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