The Forsyte Saga

'The present is linked with the past, the future with both. There's no getting away from that.' ~Soames Forsyte

The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy consists of 3 books: The Man of Property, In Chancery, and To Let - the last was published in 1920. The story spans from June 1886 to October 1920: begins with the engagement party of June Forsyte to Philip Bosinney and ends with the death of 101 year-old Timothy Forsyte. The story involves lots of characters because The Forsytes are one big family. Jolyon and Ann Forsyte has 10 children: Jolyon, James, Swithin (James's twin), Nicholas, Roger, Timothy, Ann, Hester, Julia, and Susan. The story centers around Soames, James's son, and his beautiful wife Irene. Irene doesn't love Soames, but she marries him because he promises to let her go if she wants. Problem comes when Irene falls in love with Bosinney, June's fiance, the architect who are building a dream house for Soames in Robin Hill. In building and decorating the house, Bosinney uses too much money, which makes Soames sues him, and wins. Meanwhile, Bosinney hears that Soames has forced his right as a husband to Irene, and this makes him upset and in a thick London fog, with his mind clouded, he is run by a carriage, and dies. Old Jolyon likes Irene very much, despite the fact that Irene has ruined the happiness of his granddaughter, June. Jolyon buys the Robin Hills house and after his death, his son Jolyon (Jo) inherites it. This 2nd Jolyon marries too young, has June, and runs away with a foreign governess and has 2 more children: Jolyon (Jolly) and Holly. Jo becomes Irene's trustee. Another problem comes again when James, Soames's father, wants a grandchild. Soames must get Irene back (for after Bosinney's death she leaves Soames) or marries again. Soames, still in love very much with Irene, tries to persuade her to come back, but she refuses and fells in love with her trustee instead, the 2nd Jolyon. Soames divorces Irene and marries Annette, a French girl who helps her mother in their restaurant; and he sees how Irene finally lives in the house which he has built for her after all. The bitterness between Soames and Irene doesn't stop here because Soames's only daughter, Fleur, falls in love with Irene's only son, Jolyon (Jon). It is part of their fault, because they never tells the children what has happened in the past. Fleur finds the truth first, but only tells Jon half of it, so when Jon finally learns all the truth from his parents, he has to leave Fleur forever because he loves his mother too much and no way he can make an acquitance with a man who once treated his mother like a slave. Fleur marries Michael Mont, a young man who adores her; and Jon and his mother moves to Canada and leaves Robin Hill forever.

I started this book very slow, but soon enjoyed it very much. The writing style makes this not difficult to read, despite the thorough details. There are also side stories like June and her lame ducks, the love story between Holly and Valerius Dartie (Soames's nephew), the loyal dog Balthasar, Gradman who has served the Forsytes 54 years, the fight between Val Dartie and Jolly, Soames's sister Winifred and her troubled marriage, the painting collections, etc. Some readers may find it hard why the previous generation couldn't let things happened in the past pass away and let Fleur be happy with Jon, but in my opinion Soames explained it well as he said to Fleur: 'You're putting the feelings of two months against the feelings of thirty-five years! What chance do you think you have? Two months - your very first love affair, a matter of half a dozen meetings - against what you can't imagine, what no one could who hasn't been through it.'