The Forsyte Saga
Encyclopedia
The Forsyte Saga is a series of three novel
s and two interludes (intervening episodes) published between 1906 and 1921 by John Galsworthy
. They chronicle the vicissitudes of the leading members of an upper-middle-class British
family, similar to Galsworthy's own. Only a few generations removed from their farmer ancestors, the family members are keenly aware of their status as "new money". The main character, Soames Forsyte, sees himself as a "man of property" by virtue of his ability to accumulate material possessions—but this does not succeed in bringing him pleasure.
Separate sections of the saga, as well as the lengthy story in its entirety, have been adapted for cinema and television. The first book, The Man of Property, was adapted in 1949 by Hollywood as That Forsyte Woman
, starring Errol Flynn
, Greer Garson
, Walter Pidgeon
and Robert Young
. The BBC
produced a popular 26-part serial in 1967
, that also dramatised a subsequent trilogy concerning the Forsytes, A Modern Comedy. In 2002, Granada Television
produced two series for the ITV
network called The Forsyte Saga
and The Forsyte Saga: To Let
. The 1967 version inspired the popular Masterpiece Theatre
television program, and the two Granada series made their runs in the US as part of that program.
, which deals with domestic issues. They take steps to divorce their spouses, Irene, and Montague Dartie respectively. However, while Soames tells his sister to brave the consequences of going to court, he is not willing to go through a divorce himself. Instead he stalks and hounds Irene, following her abroad, and asking her to have his child, which is his father's wish. Ultimately, Soames remarries, wedding Annette, the young daughter of a French Soho restaurant owner. With his new wife, he has his only child, Fleur Forsyte.
As for Irene, she is left the sum of £15,000 after Old Jolyon's death. His son, Young Jolyon Forsyte, also Soames's cousin, takes care of Irene's finances. When she first leaves Soames, he offers his support. At the time of the death of Young Jolyon's son Jolly in the South African War, Irene has developed a strong friendship with Jolyon. Then, Soames confronts Young Jolyon and Irene at Robin Hill accusing them (falsely) of having an affair. Young Jolyon and Irene assert that they have had an affair since Soames has it in his mind already. That gives Soames the evidence he needs for divorce proceedings. That confrontation sparks an affair between Young Jolyon and Irene.
in its United States release, starred Errol Flynn
as Soames, Greer Garson
as Irene, Walter Pidgeon
as Young Jolyon, and Robert Young
as Philip Bosinney. Walter Plunkett
and Arlington Valles
's work were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Color.
as Soames, Kenneth More
as Young Jolyon and Nyree Dawn Porter as Irene. It was adapted for television and produced by Donald Wilson and was originally shown in twenty-six episodes on Saturday evenings between 7 January and 1 July 1967 on BBC2. It was the repeat on Sunday evenings on BBC1 starting on 8 September 1968 that secured the programme's success, with 18 million tuning in for the final episode in 1969. It was shown in the United States on public television and broadcast all over the world, and became the first British television programme to be sold to the Soviet Union.
Enigma Variations
, specifically the Nimrod
variation. This adaptation starred leo Genn as Jo, Grizelda Hervey as Irene and Ronald Simpson as Soames. It was adapted by Muriel Levy and produced by Val Gielgud
and Felix Felton. Young Jolyons in later adaptations included Andrew Cruickshank
, Leo Genn
and Guy Rolfe
. Another production of the dramatised cycle came soon after the 1967 TV series. This had Rachel Gurney
as Irene, Noel Johnson
as Young Jolyon and Alan Wheatley
as Soames. The version broadcast in 1990 comprised a 75-minute opening episode followed by 22 hour-long episodes, entitled The Forsyte Chronicles. It was the most expensive radio drama serial ever broadcast, due to its length and its big-name cast which included Dirk Bogarde
, Diana Quick
, Michael Williams and Alan Howard
. This radio series was rerun on BBC 7
radio in 2004, and has been released commercially.
for the ITV
network, although, like the 1967 production, the miniseries took many liberties with Galsworthy's original work. Additional funding for this production was provided by American PBS station WGBH
, the BBC version having been a success on PBS in the early 1970s.
Immediately following the success of the 2002 adaptation, a second series was released in 2003. It portrays the saga's last book To Let. Much of the cast resumed their roles, but most of the first generation of Forsytes had died in the previous series. The principal characters played by Damian Lewis
, Gina McKee
, Rupert Graves
, and Amanda Root
return. It has also been released on DVD.
Generations and Change: The many generations of the Forsyte clan remind everyone of what has come to pass over the years. However, as the old ranks begin to die, people are able to change. For example, after a few generations, the fact that they are nouveau riche
does not matter as much. This is also the case with Soames and Irene's marital problems. Once they grow old and their children can overcome their parents' past, Soames can finally let go of the past. Mortality is an important issue because it forces people to let go. Another change with generations is the diminished number of Forsyte offspring. Many of the second generation have fewer children.
years 1924 to 1928. This comprises a novel,
The White Monkey, an interlude,
A Silent Wooing, a second novel,
The Silver Spoon, a second interlude, Passers By, and a third novel
Swan Song. The principal characters are Soames and Fleur, and the second saga ends
with the death of Soames in 1926. This is also the point reached at the end of the 1967 television
series, but Galsworthy wrote one further trilogy, End of the Chapter, comprising Maid in Waiting,
Flowering Wilderness, and Over the River, also known as One More River, chiefly dealing with Michael Mont's young cousin, Dinny Cherrell.
In 1930 Galsworthy published On Forsyte 'Change which deals in the main with the older Forsytes before the events chronicled in The Man of Property. Galsworthy states in a Foreword that "They have all been written since Swan Song was finished but in place they come between the Saga and the Comedy . . .". By way of explanation he says that "It is hard to part suddenly and finally from those with whom one has lived so long; and these footnotes do really, I think, help to fill in and round out the chronicles of the Forsyte family".
In 1994, Suleika Dawson wrote a sequel to The Forsytes called The Forsytes: the Saga Continues in which Soames's daughter, Fleur, Lady Mont, is the main character. She has been a dutiful wife and mother, and had long forgotten her love for Jon Forsyte. But when tragedy brings Jon back to England, Fleur is determined to recapture the past—and the love of her life.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s and two interludes (intervening episodes) published between 1906 and 1921 by John Galsworthy
John Galsworthy
John Galsworthy OM was an English novelist and playwright. Notable works include The Forsyte Saga and its sequels, A Modern Comedy and End of the Chapter...
. They chronicle the vicissitudes of the leading members of an upper-middle-class British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
family, similar to Galsworthy's own. Only a few generations removed from their farmer ancestors, the family members are keenly aware of their status as "new money". The main character, Soames Forsyte, sees himself as a "man of property" by virtue of his ability to accumulate material possessions—but this does not succeed in bringing him pleasure.
Separate sections of the saga, as well as the lengthy story in its entirety, have been adapted for cinema and television. The first book, The Man of Property, was adapted in 1949 by Hollywood as That Forsyte Woman
That Forsyte Woman
That Forsyte Woman is a 1949 romance film starring Greer Garson, Errol Flynn, Walter Pidgeon, Robert Young and Janet Leigh...
, starring Errol Flynn
Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Flynn was an Australian-born actor. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films, being a legend and his flamboyant lifestyle.-Early life:...
, Greer Garson
Greer Garson
Greer Garson, CBE was a British-born actress who was very popular during World War II, being listed by the Motion Picture Herald as one of America's top ten box office draws in 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, and 1946. As one of MGM's major stars of the 1940s, Garson received seven Academy Award...
, Walter Pidgeon
Walter Pidgeon
Walter Davis Pidgeon was a Canadian actor, who starred in many motion pictures, including Mrs...
and Robert Young
Robert Young (actor)
Robert George Young was an American television, film, and radio actor, best known for his leading roles as Jim Anderson, the father of Father Knows Best and as physician Marcus Welby in Marcus Welby, M.D. .-Early life:Born in Chicago, Illinois, Young was the son of an Irish immigrant father...
. The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
produced a popular 26-part serial in 1967
The Forsyte Saga (1967 series)
The Forsyte Saga is a 1967 BBC television adaptation of John Galsworthy's series of The Forsyte Saga novels, and its sequel trilogy A Modern Comedy...
, that also dramatised a subsequent trilogy concerning the Forsytes, A Modern Comedy. In 2002, Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
produced two series for the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
network called The Forsyte Saga
The Forsyte Saga (2002 miniseries)
In 2002 the first two books and the first interlude of John Galsworthy's trilogy The Forsyte Saga were adapted by Granada Television for the ITV network...
and The Forsyte Saga: To Let
The Forsyte Saga: To Let (2003 miniseries)
The Forsyte Saga: To Let is a 2003 British television serial produced by Granada Television for the ITV network, based on the book by John Galsworthy...
. The 1967 version inspired the popular Masterpiece Theatre
Masterpiece Theatre
Masterpiece is a drama anthology television series produced by WGBH Boston. It premiered on Public Broadcasting Service on January 10, 1971, making it America's longest-running weekly prime time drama series. The series has presented numerous acclaimed British productions...
television program, and the two Granada series made their runs in the US as part of that program.
The Man of Property (1906)
In this first novel of the Forsyte Saga, after introducing us to the impressive array of Forsytes headed by the formidable Aunt Ann, Galsworthy moves into the main action of the saga by detailing Soames Forsyte's desire to own things, including his beautiful wife, Irene Forsyte (née Heron). He is jealous of her friendships and wants her to be his alone. He concocts a plan to move her to the country, to Robin Hill and a house he had built, away from everyone she knows and cares about. She resists his grasping intentions and falls in love with the architect Philip Bosinney who has been engaged by Soames to build the house. However, Bosinney is the fiancé of her friend June Forsyte, the daughter of Soames's cousin Jolyon. There is no happy ending: Irene leaves Soames after he rapes her, and Bosinney dies under the wheels of a cab after being driven frantic by the news of Irene's rape by Soames.Indian Summer of a Forsyte (1918)
In a short interlude after The Man of Property, Galsworthy delves into the newfound friendship between Irene and Old Jolyon Forsyte (June's grandfather, and by now the owner of the house Soames had built). This attachment gives Old Jolyon pleasure, but exhausts his strength. He leaves Irene money in his will with Young Jolyon, his son, as trustee. In the end Old Jolyon dies under an ancient oak tree in the garden of the Robin Hill house.In Chancery (1920)
The marital discord of both Soames and his sister Winifred is the subject of the second novel, the title being a reference to the Court of ChanceryCourt of Chancery
The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid the slow pace of change and possible harshness of the common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over all matters of equity, including trusts, land law, the administration of the estates of...
, which deals with domestic issues. They take steps to divorce their spouses, Irene, and Montague Dartie respectively. However, while Soames tells his sister to brave the consequences of going to court, he is not willing to go through a divorce himself. Instead he stalks and hounds Irene, following her abroad, and asking her to have his child, which is his father's wish. Ultimately, Soames remarries, wedding Annette, the young daughter of a French Soho restaurant owner. With his new wife, he has his only child, Fleur Forsyte.
As for Irene, she is left the sum of £15,000 after Old Jolyon's death. His son, Young Jolyon Forsyte, also Soames's cousin, takes care of Irene's finances. When she first leaves Soames, he offers his support. At the time of the death of Young Jolyon's son Jolly in the South African War, Irene has developed a strong friendship with Jolyon. Then, Soames confronts Young Jolyon and Irene at Robin Hill accusing them (falsely) of having an affair. Young Jolyon and Irene assert that they have had an affair since Soames has it in his mind already. That gives Soames the evidence he needs for divorce proceedings. That confrontation sparks an affair between Young Jolyon and Irene.
Awakening (1920)
The subject of the second interlude is the naive and exuberant lifestyle of eight-year-old Jon Forsyte. He loves and is loved by his parents. He has an idyllic youth, his every desire indulged.To Let (1921)
This novel concludes the Forsyte Saga. Second cousins Fleur and Jon Forsyte meet and fall in love, ignorant of their parents' past troubles, indiscretions and misdeeds. Once Soames, Jolyon, and Irene discover their romance, they forbid their children to see each other again. Jolyon warns his son that once he dies, there will be no one to protect Irene from her ex-husband. Jon is torn between the past and his present love for Fleur. Despite her feelings for Jon, Fleur has a very suitable suitor, Michael Mont, heir to a baronetcy. Should they marry, Fleur would elevate the status of her family from "nouveau riche" to the aristocratic upper class. The title derives from Soames' reflections as he breaks up the house in which his Uncle Timothy, recently deceased in 1920 at age 101 and the last of the older generation of Forsytes, had lived a recluse, hoarding his life like property.1949 movie
A 1949 adaptation, called That Forsyte WomanThat Forsyte Woman
That Forsyte Woman is a 1949 romance film starring Greer Garson, Errol Flynn, Walter Pidgeon, Robert Young and Janet Leigh...
in its United States release, starred Errol Flynn
Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Flynn was an Australian-born actor. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films, being a legend and his flamboyant lifestyle.-Early life:...
as Soames, Greer Garson
Greer Garson
Greer Garson, CBE was a British-born actress who was very popular during World War II, being listed by the Motion Picture Herald as one of America's top ten box office draws in 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, and 1946. As one of MGM's major stars of the 1940s, Garson received seven Academy Award...
as Irene, Walter Pidgeon
Walter Pidgeon
Walter Davis Pidgeon was a Canadian actor, who starred in many motion pictures, including Mrs...
as Young Jolyon, and Robert Young
Robert Young (actor)
Robert George Young was an American television, film, and radio actor, best known for his leading roles as Jim Anderson, the father of Father Knows Best and as physician Marcus Welby in Marcus Welby, M.D. .-Early life:Born in Chicago, Illinois, Young was the son of an Irish immigrant father...
as Philip Bosinney. Walter Plunkett
Walter Plunkett
Walter Plunkett was a prolific costume designer who worked on more than 150 projects throughout his career in the Hollywood film industry....
and Arlington Valles
Arlington Valles
Born as Fred Valles, this Hollywood costume designer took the more grandiose name Arlington Valles as his professional handle, eventually jettisoning the "Arlington" part completely. He first provided costumes for the 1938 version of A Christmas Carol...
's work were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Color.
1967 serial
A television adaptation by the BBC of The Forsyte Saga, and its sequel trilogy A Modern Comedy, starred Eric PorterEric Porter
Eric Richard Porter was an English actor of stage, film and television.-Early life:Porter was born in Shepherd's Bush, London, to Richard John Porter and Phoebe Elizabeth Spall...
as Soames, Kenneth More
Kenneth More
Kenneth Gilbert More CBE was a highly successful English film actor during the post-World War II era and starred in many feature films, often in the role of an archetypal carefree and happy-go-lucky middle-class gentleman.-Early life:Kenneth More was born in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, the...
as Young Jolyon and Nyree Dawn Porter as Irene. It was adapted for television and produced by Donald Wilson and was originally shown in twenty-six episodes on Saturday evenings between 7 January and 1 July 1967 on BBC2. It was the repeat on Sunday evenings on BBC1 starting on 8 September 1968 that secured the programme's success, with 18 million tuning in for the final episode in 1969. It was shown in the United States on public television and broadcast all over the world, and became the first British television programme to be sold to the Soviet Union.
Radio adaptations
There have been various BBC radio dramatisations. The first was probably a radio production of The Man of Property in eleven weekly parts commencing December 9, 1945 on the BBC Home Service. The music used as the opening and closing theme came from Edward Elgar'sEdward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...
Enigma Variations
Enigma Variations
Variations on an Original Theme for orchestra , Op. 36, commonly referred to as the Enigma Variations, is a set of a theme and its fourteen variations written for orchestra by Edward Elgar in 1898–1899. It is Elgar's best-known large-scale composition, for both the music itself and the...
, specifically the Nimrod
Nimrod
Nimrod means "Hunter"; was a Biblical Mesopotamian king mentioned in the Table of Nations; an eponym for the city of Nimrud.Nimrod can also refer to any of the following:*Nimród Antal, a director...
variation. This adaptation starred leo Genn as Jo, Grizelda Hervey as Irene and Ronald Simpson as Soames. It was adapted by Muriel Levy and produced by Val Gielgud
Val Gielgud
Val Henry Gielgud was an English actor, writer, director and broadcaster. He was a pioneer of radio drama for the BBC, and also directed the first ever drama to be produced in the newer medium of television....
and Felix Felton. Young Jolyons in later adaptations included Andrew Cruickshank
Andrew Cruickshank
Andrew John Maxton Cruickshank was a Scottish supporting actor, most famous for his portrayal of Dr Cameron in the long-running UK BBC television series, Dr Finlay's Casebook, which ran for 191 episodes from 1962 until 1971.-Life and career:Andrew Cruickshank was born to Andrew and Mary...
, Leo Genn
Leo Genn
- Early life :He was born at 144 Kyverdale Road, Stamford Hill, Hackney, London, England to a Jewish family. His father, Woolfe Genn, was a jewellery salesman and the maiden name of his mother, Rachel, was Asserson....
and Guy Rolfe
Guy Rolfe
Guy Rolfe was an English actor born in London.He made his screen debut in 1937 with an uncredited appearance in Knight Without Armour. Notable roles include: Prince John in Ivanhoe , Ned Seymour in Young Bess , Caiaphas in King of Kings , and Prince Grigory in Taras Bulba...
. Another production of the dramatised cycle came soon after the 1967 TV series. This had Rachel Gurney
Rachel Gurney
Rachel Gurney was an English actress. She began her career in the theatre towards the end of World War II and then expanded into television and film in the 1950s. She remained active mostly in television and theatre work through the early 1990s...
as Irene, Noel Johnson
Noel Johnson
Noel Johnson was an English actor.He was the radio voice of Dick Barton special agent on BBC radio and Dan Dare pilot of the future over Radio Luxembourg....
as Young Jolyon and Alan Wheatley
Alan Wheatley
Alan Wheatley was a radio announcer who turned to stage and screen acting in the 1930s and was much seen in British films, being a television actor during the black and white era....
as Soames. The version broadcast in 1990 comprised a 75-minute opening episode followed by 22 hour-long episodes, entitled The Forsyte Chronicles. It was the most expensive radio drama serial ever broadcast, due to its length and its big-name cast which included Dirk Bogarde
Dirk Bogarde
Sir Dirk Bogarde was an English actor and novelist. Initially a matinee idol in such films as Doctor in the House and other Rank Organisation pictures, Bogarde later acted in art-house films such as Death in Venice...
, Diana Quick
Diana Quick
-Life:Quick was born in London, England. She grew up in Dartford, Kent, the third of a dentist's four children. She was educated at Dartford Grammar School for Girls, Kent. She was greatly aided by her English teacher, Miss Davis, who encouraged her to pursue acting...
, Michael Williams and Alan Howard
Alan Howard
Alan MacKenzie Howard, CBE, is an English actor known for his roles on stage, television and film.He was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1966 to 1983, and played leading roles at the Royal National Theatre between 1992 and 2000.-Personal life:Howard is the only son of the actor...
. This radio series was rerun on BBC 7
BBC 7
BBC Radio 4 Extra, formerly known as BBC 7 and BBC Radio 7, is a British digital radio station broadcasting comedy, drama, and children's programming nationally 24 hours a day. It is the principal broadcasting outlet for the BBC's archive of spoken-word entertainment...
radio in 2004, and has been released commercially.
The Forsyte Saga (2002)
In 2002, the first two books and the first interlude were adapted by Granada TelevisionGranada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
for the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
network, although, like the 1967 production, the miniseries took many liberties with Galsworthy's original work. Additional funding for this production was provided by American PBS station WGBH
WGBH-TV
WGBH-TV, channel 2, is a non-commercial educational public television station located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. WGBH-TV is a member station of the Public Broadcasting Service , and produces more than two-thirds of PBS's national prime time television programming...
, the BBC version having been a success on PBS in the early 1970s.
The Forsyte Saga: To Let (2003, serial)
Main Article: The Forsyte Saga: To Let (2003 miniseries)Immediately following the success of the 2002 adaptation, a second series was released in 2003. It portrays the saga's last book To Let. Much of the cast resumed their roles, but most of the first generation of Forsytes had died in the previous series. The principal characters played by Damian Lewis
Damian Lewis
Lewis was born in St John's Wood, London, the son of Charlotte Mary and J. Watcyn Lewis, a City broker. His paternal grandparents were Welsh. His maternal grandfather was Lord Mayor of London Ian Frank Bowater and his maternal grandmother's ancestors include Bertrand Dawson, 1st Viscount Dawson of...
, Gina McKee
Gina McKee
Georgina "Gina" McKee is an English actor known for her television roles in Our Friends in the North , The Lost Prince and The Forsyte Saga ; and her portrayal of Bella in the film Notting Hill ....
, Rupert Graves
Rupert Graves
Rupert Graves is an English film, television and theatre actor. He is best known for his role as DI Lestrade in the critically acclaimed television series Sherlock.-Early life:...
, and Amanda Root
Amanda Root
Amanda Root is an English stage and screen actor and a former voice actor for children's programmes.Root known for her starring role in the 1995 BBC film adaptation of Jane Austen's Persuasion and the British TV comedy All About Me, as Miranda, alongside Richard Lumsden in 2004 and when she was a...
return. It has also been released on DVD.
The old Forsytes
- Ann, the eldest of the family
- Old Jolyon, the patriarch of the family, having made a fortune in tea
- James, a solicitor, married to Emily, the most tranquil woman
- Swithin, James's twin brother with aristocratic pretensions; a bachelor
- Roger, "the original Forsyte"
- Julia (Juley), a fluttery dowager; Mrs. Septimus Small
- Hester, an old maid
- Nicholas, the wealthiest in the family
- Timothy, the most cautious man in England
- Susan, married sister
The young Forsytes
- Young Jolyon, Old Jolyon's artistic and free-thinking son, married three times
- Soames, James and Emily's son, an intense, unimaginative and possessive solicitor, married to the unhappy Irene, who later marries Young Jolyon
- Winifred, Soames's sister, one of the three daughters of James and Emily, married to the foppish and lethargic Montague Dartie
- George, Roger's son, a dyed-in-the-wool mocker
- Francie, George's sister and Roger's daughter, emancipated from God
Their children
- June, Young Jolyon's defiant daughter from his first marriage; engaged to an architect, Philip Bosinney, who becomes Irene's lover
- Jolly, Young Jolyon's son from his second marriage; dies of enteric feverTyphoid feverTyphoid fever, also known as Typhoid, is a common worldwide bacterial disease, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contain the bacterium Salmonella enterica, serovar Typhi...
during the Boer Wars - Holly, Young Jolyon's daughter from his second marriage, to June's governess
- Jon, Young Jolyon's son from his third marriage, to Irene, Soames's first wife
- Fleur, Soames's daughter from his second marriage, to a French Soho shopgirl Annette; Jon's lover; later marries a baronet, Michael Mont
- Val, Winifred and Montague's son; fights in the Boer Wars; marries his cousin Holly
- Imogen, Winifred and Montague's daughter
Others
- Parfitt, Old Jolyon's butler
- Smither, Aunts Ann, Juley and Hester's housekeeper
- Warmson, James and Emily's butler
- Bilson, Soames's housemaid
- Prosper Profond, Winifred's admirer and Annette's lover
Themes
Duty versus Desire: Young Jolyon was the favourite of the family until he left his wife for his daughter's governess. He eschews his status in society and in the Forsyte clan to follow his heart. Soames, though it seems he is the polar opposite of Jolyon, has those same inclinations toward doing what he desires. For example, instead of finding a wife who is rich, he marries Irene and then Annette, who have neither money nor status. When he takes Irene to a play about a married woman and her lover, he ironically sympathizes with the lover and not the husband. However, most of his decisions are on the side of duty.Generations and Change: The many generations of the Forsyte clan remind everyone of what has come to pass over the years. However, as the old ranks begin to die, people are able to change. For example, after a few generations, the fact that they are nouveau riche
Nouveau riche
The nouveau riche , or new money, comprise those who have acquired considerable wealth within their own generation...
does not matter as much. This is also the case with Soames and Irene's marital problems. Once they grow old and their children can overcome their parents' past, Soames can finally let go of the past. Mortality is an important issue because it forces people to let go. Another change with generations is the diminished number of Forsyte offspring. Many of the second generation have fewer children.
Sequels
Galsworthy's own sequel to The Forsyte Saga came in A Modern Comedy, written in theyears 1924 to 1928. This comprises a novel,
The White Monkey, an interlude,
A Silent Wooing, a second novel,
The Silver Spoon, a second interlude, Passers By, and a third novel
Swan Song. The principal characters are Soames and Fleur, and the second saga ends
with the death of Soames in 1926. This is also the point reached at the end of the 1967 television
series, but Galsworthy wrote one further trilogy, End of the Chapter, comprising Maid in Waiting,
Flowering Wilderness, and Over the River, also known as One More River, chiefly dealing with Michael Mont's young cousin, Dinny Cherrell.
In 1930 Galsworthy published On Forsyte 'Change which deals in the main with the older Forsytes before the events chronicled in The Man of Property. Galsworthy states in a Foreword that "They have all been written since Swan Song was finished but in place they come between the Saga and the Comedy . . .". By way of explanation he says that "It is hard to part suddenly and finally from those with whom one has lived so long; and these footnotes do really, I think, help to fill in and round out the chronicles of the Forsyte family".
In 1994, Suleika Dawson wrote a sequel to The Forsytes called The Forsytes: the Saga Continues in which Soames's daughter, Fleur, Lady Mont, is the main character. She has been a dutiful wife and mother, and had long forgotten her love for Jon Forsyte. But when tragedy brings Jon back to England, Fleur is determined to recapture the past—and the love of her life.
Awards
The Forsyte Saga earned John Galsworthy the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1932.External links
- The Forsyte Chronicles at eBooks@Adelaide
- Full text of all volumes of The Forsyte Saga from Project GutenbergProject GutenbergProject Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books...
- Encyclopedia of Television (1967 series)
- British Film Institute Screen Online (1967 series)