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The Forsyte Saga - All Three Trilogies: The Complete Chronicles
This boxed set includes the complete chronicles of the Forsyte - the first trilogy of the Forsyte Saga and its sequels - A Modern Comedy and End of the Chapter. The author of the chronicles is a world famous English writer John Galsworthy.
2756 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 15, 2016
223 people are currently reading
142 people want to read
About the author
John Galsworthy
2,430 books474 followersLiterary career of English novelist and playwright John Galsworthy, who used John Sinjohn as a pseudonym, spanned the Victorian, Edwardian and Georgian eras.
In addition to his prolific literary status, Galsworthy was also a renowned social activist. He was an outspoken advocate for the women's suffrage movement, prison reform and animal rights. Galsworthy was the president of PEN, an organization that sought to promote international cooperation through literature.
John Galsworthy was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1932 "for his distinguished art of narration which takes its highest form in The Forsyte Saga."
In addition to his prolific literary status, Galsworthy was also a renowned social activist. He was an outspoken advocate for the women's suffrage movement, prison reform and animal rights. Galsworthy was the president of PEN, an organization that sought to promote international cooperation through literature.
John Galsworthy was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1932 "for his distinguished art of narration which takes its highest form in The Forsyte Saga."
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 28, 2020
4.5 stars
The Forsyte Saga commences in 1886, on the 15th June to be precise, "to celebrate the engagement of Miss June Forsyte, old Jolyon's granddaughter, to Mr. Philip Bosinney”. It ends in 1932.
There are three trilogies, and two interludes (in this case novellas) included in this volume of 3157 pages. In addition to what appears in this collection, John Galsworthy has also written several short stories and novellas (Interludes) under the title On Forsyte 'Change with the purpose of providing further information about some of the many characters. These stories are meant to slot in immediately after the end of the second trilogy, i.e. On Forsyte 'Change is 6.5 in the series, but it is not included here.
The First Two Trilogies ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Although the extended family is large, the focus is on a few members, and it's therefore not difficult keeping track of who is who. The first trilogy focuses largely on Soames Forsyte who is The Man of Property (Book 1, 1st trilogy)
Soames Forsyte belongs to the second generation of the very wealthy upper-middle-class Forsyte family. Wealthy, successful, but the one thing that he can never possess is his beautiful wife Irene. It is absolutely impossible for him to comprehend that no matter what, Irene might be his wife in name, but she most certainly is not his property. What he wants (possessions) is not Irene's ideal. And so the scene is set for disaster when the architect Philip Bosinney arrives on the scene to design Soames's new mansion (I'm not too keen on those "purple leather curtains”!), and this will impact on future generations. From this will flow family feuds, court dramas and tragedies.
There isn't much warmth in this first novel. The style is cool and detached, the humour is wry. It perfectly matches the personality of the man of property, the phlegmatic Soames who collects art not because he loves it, but because he loves to own a valuable collection; the Soames who has a beautiful wife whom he doesn't care to understand, but whom he wishes to own body and soul.
"In this house of his there was writing on every wall. His business-like temperament protested against a mysterious warning that she was not made for him. He had married this woman, conquered her, made her his own, and it seemed to him contrary to the most fundamental of all laws, the law of possession, that he could do no more than own her body—if indeed he could do that, which he was beginning to doubt. If any one had asked him if he wanted to own her soul, the question would have seemed to him both ridiculous and sentimental. But he did so want, and the writing said he never would.”
######
If I were to write about all nine novels and the two novellas my review would be ridiculously long (perhaps it is), so suffice to say that the first two trilogies concern mainly Soames as discussed above and everything that flows from that relationship gone awry. Soames's daughter Fleur features prominently too. Fleur loves her father, but she is very much her own person, very wilful and spoiled, and so Soames doesn't exactly own her either. During the course of the several books the characters are very well fleshed out. Soames’s wife Irene and the Jolyon branch of the Forsyte family are perfect foils for the rest of the Forsytes. Throughout the series the characters’ relationships reflect attitudes of their time and place.
Something that is striking about this series is the sense one gets of the transition from the Victorian era to the Edwardian, and from there to the period between the two world wars. The Great War itself is skipped and there are only oblique references to it. Enter the roaring twenties and the Flapper era. Many changes take place during the period covered by the saga, such as with transport and equipment. Women gain the vote and become more independent. They make their own decisions, choose their own partners (on occasion even proposing!). This new freedom is reflected by their fashion: hair is “shingled”, eyebrows are plucked, and clothing no longer constricts or restricts, but is shorter, more flowing, clingy and comfortable to wear. These women even smoke; amusingly calling cigarettes “gaspers”, and they drive cars and drive them fast too. The older generations grumble about changes and changed attitudes (something which has never changed and continues to this day), and the old guard are bamboozled by modern slang (I’m perplexed by the currently excessive use of the word ‘like’).
Victorian Era
Edwardian Era
Flapper Fashion
There is on the one hand a sense of joyful anticipation, yet on the other hand serious events loom (e.g. the General Strike of 1926) and a certain amount of uncertainty is present about the future.
#####
The Third and Final Trilogy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This trilogy is more descriptive and has much more warmth and passion. Soames has “taken the ferry” and his spoiled daughter Fleur who was born with the proverbial silver spoon in the mouth has married a baronet’s son, Michael Mont, and after some initial problems is more or less settled. She plays a lesser role in these three last novels. The focus switches from the Forsytes to Michael’s family, and in particular to the Charwell (pronounced Cherrell) branch of that family whose ancestors reach way back into English history. It is a cousin, Elizabeth Charwell better known as Dinny, who steals the limelight in the final trilogy.
The statue of Foch where some of the main characters meet, and a focal point in this trilogy
attribution
Dinny is a delightful character, but her life and love will not always run smoothly. Tears will be shed not only by the characters, but by readers such as myself. The last novel is to a large extent about Dinny’s sister Clare, but even then the lovely Dinny steals the show. She is a thoroughly modern young woman admired by all. She is a bridge between the old order and the new, and she as happily associates with women in labourers’ cottages as she is comfortable in the company of the aristocracy. There are other interesting characters in this trilogy, including Dinny’s uncles as well as Aunt Em who can be quite savvy, but more often hilariously witters away about incongruously inconsequential matters.
Wilfrid Desert, a poet and a friend of Michael’s, is an important character in the final trilogy. Through an experience on his travels he ultimately becomes a pariah to British society. He makes a decision about a religious matter based on his atheistic stance (he doesn’t care one way or another about the issue - why die for a belief when you don’t believe in the first place, simply because it is the “pukkah sahib” thing to do?) and compassion for his aggressor, and as a result of not taking the position expected of English gentlemen is labelled a coward and is hounded and ostracised. His experience results in the best poem he has ever written, “The poem was seared with passages of such deep feeling that they hurt her. It had a depth and fervour which took her breath away; it was a paean in praise of contempt for convention faced with the stark reality of the joy in living, yet with a haunting moan of betrayal running through it.”, but that poem not only brings him fame but also great misfortune. So an important issue in this last trilogy is about conforming to expectations. Many changes have taken place and some ideas have changed, but certain attitudes persist.
#####
Other issues are highlighted in the saga such as how Americans were viewed by the English and how these attitudes changed (or not). A product of its time, offensive labels such as niggers, darkies, chinks, dagoes, half-castes, etc. are dotted throughout.
Overall the saga provides a slice of life of the rising English upper-middle-class (the Forsytes), and the aristocracy (Monts and Charwell/Cherrells), set against the backdrop of the closing years of the Victorian era and continuing to the early nineteen thirties.
I enjoyed Galsworthy’s humour:
“The custom known as canvassing, more peculiar even than its name, was in full blast round Condaford. Every villager had been invited to observe how appropriate it would be if they voted for Dornford, and how equally appropriate it would be if they voted for Stringer. They had been exhorted publicly and vociferously, by ladies in cars, by ladies out of cars, and in the privacy of their homes by voices speaking out of trumpets. By newspaper and by leaflet they had been urged to perceive that they alone could save the country. They had been asked to vote early, and only just not asked to vote often. To their attention had been brought the startling dilemma that whichever way they voted the country would be saved.”
There is much that I should like to quote but let’s quit here.
John Galsworthy (1867-1933) won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1932, and died a few weeks later.
The Forsyte Saga was adapted for TV in 1967, and again in 2002.
"A Forsyte," replied young Jolyon, "is not an uncommon animal. There are hundreds among the members of this Club. Hundreds out there in the streets; you meet them wherever you go!"
"And how do you tell them, may I ask?" said Bosinney.
"By their sense of property. A Forsyte takes a practical—one might say a commonsense—view of things, and a practical view of things is based fundamentally on a sense of property. A Forsyte, you will notice, never gives himself away.”
The Forsyte Saga commences in 1886, on the 15th June to be precise, "to celebrate the engagement of Miss June Forsyte, old Jolyon's granddaughter, to Mr. Philip Bosinney”. It ends in 1932.
There are three trilogies, and two interludes (in this case novellas) included in this volume of 3157 pages. In addition to what appears in this collection, John Galsworthy has also written several short stories and novellas (Interludes) under the title On Forsyte 'Change with the purpose of providing further information about some of the many characters. These stories are meant to slot in immediately after the end of the second trilogy, i.e. On Forsyte 'Change is 6.5 in the series, but it is not included here.
The First Two Trilogies ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Although the extended family is large, the focus is on a few members, and it's therefore not difficult keeping track of who is who. The first trilogy focuses largely on Soames Forsyte who is The Man of Property (Book 1, 1st trilogy)
Soames Forsyte belongs to the second generation of the very wealthy upper-middle-class Forsyte family. Wealthy, successful, but the one thing that he can never possess is his beautiful wife Irene. It is absolutely impossible for him to comprehend that no matter what, Irene might be his wife in name, but she most certainly is not his property. What he wants (possessions) is not Irene's ideal. And so the scene is set for disaster when the architect Philip Bosinney arrives on the scene to design Soames's new mansion (I'm not too keen on those "purple leather curtains”!), and this will impact on future generations. From this will flow family feuds, court dramas and tragedies.
There isn't much warmth in this first novel. The style is cool and detached, the humour is wry. It perfectly matches the personality of the man of property, the phlegmatic Soames who collects art not because he loves it, but because he loves to own a valuable collection; the Soames who has a beautiful wife whom he doesn't care to understand, but whom he wishes to own body and soul.
"In this house of his there was writing on every wall. His business-like temperament protested against a mysterious warning that she was not made for him. He had married this woman, conquered her, made her his own, and it seemed to him contrary to the most fundamental of all laws, the law of possession, that he could do no more than own her body—if indeed he could do that, which he was beginning to doubt. If any one had asked him if he wanted to own her soul, the question would have seemed to him both ridiculous and sentimental. But he did so want, and the writing said he never would.”
######
If I were to write about all nine novels and the two novellas my review would be ridiculously long (perhaps it is), so suffice to say that the first two trilogies concern mainly Soames as discussed above and everything that flows from that relationship gone awry. Soames's daughter Fleur features prominently too. Fleur loves her father, but she is very much her own person, very wilful and spoiled, and so Soames doesn't exactly own her either. During the course of the several books the characters are very well fleshed out. Soames’s wife Irene and the Jolyon branch of the Forsyte family are perfect foils for the rest of the Forsytes. Throughout the series the characters’ relationships reflect attitudes of their time and place.
Something that is striking about this series is the sense one gets of the transition from the Victorian era to the Edwardian, and from there to the period between the two world wars. The Great War itself is skipped and there are only oblique references to it. Enter the roaring twenties and the Flapper era. Many changes take place during the period covered by the saga, such as with transport and equipment. Women gain the vote and become more independent. They make their own decisions, choose their own partners (on occasion even proposing!). This new freedom is reflected by their fashion: hair is “shingled”, eyebrows are plucked, and clothing no longer constricts or restricts, but is shorter, more flowing, clingy and comfortable to wear. These women even smoke; amusingly calling cigarettes “gaspers”, and they drive cars and drive them fast too. The older generations grumble about changes and changed attitudes (something which has never changed and continues to this day), and the old guard are bamboozled by modern slang (I’m perplexed by the currently excessive use of the word ‘like’).
Victorian Era
Edwardian Era
Flapper Fashion
There is on the one hand a sense of joyful anticipation, yet on the other hand serious events loom (e.g. the General Strike of 1926) and a certain amount of uncertainty is present about the future.
#####
The Third and Final Trilogy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This trilogy is more descriptive and has much more warmth and passion. Soames has “taken the ferry” and his spoiled daughter Fleur who was born with the proverbial silver spoon in the mouth has married a baronet’s son, Michael Mont, and after some initial problems is more or less settled. She plays a lesser role in these three last novels. The focus switches from the Forsytes to Michael’s family, and in particular to the Charwell (pronounced Cherrell) branch of that family whose ancestors reach way back into English history. It is a cousin, Elizabeth Charwell better known as Dinny, who steals the limelight in the final trilogy.
The statue of Foch where some of the main characters meet, and a focal point in this trilogy
attribution
Dinny is a delightful character, but her life and love will not always run smoothly. Tears will be shed not only by the characters, but by readers such as myself. The last novel is to a large extent about Dinny’s sister Clare, but even then the lovely Dinny steals the show. She is a thoroughly modern young woman admired by all. She is a bridge between the old order and the new, and she as happily associates with women in labourers’ cottages as she is comfortable in the company of the aristocracy. There are other interesting characters in this trilogy, including Dinny’s uncles as well as Aunt Em who can be quite savvy, but more often hilariously witters away about incongruously inconsequential matters.
Wilfrid Desert, a poet and a friend of Michael’s, is an important character in the final trilogy. Through an experience on his travels he ultimately becomes a pariah to British society. He makes a decision about a religious matter based on his atheistic stance (he doesn’t care one way or another about the issue - why die for a belief when you don’t believe in the first place, simply because it is the “pukkah sahib” thing to do?) and compassion for his aggressor, and as a result of not taking the position expected of English gentlemen is labelled a coward and is hounded and ostracised. His experience results in the best poem he has ever written, “The poem was seared with passages of such deep feeling that they hurt her. It had a depth and fervour which took her breath away; it was a paean in praise of contempt for convention faced with the stark reality of the joy in living, yet with a haunting moan of betrayal running through it.”, but that poem not only brings him fame but also great misfortune. So an important issue in this last trilogy is about conforming to expectations. Many changes have taken place and some ideas have changed, but certain attitudes persist.
#####
Other issues are highlighted in the saga such as how Americans were viewed by the English and how these attitudes changed (or not). A product of its time, offensive labels such as niggers, darkies, chinks, dagoes, half-castes, etc. are dotted throughout.
Overall the saga provides a slice of life of the rising English upper-middle-class (the Forsytes), and the aristocracy (Monts and Charwell/Cherrells), set against the backdrop of the closing years of the Victorian era and continuing to the early nineteen thirties.
I enjoyed Galsworthy’s humour:
“The custom known as canvassing, more peculiar even than its name, was in full blast round Condaford. Every villager had been invited to observe how appropriate it would be if they voted for Dornford, and how equally appropriate it would be if they voted for Stringer. They had been exhorted publicly and vociferously, by ladies in cars, by ladies out of cars, and in the privacy of their homes by voices speaking out of trumpets. By newspaper and by leaflet they had been urged to perceive that they alone could save the country. They had been asked to vote early, and only just not asked to vote often. To their attention had been brought the startling dilemma that whichever way they voted the country would be saved.”
There is much that I should like to quote but let’s quit here.
John Galsworthy (1867-1933) won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1932, and died a few weeks later.
The Forsyte Saga was adapted for TV in 1967, and again in 2002.
April 19, 2020
If you don't already know, this is a series of 3 trilogies, NINE books. So you're making a commitment to read the whole series...and I didn't make it.
If I was rating solely on the first trilogy this would be a five star review. A little slow moving at first, but the story was an amazing mix of social commentary, romance, family drama, all set in the last years of the Victorian era (the book covers Victoria's funeral). If you love Downton Abbey, or big family sagas with tons of characters, or turn of the century England, this is your series. The main plot revolves around the loveless, hopelessly mismatched marriage of the main character Soames Forsyte, a cold, emotionless businessman and Irene-a loving and free spirited musician.
Unfortunately, after book 4, The White Monkey, I give up. By Book 4, we are on to the next generation, with the main character being Soames' daughter Fleur. And this is where things go wrong. I'm not too proud to make the obvious comparison-if it was Star Wars, book 4 would be The Phantom Menace, and The White Monkey is exactly that level of boring and bad. There simply is hardly any story, and Fleur is a terrible character. In the introduction, Galsworthy says that Irene, one of only two major female characters, from the first trilogy is "never...present except through the senses of the other characters, is a concertion of disturbing Beauty..." In other words a deliberate choice to keep her vague and undefined. After spending an entire novel primarily focused on Fleur, I can find another reason....Galsworthy can't create good female characters. At all.
So I skipped over to the Goodreads page for Book 5, and the reviews there seem to be a consensus that it's Attack of the Clones-more Fleur all the time, and little or no plot of consequence. I'm just not interested so I'm stopping here.
I do wholeheartedly recommend the original trilogy. The rest you can skip.
If I was rating solely on the first trilogy this would be a five star review. A little slow moving at first, but the story was an amazing mix of social commentary, romance, family drama, all set in the last years of the Victorian era (the book covers Victoria's funeral). If you love Downton Abbey, or big family sagas with tons of characters, or turn of the century England, this is your series. The main plot revolves around the loveless, hopelessly mismatched marriage of the main character Soames Forsyte, a cold, emotionless businessman and Irene-a loving and free spirited musician.
Unfortunately, after book 4, The White Monkey, I give up. By Book 4, we are on to the next generation, with the main character being Soames' daughter Fleur. And this is where things go wrong. I'm not too proud to make the obvious comparison-if it was Star Wars, book 4 would be The Phantom Menace, and The White Monkey is exactly that level of boring and bad. There simply is hardly any story, and Fleur is a terrible character. In the introduction, Galsworthy says that Irene, one of only two major female characters, from the first trilogy is "never...present except through the senses of the other characters, is a concertion of disturbing Beauty..." In other words a deliberate choice to keep her vague and undefined. After spending an entire novel primarily focused on Fleur, I can find another reason....Galsworthy can't create good female characters. At all.
So I skipped over to the Goodreads page for Book 5, and the reviews there seem to be a consensus that it's Attack of the Clones-more Fleur all the time, and little or no plot of consequence. I'm just not interested so I'm stopping here.
I do wholeheartedly recommend the original trilogy. The rest you can skip.
August 1, 2024
A very long read but interesting for a student of history and psychology.
September 19, 2020
"The Forsyte Saga, first published under that title in 1922, is a series of three novels and two interludes published between 1906 and 1921 by Nobel Prize–winning English author John Galsworthy."
New Money and the changing of times.
As the older generations die, traditions and ways of life drop off to the progression of time. Is it good? At times heartbreaking watching the struggle, but knowing the gains and/or outcomes promoting the new ideas and rights is inevitable and rewarding.
Nine books in all in this single purchase.
If you want a glimpse of life at the turn of the 20th century a great read. This is grand historical fiction. There are moments that it lags, but if you have sticktoitiveness there are outcomes for most characters. I enjoyed the books.
New Money and the changing of times.
As the older generations die, traditions and ways of life drop off to the progression of time. Is it good? At times heartbreaking watching the struggle, but knowing the gains and/or outcomes promoting the new ideas and rights is inevitable and rewarding.
Nine books in all in this single purchase.
If you want a glimpse of life at the turn of the 20th century a great read. This is grand historical fiction. There are moments that it lags, but if you have sticktoitiveness there are outcomes for most characters. I enjoyed the books.
January 6, 2021
Having already read the nine novels of the saga, I was excited to learn of the little prequel, of sorts, that Galsworthy wrote after he completed the novels. This edition includes this work, "On Forsyte 'Change." The name referencing Timothy Forsyte's home on the Bayswater Road, where all the aunts would sit and wait ... wait for life to find them, wait for all the gossip to arrive.
In my opinion, Galsworthy is at his best when writing about the Forsytes. The last three novels, which centered on Dinny Charwell, a cousin of Michael Mont, were bland and watery in comparison. The prequel is a random collection of vignettes of various Forsytes, including a few who only made a passing mention in the saga. Soames, a complex character, is especially well written.
In my opinion, Galsworthy is at his best when writing about the Forsytes. The last three novels, which centered on Dinny Charwell, a cousin of Michael Mont, were bland and watery in comparison. The prequel is a random collection of vignettes of various Forsytes, including a few who only made a passing mention in the saga. Soames, a complex character, is especially well written.
July 10, 2023
A very long but satisfying series. Readers who like Anthony Trollope will also like Galsworthy. He's got the same facility for following a group of people through decades and generations. War and peace and eras of decadence and reform.
Old novels teach us much more about history than "historical novels" ever could.
Old novels teach us much more about history than "historical novels" ever could.
February 18, 2021
Fantastic, one uses one's imagination.
June 7, 2021
Read entire things in one week - yes 841 pages. The depiction of the characters and their manners is tremendous. I will remember some of the characters and situations forever.
May 3, 2023
This is a long book to read. I found reading it in sections was the easiest way. It took me 5 months off and on to finish it. Not a bad story but very long.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews