To Let by John Galsworthy #ABookADayInMay No.22

Super quick post tonight, because it’s late. In fact, let’s do it in bullet points.

  • I read To Let by John Galsworthy, originally published in 1921
  • (In fact, I listened to the audiobook – which was good, though it kept repeating lines of dialogue that I assume were meant to be edited out)
  • It’s the third of the Forsyte Saga
  • The first was published in 1906, but then Galsworthy went on a bit of a role – with one in 1920 and another in 1921
  • I read the first one a few years ago, for Tea or Books?, and then the middle one towards the end of last year
  • To Let really relies on you remembering what happened in book 1 – the doomed, cruel marriage of Irene and Soames
  • To Let is chiefly concerned with the next generation – particularly the love that blooms between Irene’s son and Soames’s daughter from their subsequent marriages
  • (But these two – Fleur and Jon – don’t know the other exists. They don’t even know that their parents used to be married.)
  • Fleur has a much more eligible, but profoundly dull, suitor
  • It’s a classic Romeo and Juliet sort of pairing, but if Romeo and Juliet don’t know why they aren’t a perfect match in the eyes of their families
  • Galsworthy is just very good, isn’t he? There’s a reason he was such a staple in the Edwardian era
  • It became fashionable to despise him in the mid-century, particularly if you were someone like George Orwell (who described bad books as ‘Galsworthy-and-water’)
  • But he really gets families, regrets, secrets, sacrifice, stubborness
  • He even makes reading about young, selfish people falling love bearable, and that’s impressive in my eyes
  • To Let has such a brilliant final line – you *almost* feel sorry for a character you’ve spent three books loathing
  • I am amazed that the three books of the first trilogy of the Forsyte Saga are so distinct, and each cover a distinct and intense theme, and yet work together masterfully as a series. Bravo, John.
  • Will I ever read the (gulp) six books in the Forsyte Chronicles? Does anyone? Perhaps in the next six decades.

21 thoughts on “To Let by John Galsworthy #ABookADayInMay No.22

  • May 23, 2023 at 12:36 am
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    Well worth reading all the books in the series! I enjoyed them when I read them straight through

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    • May 23, 2023 at 9:23 am
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      That sounds like a really fun project – I’d have to set aside a month at some point!

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  • May 23, 2023 at 12:53 am
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    The books are wonderful to read particularly after watching the many-epsode Dvd and envisioning those characters played by those wonderful actors – but only the first series with Eric Porter. The more recent series has clunkers like Soames going out – without a hat – and Irene going for tea with the aunts – wearing a red dress – historically inaccurate! As well as Irene’s north-country accent for someone from Brighton – geographically inaccurate!

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    • May 23, 2023 at 9:24 am
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      I did love the 2002 series, but I didn’t know all that much about the period at the time – I know how beloved the earlier series was, so I’ll have to seek it out now that I’ve read the books.

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  • May 23, 2023 at 6:31 am
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    I read them all in my youth…but then The Forsythe Saga dominated both TV and radio,, TV Eric Porter and Nyree Dawn Porter as Soames and Irene in those days

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    • May 23, 2023 at 9:24 am
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      And of course we watched Gina McKee and Damien Lewis together in it!

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  • May 23, 2023 at 6:33 am
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    I’ve read all the books in the series several times; I first read them in my early twenties and I’m in my fifties now. I just love the:. I think the middle three are my favourites.

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    • May 23, 2023 at 9:24 am
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      Oo good to know, thank you. I see complete sets in secondhand bookshops all the time, so next time will scoop them up.

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  • May 23, 2023 at 9:09 am
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    I’m pleased you carried on with the Forsyte saga. I listened to the tea and books episode discussing the first one quite recently and was definitely on the Forsytes side rather than the Cazalets.

    Yes, is the answer to your last question! I have read all 9 books twice and am now contemplating a third reading. I agree it is a bit of a commitment and admittedly that third reading seems to keep getting postponed but…..I would say it is definitely worth reading through the whole saga once, even one after the other for the full immersive experience!

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    • May 23, 2023 at 9:25 am
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      I can’t remember which I chose in that episode, but I would hope/assume it would be the Forsyte. And how funny that Rachel recently thought she’d never read it :D
      And good to know about the 9 books – an immersive read does sound really fun. One day!

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  • May 23, 2023 at 10:39 am
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    I read the first one a while back, Simon, and really enjoyed it – not sure why I didn’t carry on with it as I did love his writing!

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    • May 23, 2023 at 2:43 pm
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      It took me a few years, so I understand :D

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  • May 23, 2023 at 6:44 pm
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    I have read the first three and had no idea there were more! So interesting that several commenters have read the whole series more than once!? I’m inspired.
    Continuing to love your book a day in May posts!

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    • May 25, 2023 at 11:33 am
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      Thanks Andrea! ANd yes, I tend to hear people talk about the first three, but it’s been encouraging to see several people love all of them

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  • May 23, 2023 at 7:36 pm
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    I’ve never read Galsworthy, he’s somehow passed me by. But I find your bullet points very persuasive!

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    • May 25, 2023 at 11:34 am
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      I don’t think his reputation has ever quite recovered from the backlash to his intense popularity, but he is definitely worth reading

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  • May 25, 2023 at 9:20 am
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    I own all 12 books and have yet to read even the first one. But I put that first one on my Classics Club Spin and maybe I will be reading it soon. (I bought the set because I loved the 1967 TV series. The newer series is also good, but… not as good as the 1967 one.)

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    • May 25, 2023 at 11:40 am
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      I love that you have all 12! And yes, I’ve always heard that the 1967 series is basically the best adaptation of anything ever, so must watch now I’ve read the books.

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  • May 29, 2023 at 9:43 pm
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    There are actually nine, aren’t there – and I have read all nine twice.

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    • May 30, 2023 at 5:35 pm
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      yes indeed – three trilogies, I believe

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  • July 23, 2023 at 2:13 pm
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    I watched the original series before I read the books so it is one of the few adaptations I prefer. I was so entranced by Susan Hampshire that I read the entire series one summer in high school but I do seem to recall enjoying the first few books the most. At a certain point, it does become challenging to keep the relationships straight, even with a list of characters.

    For years, it was a sort of unofficial game to spot the Forsyte actor in later BBC productions that reached the US. Margaret Tyzack was a real gem.

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