He does not argue for this view. He simply lives it, and he expects others to share it.
Galsworthy shows this world through habit more than speech. There are dinners, county talk, rent, pheasants and the care taken over what neighbours may think. Each small custom says that some things are done and others are not.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about The Country House
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy just the printed book?
Yes. The paperback costs 15,95 USD on its own. Start free and you pay the cost of printing: 9,95 USD for this paperback, and any other book at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Country House by John Galsworthy about?
It is a novel about the Pendyce family, landed gentry living at Worsted Skeynes. It studies how their strict code of rank and propriety clashes with private feeling when a family member forms a troubling attachment.
When was The Country House written?
John Galsworthy published it in 1907. It was his first major success as a novelist, and it appeared before the Forsyte novels. It is fiction, though it draws on the real world of English landowners.
Who are the main characters in The Country House?
The main figures are Horace Pendyce, the squire, his wife Margery, and their son George. Helen Bellew, a woman unhappy in marriage, and the solicitor Mr Paramor also play important parts.
The author
John Galsworthy
1867–1933 · English novelist and playwright
John Galsworthy was an English novelist and playwright born in Surrey in 1867. He lived in England and died in London in 1933. He wrote The Country House, published in 1907, and the play Justice, first performed in 1910. The Forsyte Saga appeared as a collected volume in 1922.
More by John Galsworthy
All 4 books
More like this
Free
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
Popular in classics
See all
Free
Free
Free
