Ada Nemesis Galsworthy (20 November 1864 – 29 May 1956) was an English editor, translator, writer and composer. She was married to Nobel Laureate for Literature John Galsworthy.
Family and early life
Ada Nemesis Pearson was born on 20 November 1864; the location is unknown. She was baptised at St Clement's Church, Norwich on 24 November 1867. Born illegitimately, her parent was recorded as Anne Julia Pearson (c.1841–1913) from the Parish of Lakenham, Norwich. Her adoptive father was Dr. Emanuel Cooper (1802–1878). Both parents were of "Quaker persuasion". Galsworthy had an older brother, Arthur Charles.
When Dr. Cooper died, Galsworthy moved to Nottingham with her brother and mother, using the surname Cooper. She and her mother were "well provided for" under the terms of Dr. Cooper's will. Between 1881 and 1891, they made frequent, extended trips to Europe, her mother's principal purpose being to find a financially and socially suitable husband for her daughter. On one occasion the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, asked for an introduction. Her mother declined the honour.
Galsworthy and her mother did not get on; there was "a tragic lack of sympathy" between them. When her mother died in 1918 she did not attend the funeral, even though she was in England at the time.
Personal life
She married Major Arthur Galsworthy (1860–1923) on 30 April 1891 in Kensington, London, having met him the previous winter, probably in Biarritz, France. He was six years older than Ada, with no current profession or occupation, relying on an annual allowance from his father. Soon after marrying Major Galsworthy, Ada met and became friends with Lilian and Mabel Galsworthy, her husband's cousins and sisters of the man who was to become her second husband, Arthur's cousin, John Galsworthy (1867–1933). She let them know she was already unhappy in her marriage. The reason for her unhappiness was never made explicit, but the implication was that Arthur could be violent.
While Arthur was away fighting in the Boer War Ada met John at a dinner party. They began an affair on 6 September 1896. In order to protect John's father, who held deeply entrenched Victorian views about the sanctity of marriage, and provided John a generous annual allowance, from the scandal of divorce, they continued their affair discreetly for ten years. During this time they travelled abroad at least once a year, often accompanied by a chaperone. She would regularly make herself two or more years younger on travel documents.
While Arthur was away at war, Ada left the marital home and lived alone at Campden House Chambers, Kensington, while John took a flat in nearby Aubrey Walk. It was in her flat that John wrote the first words of what was to become The Forsyte Saga. Upon Arthur's return from Africa in 1901, he did not initiate divorce proceedings, from the same desire to avoid a "possible scandal". Ada and John continued their relationship discreetly for a further three years, often staying at a farmhouse called Wingstone in the village of Manaton, Dartmoor. In 1908 John took a long lease on part of the building, and it became "their little haven" until it was sold in 1923.
In 1904 John's father died, meaning he was now financially independent and they were free to marry. They publicly announced a trip to Wingstone in December 1904, thus giving Arthur grounds for divorce. After divorce papers were served, Ada and John travelled around Italy, Germany and Austria from January to August 1905.The decree nisi was granted on 24 February 1905 and £400 was awarded to Arthur in damages.
The divorce was finalised on 22 September 1905 and they married the following day at St George's, Hanover Square. Following their wedding, Ada's mother refused to see her for years and her solicitor, who had managed her affairs for 25 years, resigned his position. She and John moved into a house on Addison Road, Kensington, where they lived until 1913. In the first few years of their marriage, they rarely travelled outside England.
In 1910 the couple encouraged 19-year old dancer, Margaret Morris to establish her own dance school. The following year, John had a one-year affair with her, but ended it out of loyalty to his wife.
After the early years of their marriage, they slept in separate rooms. Ada and John's marriage developed into "almost a mother-son relationship: an ailing mother cared for and protected by an utterly devoted son, a situation which their childlessness bolstered."