Audiobook · read by volunteers
Man of Property (Forsyte Saga Vol. 1)
John Galsworthy (1867–1933)
Read by Andy Minter (1934-2017), Kirsten Ferreri, Justin Brett, Lee Ann Howlett, rusalka, eva, Lucy Burgoyne (1950-2014) · 33 chapters · 12 h 23
About the book
The Forsytes are a prosperous London family who prize respectability, property and security above all. At the centre of this first book of the saga stands Soames Forsyte, a successful solicitor who treats the possessions he has gathered, including his beautiful wife Irene, as proof of his place in the world. When a young architect enters the family circle, Soames's carefully ordered life begins to fall apart, and the entire clan is drawn into a drama of love, jealousy and social judgement. John Galsworthy paints a sharp portrait of a class at the height of its confidence, with irony and sympathy in equal measure. Thirty-three sections, shared among seven volunteers, run for about twelve and a half hours. The recording suits anyone who enjoys the family chronicle, the Edwardian atmosphere and the slow unfolding of a story in which every household object has a meaning.
Introduction
John Galsworthy, who lived from 1867 to 1933, was an English novelist and playwright. The Man of Property appeared in 1906 and is the first book of The Forsyte Saga, which follows a wealthy London family from the eighteen-eighties to the nineteen-twenties. Galsworthy later received the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1932.
The title refers to Soames Forsyte, a partner in the family's law firm, who regards possessions as the measure of success. The novel is a study of the Victorian upper middle class and of the values that held it together. It is a social satire, yet Galsworthy also gives his characters depth and some measure of pity. The saga as a whole became hugely popular and has been adapted for television more than once.
The LibriVox recording has thirty-three sections, beginning with the preface and the chapters of Part One, and lasts about twelve and a half hours. Seven volunteers share the reading. Today the book is valuable for its picture of London society at the turn of the century and for the way its themes of ownership, marriage and reputation still feel recognisable. The novel's quiet, controlled irony is easy to appreciate aloud, and the multiple narrators of the recording add variety to a long listen. Those who have seen the television adaptations may enjoy coming back to the original text, which is both more subtle and more critical than screen versions often suggest.
Public domain
John Galsworthy died in 1933: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text