The Forsythe Saga - Indian Summer of a Forsyte & In Chancery: "Public opinion is always in advance of the law."

The Forsyte Chronicles #1.5 & 2

by John Galsworthy

John Galsworthy was born at Kingston Upon Thames in Surrey, England, on August 14th 1867 to a wealthy and well established family. His schooling was at Harrow and New College, Oxford before training as a barrister and being called to the bar in 1890. However, Law was not attractive to him and he travelled abroad becoming great friends with the novelist Joseph Conrad, then a first mate on a sailing ship. Galsworthy first published in 1897 with a collection of short stories entitled “The Four Winds”. For the next 7 years he published these and all works under his pen name John Sinjohn. It was only upon the death of his father and the publication of “The Island Pharisees” in 1904 that he published as John Galsworthy. His first play, The Silver Box in 1906 was a success and was followed by “The Man of Property" later that same year and was the first in the Forsyte trilogy. Whilst today he is far more well know as a Nobel Prize winning novelist then he was considered a playwright dealing with social issues and the class system. He is now far better known for his novels, particularly The Forsyte Saga, his trilogy about the eponymous family of the same name. These books, as with many of his other works, deal with social class, upper-middle class lives in particular. Although always sympathetic to his characters, he reveals their insular, snobbish, and somewhat greedy attitudes and suffocating moral codes. He is now viewed as one of the first from the Edwardian era to challenge some of the ideals of society depicted in the literature of Victorian England. He was appointed to the Order of Merit in 1929, after earlier turning down a knighthood, and awarded the Nobel Prize in 1932 though he was too ill to attend. John Galsworthy died from a brain tumour at his London home, Grove Lodge, Hampstead on January 31st 1933. In accordance with his will he was cremated at Woking with his ashes then being scattered over the South Downs from an aeroplane.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Audiobook, Historical Fiction, Victorian, Novels

212 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1946

About the author

Literary 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."

Reviews

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this yesterday and today and it kept me hooked. I know it's supposed to be a slighter edition to the trilogy but I class it as a stand alone read.
I found this one unbearably sad!


I said more here on this but whatever way GR is working at the moment it's only posting half of my review!!

[Zena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zdecydowanie lepsza od pierwszego tomu. Znamy już dużą rodzinę Forsyte'ów. W pierwszej części przedstawiono ją, a natłok osób imion i pokrewieństwa trochę utrudniał ułożenie sobie jej w głowie. Myślę, że wydawca mógłby umieścić drzewo genealogiczne, do którego można byłoby sięgać, by być pewnym o kim akurat opowiada autor. W drugim tomie dzieje się też więcej, a czytelnik ma już swoje zdanie o bohaterach. Książka niewątpliwie ciekawa. Przypomina trochę Lalkę, trochę Ziemię Obiecaną oraz Północ, południe E. Gaskell. Historia ludzi żyjących w podobnych czasach, kiedy zmiany niesione przez naukę i postęp wpływały na życie i mentalność ludzi nieuchronnie zmieniając epokę, w której żyli.

[Rick Slane · Rating 5 out of 5]

What follows is my synopsis of The Man of Property Soames Forsyte is an upper-middle class Englishman in the 1880's. He is very materialistic seeing almost everything in terms of its financial value. He wants to marry Irene, a very beautiful young woman. She resists but is worn down by his persistence and agrees to marry him if he promises to set her free if things don't work out. She knows after a week or two that she will never love him but fails to act until she falls in love with the architect of the mansion Soames is building for her. Soames rapes Irene, the architect perishes in despair, and Irene's heart is broken.

My feeling is that Soames looked upon Irene as "eye candy" and a trophy wife, her main function to boost his ego and self-esteem. Irene is more sensitive, not overly impressed by wealth, and attracted to creativity.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The middle section of "The Forsyte Saga". The novella "Indian Summer of a Forsyte" I liked slightly more than the novel "In Chancery" so I would give it 4½ stars.

These two cover about 20 years from the end of the first book in the Saga, "The Man of Property", with the slow dying out of the older generation and (eventually) the birth of a new generation of Forsytes to both Soames and Irene (NOT together though!!).

Galsworthy clearly understood the nature of obsession as he shows with Soames feelings for Irene, even at the very end of "In Chancery"...

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I get why this series won the Nobel Prize for Literature, it is magnificent.

[Dr.J.G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Forsyte Saga:-

The Forsyte Saga was not planned as such but developed over years with sequels coming naturally as they did, and human heart and passion and minds within settings of high society of a Victorian and post Victorian England - chiefly London - and its solid base in property.

When it was published it was revolutionary in the theme - a woman is not owned by her husband, and love is not a duty she owes but a bond that is very real however intangible, that cannot be faked.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008.
................................................................


Interlude: Indian Summer of a Forsyte:-


Indian Summer here refers not to unbearably hot 45-50 degree centrigrade summer but the soft warmth of India of post rains in September - October that here the author uses as a silent metaphor for the beautiful life of Old Jolyon in his old age after he has bought the house Bosinney built for Irene, after Bosinney is dead, where he now lives with his son Jo, Young Jolyon, and his three children from his two marriages, June and Jolyon "Jolly" and Holly. Jo with his second wife is traveling in Europe when Old Jolyon discovers Irene sitting on a log in the coppice on the property where she had been with her love, Bosinney, and invites her to the home that was to be hers and is now his. This begins his tryst with beauty that is Irene, in the beauty that is Robin Hill, his home, and the surrounding countryside of which his home includes a good bit.

Jolyon employs Irene to teach music to Holly and invites her for lunches at Robin Hill, and listens to her playing music; they go to theatre, opera and dinners in town on days when she is not teaching Holly, and meanwhile he worries about her situation of barely above penury that her separation has left her in, her father's bequest to her amounting to bare subsistence. He decides to correct the injustice she is meted due to her husband not providing for her (this being the weapon to make her come back to him) and makes a bequest to her for lifetime, settling a good amount that would take care of her reasonably, and let her independence from her husband supported well.

He comes to depend on her visits, and she realises this, returning his silent affection and appreciation - and he dies when waiting for her one afternoon, in his armchair under the large old oak tree, with beauty coming to him across the lawn.
.....................................................................................


In Chancery:-

In Chancery continues with young Jolyon and Irene and Soames, the beautiful new house designed and constructed for Irene being now put up for sale by Soames who is tenacious in his not giving up on her in spite of her leaving him. Irene connects with Jolyon, partly due to Soames bringing an action against him for alienation of his wife's affections and then far more due to their being well matched, and they are together in spite of Soames trying various tactics - threat of divorce (a far more lethal weapon in that era), refusal to give a divorce when they wish for it, and so forth. Finally the divorce goes through and two children are born, Jon to Irene and Joyon and Fleur to Soames and Annette, a French young woman he finds in an inn and marries.

The new house is in chancery as are the people in this interim period and old Jolyon has bought it partly due to James, his brother and father of Soames, telling old Jolyon he owes it to Soames and to the Forsytes, seeing as how young Jolyon is responsible for the quandary Soames is in. Old Jolyon however is as much in love with Irene as most of the clan, and when once he finds her sitting in a corner of the property he assures her of his lack of disapproval of her finding refuge in the home built for her by her lover.

Jolyon helps Irene as his father's wish, and his own, having been appointed executor to the bequest of his father for her, and in the process comes to not only protect her from the husband who wishes her to return (so she can give him a son and heir, after all they are still married twelve years after she left), but also comes to be her friend, her companion and more. He does not admit his love, but she understands it, and their days together are spent in the same beauty that she did with his father until they are thrown together far more due to the persecution of her husband who would divorce her and marry a young woman he has fixed his sights on so he can have a son after all - he is now near fifty and his father James is dying, hankering for a son for Soames. But divorce laws were then difficult and Soames is unwilling to pretend an affair, so his choice is to name Irene and Jolyon, which neither of them oppose irrespective of facts.

It is the news of death of Jolly, son of Jolyon, that throws them together finally when both younger children of Jolyon along with Val Dartie the son of Winifred have gone to Boer war and June has joined Holly as nurse, and Jolyon in his grief for his son that he thinks he did not give enough of the love in his heart for him to has only Irene to console him with her compassion.

....................................................................................


One of the major beautiful things about Forsyte Chronicles - all three trilogies, but the first and third in particular - is the love of the author for beauty of England in general and countryside, nature in particular. Very lyrical. The other, more subtle, is the depiction of society in general, upper middle class of English society in particular and the times they lived in in the background, empire on distant horizon until the third trilogy where it is still in background but a bit less distant.

The society changes from the first to the third trilogy but not radically, and in this the author is successful in portrayal of how things might seem radically different superficially but are closer to where progress began, and progress being slow in steps that various people pay heftily during their lives for.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013.
.......................................................................
.......................................................................

Thursday, September 19, 2013.
.......................................................................
.......................................................................

[Doris · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Forsyte Saga ~ Indian Summer of a Forsyte; In Chancery ( 1918 - 1920 )

The second book in the neverending saga and my favourite so far, starts with a short story, one that will have a great ripple effect on what’s to come.

For those who have read the first book and wonder whether they should continue with it all, definitely do! It’s so worth it. Galsworthy drops characters “like they were hot” 😹, but in all seriousness this volume was the most heartwarming for me out of the 3.

We already have a complicated relationship with Soames, and this book explores more what is to come. In Chancery focused a lot on parents and children, marriage, different families, different situations, different values which all of course led to different endings.
The father son interactions between James and Soames had me tear up, and so did the last paragraph of the book.

The beauty of this saga stays in Galsworthy’s brilliance of writing novels which are easy to read, nevertheless with a great deal of events that give you much to think about and talk about. Nothing is black and white and you get to ask yourself what would you have done in those characters’ shoes? You often ask yourself what is the right thing to do? Are some behaviours justified in one way or another? Having an open mind is key when reading this saga.

But you also you get to think to yourself things like for example: is Irene the absolute devil? The answer is always Yes! 😹 ( clearly over it 🤣 )

„I don't know much about morality and that, but there is this: It's always worth while before you do anything to consider whether it's going to hurt another person more than is absolutely necessary.“

Sadly some of the best quotes are said by one of the characters I despise the most 🤦‍♀️

I can’t write much about it without talking about going into more exact details and I wouldn’t want to spoil it for anyone.

[AnnaCecylia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Druga część sagi na pewno charakteryzuje się niższym progiem wejścia - znamy już w miarę dobrze ród Forsythów, a mimo upływu kilku lat, mniej więcej znamy już ułożenie wszystkich pionków na szachownicy rodzinnej dramy.

Tytuł doskonale oddaje główne przesłanie tej odsłony sagi- manifest o konieczności ułatwienia ludziom brania rozwodów - ewidentnie prawo angielskie w tamtych czasach stawiało takiej parze nieszczęśników wiele trudności by rozwiązać związek małżeński. Jest to zatem dalsza część opowieści o posiadaniu jako chorobie niewolącej ludzi i niszczącej możliwość szczęścia, a jednocześnie tak wspieranej przez prawo i obyczaj współczesnej cywilizacji. Nie bez powodu Soames jest prawnikiem, reprezentantem porządku i (pozornie) bezemocjonalnego rozumu, a Jolyon malarzem, którego bunt polega tylko i wyłącznie na tym, że w życiu kieruje się sercem i wrażliwością.

Z drugiej strony seria powinna nosić podtytuł "Wszyscy mężczyźni szaleją za Ireną". Zastanawiające przy tym jak opisywana jest ta bohaterka, zarówno przez pozytywnych jak i negatywnych bohaterów. Zachwyt wzbudzają dwie rzeczy - jej uroda oraz tajemniczość. Na myśl przywodzi mi pod tym względem Bellę ze "Zmierzchu", która została wybrana przez Edwarda głównie dlatego, że była jedyną osobą, której myśli nie znał. "Cudowna bierność", "szara pani", milczenie i łagodność - oto jaka jest kobieta idealna. Mimo przejawianego przez Galswortha feminizmu wydaje się, że nie może powstrzymać się przed tym, by kobiety trochę bardziej charakterne, jak Emilia, June czy Winifreda, choć bardzo kochane, były jednocześnie tą swoją energicznością denerwujące i męczące dla otaczających je mężczyzn. Oczywiście kibicuję Irenie całym sercem, bo ta jej uroda i męskie uwielbienie przyniosły jej tylko zgryzoty i samotność (także od kobiecego towarzystwa).

Ciężko napisać cokolwiek o tomie drugim gdy jest już się za połową tomu trzeciego i wszystkie trzy powieści zaczynają zlewać się w pamięci w jedną, spójną, świetną całość.

[Yurchenkovski · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoy the Forsyte Saga series, as it brings out so much human nature, and as Galsworthy manages to picture characters so unique and diverse, so real and relatable in its own way, the any reader would get deeply engaged with the book.

One thing I dislike about the book, is that Irene is portrayed so blend, so chaotic good – she never has any regrets of what she's done to Soams, or any aspiration (like to have a family of her own, help someone or else), and everyone is so unrealistically in love with her, that I consider her to be the lest appealing character.

By the end of "In Chancery" I do feel sorry for Soams, even with him being such a creepy little stalker – but he ends up facing a very hard decision, that in the end has a possibility of playing out wrong no matter what he decides. And why is that? Because he wanted a family? Because he's practical? Because he's not very passionate, and is a man of property?

Whereas Irene get everything – love, support, family and a happy ending. Which is okey, but really is kinds of unfair. She never even wanted it – or anything for that matter.

And I can't help but feel very bugged about the Forsytes remembering Irene as someone wonderful, she ruined life of their Soams, hello? He might not seem like the best guy, but he's not terrible, and he's family, and they are very much connected between each other. So that bit kinds seems out of character to me.

[Zena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zdecydowanie lepsza od pierwszego tomu. Znamy już dużą rodzinę Forsyte'ów. W pierwszej części przedstawiono ją, a natłok osób imion i pokrewieństwa trochę utrudniał ułożenie sobie jej w głowie. Myślę, że wydawca mógłby umieścić drzewo genealogiczne, do którego można byłoby sięgać, by być pewnym o kim akurat opowiada autor. W drugim tomie dzieje się też więcej, a czytelnik ma już swoje zdanie o bohaterach. Książka niewątpliwie ciekawa. Przypomina trochę Lalkę, trochę Ziemię Obiecaną oraz Północ, południe E. Gaskell. Historia ludzi żyjących w podobnych czasach, kiedy zmiany niesione przez naukę i postęp wpływały na życie i mentalność ludzi nieuchronnie zmieniając epokę, w której żyli.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 gwiazdki

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second part of the Forsyte trilogy, but it also includes a vignette "Indian Summer of a Forsyte."

The vignette tells about Jolyon Forsyte the elder and his last days of beauty with Irene, Soames' now-estranged wife. It's just lovely. The tenor of the story is sweet and pure. Perfectly written.

The rest of the tale is again Jolyon the younger and Soames, each with decidedly different views on matrimony and ownership. It also relates the tale of Soames' sister Winifred and her never-do-well husband Montague. The tale of how they named their first son is wonderfully funny.

But again, Galsworthy looks at divorce and the social ramifications, as well as how if affected the family. Winifred is nearly forced to stay with her husband and play the legal system to get out of an unhappy marriage, while Soames fails (yet again) to understand why Irene wants nothing to do with him. Honestly, some good anti-stalking laws would have been most helpful.

A lot of this book reminded me of Edith Wharton and her prying into the social norms and the dark underbelly of society. Excellent read.

[Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second volume of John Galsworthy's Forsyte Saga is a masterful work. The characters, while very wealthy and privileged, have lives are replete with pain, love, loneliness, regret, and joy. This book which centers around the stigma of divorce, surely was more provocative is his time than it is today, yet one can clearly see the difficulties it presented in turn-of-the-20th century Britain. His writing style was absolutely masterful with some of the most beautiful phrasing I've ever read. Indian Summer is especially moving with unexpected depth and emotion. Before reading this book, I didn't realize he won the Nobel Prize for literature. I can easily see why. I am even more amazed that he isn't a better known literary figure today.

[Crys · Rating 5 out of 5]

Iubirea trece peste orisice. Iubirea nu cunoaste varste, nu are margini si n-are moarte. (Irene)

In viata numai iubirea are valoare.