At its heart, this is not so much the story of two might-be, could-be lovers whose blossoming liaison threatens to destroy the marriage of an upper-middle-class London lawyer as a study in family dynamics, exploring how different members of the lawyer's extended family respond when confronted with evidence of this liaison. So well does Galsworthy capture the grip a dreary conservatism holds over almost the whole Forsyte family that his occasional excursions into the erotic acquire an undeniable power that at times feels almost creepy. (Summary by Peter Dann)
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Chapters
- Chapter 1
Dedication and Preface
08:42 - Chapter 2
"At home" at Old Jolyon's
40:22 - Chapter 3
Old Jolyon goes to the opera
33:35 - Chapter 4
Dinner at Swithin's
31:38 - Chapter 5
Projection of the house
20:37 - Chapter 6
A Forsyte ménage
14:22 - Chapter 7
James at large
20:13 - Chapter 8
Old Jollyon's peccadillo
17:28 - Chapter 9
Plans of the house
18:02 - Chapter 10
Death of Aunt Ann
20:27 - Chapter 11
Progress of the house
16:25 - Chapter 12
June's treat
14:46 - Chapter 13
Drive with Swithin
23:26 - Chapter 14
James goes to see for himself
22:48 - Chapter 15
Soames and Bosinney correspond
31:04 - Chapter 16
Old Jolyon at the zoo
13:12 - Chapter 17
Afternoon at Timothy's
26:51 - Chapter 18
Dance at Roger's
18:39 - Chapter 19
An evening at Richmond
23:10 - Chapter 20
Diagnosis of a Forsyte
19:15 - Chapter 21
Bossiney on parole
10:05 - Chapter 22
June pays some calls
19:19 - Chapter 23
Perfection of the house
16:16 - Chapter 24
Soames sits on the stairs
09:07 - Chapter 25
Mrs. MacAnders' evidence
24:10 - Chapter 26
Night in the park
10:08 - Chapter 27
Meeting at the Botanical
30:32 - Chapter 28
Voyage into the inferno
23:38 - Chapter 29
The trial
18:45 - Chapter 30
Soames breaks the news
23:00 - Chapter 31
June's victory
18:13 - Chapter 32
Bosinney's departure
20:26 - Chapter 33
Irene's return
10:45