
John Fordham, a thirty‑four‑year‑old man on the brink of ruin, opens his confession with a stark admission: he has been accused by his own conscience of a murder he cannot fully recall. A terrible night in December haunts him, its details shrouded in a black cloud that he cannot pierce, leaving him to wonder whether he acted in self‑defence or was driven by some unseen force. As the evidence against him mounts, he wrestles with the paradox of proclaiming innocence while fearing that the truth may be far darker than he dares to imagine.
Against this bleak backdrop, Fordham clings to memories of Ellen, the woman who has sacrificed her reputation for him, and their young son whose laughter once offered a glimpse of ordinary happiness. The promise of a peaceful future now seems as fragile as the falling snow, while relentless threats from an unseen enemy push him toward a desperate decision. Listeners are drawn into his tormented mind, questioning whether redemption is possible before the law catches up.
Language
en
Duration
~9 hours (523K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Transcribed by Charles Bowen from page images provided by the Web Archive (http://archive.org/details/betrayaljohnfor00farjgoog)
Release date
2014-04-28
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1833–1903
A prolific Victorian novelist with a flair for mystery, sentiment, and social observation, he turned years spent in Australia and New Zealand into stories that widened the world of nineteenth-century popular fiction. He also came from a literary family: he was the father of novelist Eleanor Farjeon and writer Herbert Farjeon.
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