History Literature / TheForsyteSaga

The books spawned two British television serials. The first version starred Eric Porter, Nyree Dawn Porter, and Kenneth More. It was broadcast on Creator/TheBBC in 1967 to great acclaim, and drew in 18 million viewers every Sunday when it was repeated a year later. (The US broadcast on [[Creator/{{PBS}} NET]] provided the initiative for ''Series/{{Masterpiece}}''.) The second adaptation starred Creator/DamianLewis as Soames and first aired on Creator/{{ITV}} in 2002. There is also a 1949 film, ''That Forsyte Woman'', starring Creator/ErrolFlynn, Creator/GreerGarson, Creator/WalterPidgeon and Creator/JanetLeigh. And in case anyone's interested, there was also a 1990 BBC {{Radio}} dramatisation.

* SnobbyHobbies: Soames Forsyte eventually becomes a serious collector of art by the time the story has entered the 1920s

* OverprotectiveDad: Soames, to the extent of taking a Society woman to court when he feels she's insulted Fleur, which forms the main plot of ''The Silver Spoon''.

* ThePollyanna: June Forsyte, who [[spoiler: loses her father at a young age because he runs off with her governess; then, a few years later, her mother dies; later, at only seventeen her fiancé has an affair with her best friend and is then killed horribly; and finally, her beloved grandfather dies while she is abroad.]] Through all this she manages to retain a desire to help people who need her, particularly [[{{StarvingArtist}} starving artists]].

* GoldDigger: Montague Dartie marries Winifred for her money, and both Irene and Annette marry Soames for his.

* KudzuPlot: Well, the actual ''plot'' may be quite simple when you strip away all the non-essential details. But it still can be very hard to keep track of among all the long descriptions of the Forsytes' daily lives and their thoughts. The fact that there are LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters doesn't help either.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: The original saga alone covers three generations of the [[BigScrewedUpFamily Forsyte family]].

* MoralDissonance: Young Jolyon is very big on duty and responsibility when guilt-tripping his son, Jon - but he wasn't when he ditched his wife and young daughter and shacked up with the governess.

* MoralDissonance: Young Jolyon is very big on duty and responsibility when guilt-tripping his son, Jon - but he wasn't when [[{{Your Cheating Heart}} he ditched his wife and young daughter and shacked up with the governess.]]

* YourCheatingHeart: Irene and Bosinney, and later [[spoiler: Fleur and Jon.]] [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] with Irene and Young Jolyon; they haven't actually committed adultery, but tell Soames they have, so that he and Irene can get divorced.

The books spawned two British television serials. The first version starred Eric Porter, Nyree Dawn Porter, and Kenneth More. It was broadcast on Creator/TheBBC in 1967 to great acclaim, and drew in 18 million viewers every Sunday when it was repeated a year later. (The US broadcast on [[Creator/{{PBS}} NET]] provided the initiative for ''Series/{{Masterpiece}}''.) The second adaptation starred Damian Lewis as Soames and first aired on Creator/{{ITV}} in 2002. There is also a 1949 film, ''That Forsyte Woman'', starring Creator/ErrolFlynn, Creator/GreerGarson, Creator/WalterPidgeon and Creator/JanetLeigh. And in case anyone's interested, there was also a 1990 BBC {{Radio}} dramatisation.

* {{Foil}}: Young Jolyon and Soames have a first cousin version of SiblingRivalry / SiblingYinYang going on, so much that they hate each other despite being closely related by blood. Jolyon becomes a rebellious artist with a liberal political mindset, who loves to defy the rules of high society and the traditions of their family. Soames by contrast is an uptight solicitor with a conservative political mindset, who believes that being rich and respectable is the key to success and personal happiness. Of course, things become even ''worse'' between them when Irene starts her affair with Jolyon. But they didn't like each other before that happened either.

%% * HeirClubForMen: Most of "In Chancery" is concerned with Soames's desire for a son.

* MoralDissonance: Young Jolyon is very big on duty and responsibility when guilt-tripping his son, Jon - but wasn't so keen when [[{{Your Cheating Heart}} he ditched his wife and young daughter and shacked up with the governess.]]

* DomesticAbuser: Soames — and it changes the course of events forever. This offers a case of {{Values Dissonance}} caused by the passage of time. Soames's actions would have been seen as legitimate at the time, although some of the characters disapprove.

* BrokenBird: Irene, for most of the saga. June and Fleur both come close.

* CheerfulChild: Fleur and Michael's son Christopher (Kit), from what we see of him.
* CountryMouse: Jon's wife, Anne Wilmot.
* CrazyJealousGuy: Soames over Irene.

* DomesticAbuser: Soames — and it changes the course of events forever.
** Although this also offers a case of {{Values Dissonance}} caused by the passage of time. Soames's actions would have been seen as legitimate at the time, although some of the characters disapprove.
* DoggedNiceGuy: Michael Mont.

* HappilyMarried:
** Young Jolyon and Irene.
** Val and Holly Dartie.
* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: Soames by the end of the second trilogy.]]
* HeirClubForMen: Most of "In Chancery" is concerned with Soames's desire for a son.
* HeroicBSOD: Bosinney; see DrivenToSuicide above.

* IJustWantToBeLoved: Soames' main motivation.

* MaritalRapeLicense: [[spoiler:Soames and Irene.]]

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Jon in ''Swan Song'', after [[spoiler: cheating on his wife with Fleur.]]

* NoSparks: The main problem in Irene's marriage to Soames.

* SecondLove: Young Jolyon and Irene. Jon and Anne Wilmot.
* SelectiveObliviousness: Soames constantly disregards Irene's loathing of him.
** Soames is acutely aware of the fact that Irene does not love him; he just can't understand why. He even asks her flat-out what's 'wrong' with him, in both the book and the adaptations.

* StarCrossedLovers: Irene and Bosinney, and somewhat less tragically, Jon and Fleur.
* StarvingArtist:
** Phillip Bosinney (a radical architect).
** Young Jolyon becomes a painter after he's been cut off.
** June likes helping them. Other characters (and the narrator) refer to them as her 'lame ducks'.

The books spawned two British television serials. The first version starred Eric Porter, Nyree Dawn Porter, and Kenneth More. It was broadcast in 1967 to great acclaim, and drew in 18 million viewers every Sunday when it was repeated a year later. (The US broadcast on [[Creator/{{PBS}} NET]] provided the initiative for ''Series/{{Masterpiece}}''.) The second adaptation starred Damian Lewis as Soames and first aired in 2002. There is also a 1949 film, ''That Forsyte Woman'', starring Creator/ErrolFlynn, Creator/GreerGarson, Creator/WalterPidgeon and Creator/JanetLeigh. And in case anyone's interested, there was also a 1990 BBC {{Radio}} dramatisation.

The books spawned two British television serials. The first version starred Eric Porter, Nyree Dawn Porter, and Kenneth More. It was broadcast in 1967 to great acclaim, and drew in 18 million viewers every Sunday when it was repeated a year later. The second adaptation starred Damian Lewis as Soames and first aired in 2002. There is also a 1949 film, ''That Forsyte Woman'', starring Creator/ErrolFlynn, Creator/GreerGarson, Creator/WalterPidgeon and Creator/JanetLeigh. And in case anyone's interested, there was also a 1990 BBC {{Radio}} dramatisation.

* {{Foil}}: Young Jolyon and Soames have a first cousin version of SiblingRivalry / SiblingYinYang going on, so much that they hate each other despite being closely related by blood. Jolyon becomes a rebellious artist with a liberal political mindset, who loves to defy the rules of high society and the expectations of his family. Soames by contrast is an uptight solicitor with a conservative political mindset, who believes that being rich and respectable is the key to success and personal happiness. Of course, things become even ''worse'' between them when Irene starts her affair with Jolyon. But they didn't like each other before that happened either.

** Young Jolyon had an affair with her daughter's governess and ran away with her, and he can't get married to her until his first wife is killed in a horse riding accident. Mostly leaning to Good Adultery, since Jolyon is the hero and his first wife Frances was a [[{{SexIsEvil}} shrew]] and didn't want to have sex with him. But unfortunately, Jolyon won't be that happy with his second wife Hélène either, because she developes some kind of mental illness, to the point that she shows a pathological jealousy towards her own daughter Holly.
** Irene has an affair with Philip Bosinney. It is her only way to escape her unhappy marriage, and she is described as a mostly good woman otherwise. But the story also shows how this affects her husband Soames and Bosinney's fiancée June (who used to be Irene's best friend, no less).
** Monty's infidelity to Winifred is never seen as sympathetic though, because he turns out to be a {{Jerkass}} and Winifred is a much better wife to him than what he deserves.

* DrivenToSuicide: Irene is about to commit suicide after [[spoiler: she has been raped by Soames and Bossiney has died in a terrible accident]]. She is saved at the last moment.

The original trilogy, dealing mainly with Soames's generation, consists of ''The Man of Property'', ''In Chancery'' and ''To Let''. A second trilogy, dealing with Soames's daughter Fleur, Irene's and Jolyon's son Jon and their contemporaries, includes ''The White Monkey'', ''The Silver Spoon'' and ''Swan Song''. Galsworthy later completed the saga with a trio of novels about the Cherrells (Charwells), who are related to the Forsytes by marriage - ''Maid In Waiting'', ''Flowering Wilderness'' and ''Over the River''.

* DeadpanSnarker: George Forsyte, who according to his family is 'very droll' [[spoiler: (even on his deathbed, when asked by his butler if he would like the Vicar to come in and see him, he replies: "No. Give him my regards and tell him I'll see him at the funeral.")]], and to some extent Phillip Bosinney, who often pokes fun at the stuffy Forsytes (though whether they all realise they're being made fun of is [[{{SelectiveObliviousness}} another matter]]).

* DrivenToSuicide: Philip Bosinney, arguably. After he learns of what Soames has done to Irene, he wanders the streets of the city in a distraught state, and is finally run over by a carriage. The official verdict is death by accident, but it's left ambiguous.

Therefore Soames, and many other Forsytes, are forced to learn to let go — not only of property, but also of grudging feelings and the past.

The original trilogy, dealing mainly with Soames's generation, consists of ''The Man of Property'', ''In Chancery'' and ''To Let''. A second trilogy, dealing with Soames's daughter Fleur and her contemporaries, includes ''The White Monkey'', ''The Silver Spoon'' and ''Swan Song''. Galsworthy later completed the saga with a trio of novels about the Cherrells (Charwells), who are related to the Forsytes by marriage - ''Maid In Waiting'', ''Flowering Wilderness'' and ''Over the River''.

** Irene has an affair with Philip Bosinney. It is her only way to escape her unhappy marriage, and she is described as an utterly good woman otherwise. But the story also shows how this affected her husband Soames and Bosinney's fiancée June (who had been Irene's best friend, no less).

** Irene has an affair with Philip Bosinney. She was trying to escape an unhappy marriage, and she is described as an utterly good woman otherwise. But the story also shows how this affected her husband Soames and Bosinney's fiancée June (who had been Irene's best friend, no less).

* SexlessMarriage: The rumour that Irene and Soames no longer share a bed lets the rest of the family know that the marriage is on the rocks.

** Young Jolyon had an affair with her daughter's governess and ran away with her, and they later married. Mostly leaning to Good Adultery, since Jolyon is the hero and his first wife was a [[{{SexIsEvil}} shrew]]. Sadly, he wasn't that happy with his second wife Hélène because her temper wasn't very steady and she was said to be jealous even of her own daughter Holly.
** Irene has an affair with Philip Bosinney. She tried to escape a loveless marriage and she's described as a beautiful and utterly good woman, but the story also shows her devastated husband and Bosinney's fiancée June, who was Irene's friend.
** Monty's infidelity to Winifred is never seen as sympathetic though, because he turns out to be a {{Jerkass}} and Winifred is a much better wife than he deserves.

* InformedAttractiveness: Due to the fact that Galsworthy praises Irene's beauty to improbable levels, even comparing her to Venus on more than one occasion, any actress taking on the role of Irene runs the risk of encountering this trope. The criticism was levelled at Gina [=McKee=] when she was cast in the 2002 adaptation.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: The original saga alone covers four generations of the [[BigScrewedUpFamily Forsyte family]].

The books spawned two British television serials. The first version starred Eric Porter, Nyree Dawn Porter, and Kenneth More. It was broadcast in 1967 to great acclaim, and drew in 18 million viewers every Sunday when it was repeated a year later. The second adaptation starred Damian Lewis as Soames and first aired in 2002. There is also a 1949 film, ''That Forsyte Woman'', starring Creator/ErrolFlynn, Creator/GreerGarson, Walter Pidgeon and Creator/JanetLeigh. And in case anyone's interested, there was also a 1990 BBC {{Radio}} dramatisation.

** Monty's infidelity to Winnifred is never seen as sympathetic though, because he turns out to be a {{Jerkass}} and Winnifred has been a Berger wife than he deserves.