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Aeneas Press edition Edwardian

Saint's Progress

by John Galsworthy 1867–1933

The book, and the century it came out of.

A vicar of absolute faith discovers his daughter is pregnant by an officer going back to the front, and must choose between his religion and his child. Galsworthy trained as a barrister, never practised, and was told to write by Joseph Conrad, then a ship’s first mate; this 1919 novel was written while the war was still in the room, and the vicar is drawn with respect, which is what makes it hurt. Illustrated with 59 full-page plates — paintings by Turner, Prévost and Brocas among them.

Such a day made glad the heart. All the flags of July were waving; the sun and the poppies flaming; white butterflies spiring up and twining, and the bees busy on the snapdragons.
The first sentence of Saint's Progress
A note on this edition

Saint's Progress, by John Galsworthy, complete and unabridged. Spelling and punctuation follow present-day American usage; the sentences, the paragraphs and the voice are the author’s, word for word.

It was written in another era and may carry attitudes a reader today will find dated. They are kept for the sake of the work and do not reflect the views of this house.

The edition
Format
Ebook
Extent
about 280 pages
Reading time
about 6 hours
Illustrations
Full-page plates, credited
Text
Complete, unabridged
Language
en
This edition
2026
ISBN
9785501105539
The plates

59 paintings are bound into this edition

Six of them are shown here, taken from the volume itself. Each is reproduced full page and named with its painter and year.

High Street, Oxford, J. M. W. Turner
High Street, Oxford J. M. W. Turner 1810
A franciscan monk blessing people in a church interior, Thérèse-Victoire de Manne
A franciscan monk blessing people in a church interior Thérèse-Victoire de Manne 1812
The workshop of the painter Bitter, T. B. Bitter
The workshop of the painter Bitter T. B. Bitter 1822
Dernière scène de la tragédie “Rodogune” au Théâtre-Français, Jacques Augustin Catherine Pajou
Dernière scène de la tragédie “Rodogune” au Théâtre-Français Jacques Augustin Catherine Pajou 1810
Marie-Louise of Austria Bidding Farewell to her Family in Vienna, Pauline Auzou
Marie-Louise of Austria Bidding Farewell to her Family in Vienna Pauline Auzou 1812
HMS Shannon taking USS Chesapeake, 1 June 1813, Thomas Buttersworth
HMS Shannon taking USS Chesapeake, 1 June 1813 Thomas Buttersworth 1813
The setting

A page from this edition

Not a mock-up: this page is taken from the finished volume. The ornament above the chapter belongs to its shelf and to no other, the opening letter is set as a drop capital, and the plate below carries the name of the painter and the year.

A page of Saint's Progress as set for this edition
The opening of a chapter
A page of Saint's Progress as set for this edition
A page where a plate falls

Both photographed from the finished volume.

Colophon

Saint's Progress, issued in this edition by Aeneas Press in 2026 on the Literary Classics shelf. Newly set, with the ornament of its series above each chapter and a drop capital on the opening page. Illustrated with full-page plates, each named with its painter.

Published as an ebook and not issued in print by this house; it carries one ISBN, 9785501105539, and is supplied worldwide. This edition — its setting, its ornament, its cover art, and the selection and attribution of its plates — © 2026 Aeneas Press.

Before you buy

Questions readers ask

Is this the whole of Saint's Progress?
Yes — complete and unabridged. Nothing is cut, condensed or paraphrased. This is the book, not a summary of it.
What exactly did you change?
The spelling and the punctuation follow present-day American usage. John Galsworthy's sentences are untouched — same words, same order, same rhythm.
Are the pictures really in the book?
Yes. The edition carries full-page plates bound into the text, each one named with its painter and the year it was made. Six of them are shown on this page.
How long is it?
About 280 pages, which is roughly about 6 hours of reading.
What do I actually get?
An illustrated ebook with its own ISBN, sold worldwide. One file, yours to keep, readable on any device.
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Saint's Progress
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