The Dark Flower
1913
First Published
3.61
Average Rating
313
Number of Pages
Covering almost 30 years in the life and loves of Mark Lennan, The Dark Flower opens in 1880 with 18-year-old undergraduate Mark studying art at Oxford, and ends 30 years later with Mark ostensibly happily married, yet torn between his wife and a beautiful teenage girl—the last and most disturbing manifestation of the "dark flower" of passion. Within a dozen pages, Galsworthy establishes his mastery of compelling narrative and sketches an irresistible plot. Much of his achievement lies in the mixture of pathos and humor that he derives from characters little able to express their feelings. There is much else to admire, from Galsworthy’s impressionistic descriptions and eye for detail to the subtle symmetry he creates between his characters, emphasizing the cyclical nature of the story. Published in 1913, the story also holds the fascination of a world about to be transformed by war—one in which a love letter could still be delivered by the hand of a discreet manservant, and the residents of Piccadilly kept their horses stabled close by so that they could gallop down to Richmond for fresh air.
Avg Rating
3.61
Number of Ratings
591
5 STARS
23%
4 STARS
31%
3 STARS
33%
2 STARS
10%
1 STARS
3%
goodreads
Author
John Galsworthy
Author · 35 books
Literary career of English novelist and playwright John Galsworthy, who used John Sinjohn as a pseudonym, spanned the Victorian, Edwardian and Georgian eras. In addition to his prolific literary status, Galsworthy was also a renowned social activist. He was an outspoken advocate for the women's suffrage movement, prison reform and animal rights. Galsworthy was the president of PEN, an organization that sought to promote international cooperation through literature. John Galsworthy was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1932 "for his distinguished art of narration which takes its highest form in The Forsyte Saga."
