The Forsyte Saga - Complete

Enjoy Victorian society and the unbelievable story of women in a time when marriage meant becoming the property of the husband. Imagine!

Through his entire life, Soames Forsyth collects property and famous art work while tending to his families business. Reading on my iPad, I enjoyed looking up words which meant whole expressions of thought to the Victorians. I also looked up the artists of Soames’s collection and enjoyed viewing and understanding why he selected his artists.

This is a reprint of the original published book and therefore has a few typos, but none that are insurmountable. It is a wee bit over the top here and there with lovely little slices of melodrama thrown in, but never in an excess so as to make one snort. And the melodrama is simply delicious and rather literary in places, always satisfying at some level to the reader. Galsworthy is at his best throughout these many pages with his sly sardonic observations on people, the effect of wealth/possessions and what they may - or may not - do to/for one, many of the great English traditions of the times, and in a few places, he didn’t subtley hide his sense of humor under the table — I found myself laughing out loud a number of times. Great wit, superb gripping character-based story telling, some luscious poetic sections, and a book that can be thoroughly enjoyed by ‘dummies' at one level, if you will, and even more by people who understand his literary and artistic references. Read on my iPad, it was a joy stepping aside every now and then quickly to find a map detailing his description of a part of London or an English activity or expression I am unfamiliar with as an American. These little research side trips to parks, squares, and the South Downs of Sussex, for instance, made it even more accessible to me, rather that breaking the flow of the story, Maybe it’s not a Dickensonian masterpiece, but this is truly enjoyable and thoroughly poetic, artistic, and literary reading that kept me deeply involved throughout. And what a lovely judge of character Galsworthy is, and how subtley his characterizations unfold! One learns to know these people at depth very quickly: what they want, and what they may want to do with "it"when they get “it”, what they have to say about things, and quite a bit about how society flowed in the UK in those days. It is quite as excellent as the old Masterpiece Theatre presentation, so impeccably cast, back in 1968-69. Almost too enjoyable to lay aside to get any sleep. I do realize that some may begin to find it dated. I think that would be a shame. Go with it. My, i did so enjoy my total immersion with this!

One of the most poignant stories I've ever read. Brilliant and realistic. Sorry to reach the last page. Marvelous!!!!