Sunday, April 12, 2020

The 1920 Club - In Chancery by John Galsworthy

“He had long forgotten how he had hovered, lanky and pale, in side whiskers of chestnut hue, round Emily, in the days of his own courtship. He had long forgotten the small house in the purlieus of Mayfair, where he had spent the early days of his married life, or rather, he had long forgotten the early days, not the small house,-a Forsyte never forgot a house - he had afterwards sold it at a clear profit of four hundred pounds.”

Having read A Man of Property a couple of years ago, I was really pleased to find I could read its sequel In Chancery by John Galsworthy for the 1920 Club.  These books are volumes one and two respectively of The Forsyth Chronicles which compromises a total of nine novels. Pictured are my paperback copies of the first six that my mom bought at a church rummage sale many, many years ago which I inherited, so to speak. The Scribner box set has the price of $11.70 on it and I am sure my mother would have paid less than a dollar for them in circa 1975 at the rummage. This set was issued by the publisher to take advantage of the T.V. series broadcast on National Educational Television (the precursor of PBS) in 1967(?)which actually kicked off/created that venerable institution in American Television "Masterpiece Theater". Pictures from the T.V. show are on the box. 

I don’t want to say too much about the plot of In Chancery since it is a sequel, but in terms of its main characters, both books are set at the end of the 19th century and focus mainly on Soames Forsyte and his beautiful but aloof wife Irene and Soames’ first cousin “Young” Jolyon Forsyte. 

The Forsytes as a clan have humble beginnings. Two generations earlier in the late 18th century their forefather was a modestly well-off farmer. But his son, through the acquisition of property and subsequent investment, prospered so much so that his progeny, the third generation, became very comfortably middle class and by the mid-1800s their children, the fourth generation, go to all the right schools, dress in all the right fashions and dine at all the right places.  As they say, money begets money. 

Soames is the titular "Man of Property". All Forsytes appreciate money and possessions and one of Soames’ most prized possessions is Irene, who does not love him. Soames can and does meet, if not exceed, all of Irene’s material needs but she cannot love a man who does not see her as a person but rather covets her as an object to be admired and envied by others. Soames contrasts with his cousin, Young Jolyon who is estranged from the family because he left his first wife after he fell in love with another woman. To make matters worse, he has designs on becoming a painter. Young Jolyon’s father and the patriarch of the Forsyte clan, Old Jolyon, longs to reconcile with his disgraced son, but doesn’t quite know how to go about it.  In Chancery takes place 12 years after the first book, still with its spotlight on the doomed relationship between Soames and Irene, but it also ushers out the old generation of the family and brings in the new, fifth generation who will come of age in the new 20th century. 

All in all, this is a very soapy series, full of affairs and intrigue. But I think it is intelligently written and I find it often quite moving emotionally and also not without plenty of sharp satirical commentary. In particular, Galsworthy reminds me of Trollope in his depiction of the plight of married women in the Victorian and Edwardian era when such women were legally the property of their husbands. Galsworthy doesn’t quite have the charm of Trollope, but I imagine a reader who likes the one will probably like the other. I’m not sure when I’ll get to the rest of the books but I am looking forward to finishing out the series, or at the very least, these six books I own. 

Many thanks to Simon and Karen for hosting The 1920 Club. I can't wait to hear what year will be chosen for November 2020. πŸ˜„


24 comments:

  1. Hi Ruthiella, Excellent review and I am curious now about the Forsyth Saga. I definitely see the Trollope influence and also one of the books I have chosen for the 2020 Classics Challenge is The Magnificent Ambersons and I'm thinking it deals with a similar theme as The Forsyth Saga, a great family that as the decades go by is being corrupted by too much wealth. Curious about the 1920's picture attached to your review, the young woman sitting next to her grandmother from the 19th century. A very sweet picture.

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    1. Thanks for the comment Kathy! Yes, I think The Magnificent Ambersons is a good "read-alike" for the Forsyte (I spelled in wrong in my review) Saga, but from an American perspective. The picture is cute! I don't know where Simon/Karen got it from...a movie I am guessing?

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  2. Sounds like an interesting story, and since I like Trollope, I should check out "The Forsyte Chronicles" - at least a few.

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    1. Thanks for the comment BookTapestry! Yes, do check out A Man of Property, the first book, and see if it works for you. It is the mix of pathos and satire that remind me of my beloved Trollope. Though, as I wrote, Galsworthy doesn't quite have the same charm, IMO.

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  3. Ah, I do want to read this series one day, but I'm still slogging my way through The Barsetshire Chronicles for I should finish that 5 year+ stint first! Have you read The Palliser series? Is this series similar. I think Trollope's series is more political but I'm not sure. I would like to read both one day. If so, I'd better get a move on! Thanks for the inspiring review!

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    1. Thanks for the comment Cleo! I have read both The Barsetshire Chronicles and The Palliser series. I heart Trollope. Galsworthy isn't quite the same caliber as Trollope...less playful for sure. I wish you luck in finishing Barsetshire. :D

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  4. Great review, Ruthiella. This isn't an author you hear much of in blogland so it was interesting to read your thoughts on his writing. I like Trollope so i might get to Galsworthy one day. Hope you are keeping well.

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    1. Thanks for the comment Carol! Maybe Galsworthy will have a mini-resurgence some day thanks to the internet. :D A Man of Property can definitely be read as a stand-alone novel, so hopefully you will give it a whirl some day.

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  5. Honestly, the only thing I remember about the Forsyte Saga is how much I hated Soames. When the television series came out, I couldn't even watch.

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    1. Thanks for the comment jenclair. I can see where that hatred comes from. Soames is pretty awful. And he doesn't see where or how he went wrong since he was in his rights legally. The moral question never occurs to him.

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  6. I loved the books too. I read it as a combined volume and I remember there was a big family tree in the beginnings which unfortunately contained spoilers. I didn't watch the TV series until much later and thought they did an excellent job. Of course one hates Soames but he is just an awful character.

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    1. Thanks for the comment Karen! Yes, the family tree (in the front of my books too) does spoil things regarding deaths and marriages. It is best to avoid it BUT there are so many children in this large family, it is hard otherwise to keep track of them. :D

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  7. I didn't want to read your thoughts until I had finished In Chancery myself, which I have just done. But your review has fewer spoilers in it than the stupid family tree at the back of my edition which tells you everything that's going to happen well before it does. Argh! And the family tree in Wikipedia is no better. Somebody needs to make a good chart--because of it's kind of necessary to follow along.

    I was a bit surprised how political In Chancery was--much more so than The Man of Property. Of course in the real world, WWI had happened in the meantime, so I imagine that's it. Soames has become a much more thorough-going villain in this one--a little too much so, I thought--you had commented on my post on The Man of Property he was pitiable, and he certainly was at the beginning of that novel, and even (maybe) by the end, but I felt that was long gone by the end of In Chancery.

    Your series tie-in edition actually looks rather nice. They're usually a bit suspect. On to To Let! I figure I'll try to read that pretty soon. I also have the rest of the series but I may take a bit of a break after finishing the first three.

    Anyway, fun to see your thoughts!

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    1. Thanks for the comment reese! Yes, I am so paranoid about giving too much away which is silly but I can't seem to help myself. Yes, the Boer War is a big part of In Chancery. I think I am going to read To Let very soon if only to see where Fleur and Jon etc. all end up.

      I thought that Soames' relationship with his father was quite touching in In Chancery. And he really does not see where he goes wrong. That is what I pity in him.

      I am pretty sure these books were just the normal paperbacks put into a cardboard box with pictures from the TV show pasted on it. It is not very slick compared to what they do now. But it has a real nostalgia for me since it was on my mother's shelves for so very long.

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    2. His relationship with James is touching, but that's mostly became James is so appealing a character. ("Nobody ever tells me anything!") I'm not sure even the wonderful James made me like Soames any better in this one. But I will say that it's certainly a sign that Galsworthy is doing something right that we can think about--and even disagree!--as to what a fictional character 'really' is like. That's the sign of a great novel.

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  8. Hm, I never thought much about this series so it's good to see some extended thoughts about it. I may give it a try - though I'm wary to commit beyond one book! These days I have to take things one book at a time.:)

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    1. Thanks for the comment Lory! I hear you on one book at a time! :D Series are a real commitment and this one has NINE books. But as I wrote to Carol above, you can just read the first book and call it a day. It stands alone well I think.

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  9. I've still only read the first book of the series, but I did think it was brilliant and I have the next two...

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    1. Thanks for the comment Simon! I have since gone and read the third book to complete the first trilogy. I think you will enjoy them when you get to them. :D

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  10. Hi Ruthiella! loved the review! I thought I had left a comment several days ago, but don't see it -- guess the internet gods are angry (I have trouble accessing your blog with my usual browser). I liked your Trollope-Galsworthy comparison (think I wrote about it in my comment) -- very spot on!

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    1. Hi Janakay! Thanks for the comment. I am sorry the internet gods are meddling with your human internet activities. :( I've read a few reviews that have commented on how Galsworthy moves from Edwardian ideals of writing and novels to a more modernist approach as the books go on in this particular series. I've completed the first trilogy now and will need to read on to see how this Trollope comparison can go...

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  11. I was very young when the Forsyte Saga was televised but I remember my mother watching avidly and was intrigued. By the time Soames' daughter appeared as a child I coaxed her into letting me join her, and Fleur remained my favorite character. I didn't read the books until I was 20 or so but enjoyed the whole series. I think you will appreciate them best by spacing out your reading.

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    1. Thanks for the tip CLM! I will wait a bit until I tackle the second trilogy. :D I don't remember watching this particular series as a child but later, I did catch bits of Poldark and Upstairs Downstairs when my parents were watching.

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