2 h 41 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 66 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 66 pagesAbout this book
What happens when a desperate act of love meets a law that sees only the crime?
In John Galsworthy’s four-act play Justice, William Falder changes a number on a cheque. The young solicitor’s clerk wants to help Ruth Honeywill escape her violent husband. Inside the respectable office of James and Walter How, his forgery sets honesty, loyalty and pity against one another.
The drama moves from the office to the courtroom and behind prison walls. Frome, the defence barrister, asks the jury to see Falder’s desperation; Cleaver presents a deliberate breach of trust. As officials follow their duties, Galsworthy asks how decent people can uphold rules that cause suffering—and whether fairness leaves room for mercy.
What you’ll discover
- A cheque changes everything Enter an orderly solicitor’s office where one altered number exposes the strain beneath respectability.
- The man behind the charge Meet a nervous young clerk whose wrongdoing grows from pity, love and a desperate wish to help.
- Two arguments in court Hear opposing barristers weigh the same act, drawing your attention between personal crisis and broken trust.
- The silence of prison Follow the drama behind prison walls, where routine and long, silent hours reveal punishment’s human cost.
- Kindness within rigid rules Encounter Cokeson’s concern and a governor whose good intentions leave little room to ease one man’s fear.
Is it for you?
This is for readers who like moral questions, courtroom scenes and plays that read quickly but stay in the mind. It suits anyone curious about crime and punishment. If you want a fast plot with surprises, the slow, quiet final stretch may feel bare.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A clerk, a cheque and a changed number
- Falder's reason is a woman in danger
- The courtroom weighs the act, not the man
- Prison closes in on a nervous man
- What the play says about law and mercy
- How Galsworthy builds the drama
Who’s who
- William FalderA young, nervous junior clerk in a solicitors' office who commits a forgery out of pity and love, and then faces the law.
- Ruth HoneywillA frightened mother of two, trapped in a violent marriage, who wants to escape her husband and never meant Falder to suffer for her.
- CokesonThe managing clerk, a fussy and kindly man who takes pride in the firm and truly cares for Falder.
- James HowThe elder partner of the firm, a respectable solicitor who believes strongly in honesty, order and the good name of his business.
- Walter HowJames How's son and fellow partner, who treats the forgery as a plain breach of trust.
- FromeThe defence barrister, who pleads for Falder by asking the jury to see the crisis of feeling behind the act.
- CleaverThe prosecuting barrister, who presents the forgery as a deliberate theft by a trusted employee.
- The GovernorThe prison governor, a decent official bound by rules that leave him little room to help one frightened man.
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- Audiobook
- 2 h 41 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
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- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in, 66 pages: USD 6.95 when you start free, USD 12.95 on its own.
- Hardcover
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- 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.
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Language: English
“Undoubtedly Galsworthy is at his best when his technique is at its highest pitch of excellence, and weakest when his sense of form most fails him.”
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
A clerk, a cheque and a changed number
The play opens in the London office of James and Walter How, a firm of solicitors. The place is orderly, dusty and respectable. The managing clerk is Cokeson, a fussy, kindly man who runs the junior staff and takes pride in the firm's good name. Among the juniors is William Falder, a quiet young man with a nervous manner.
A problem comes to light. A cheque made out by the firm for nine pounds has been paid at the bank for ninety. Someone has altered the figures. Cokeson is troubled by this, partly because he likes Falder and partly because he fears what the partners will say. The discovery spreads through the office in small, tense exchanges.
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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.
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What is the play Justice by John Galsworthy about?
It follows William Falder, a young solicitor's clerk who forges a cheque to help a woman in a violent marriage. The play shows his trial and his time in prison, and asks whether the law can be fair and merciful at once.
When was Justice by Galsworthy written and first performed?
Galsworthy wrote Justice in 1910, and it was first staged in London that year. It is a work of fiction, though it draws on real concerns of the time about prisons and punishment.
Did Justice change prison law in Britain?
It is often said that the play, especially its scene of solitary confinement, helped shape public debate about prison conditions at the time. Reforms to the use of solitary confinement followed soon after, though many factors played a part.
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