Man of law, man of property.

• Author: Normey, Robert
• Position: Law and literature - Book Review

John Galsworthy's series of novels The Forsyte Saga has been made into a television series twice. The first was the famous 1967 version that created such a huge impact on the viewing public. An adaptation of The Forsyte Saga was considered to be the major attraction needed to win viewers for the new BBC2 channel in Britain. The series attracted six million viewers and received a number of awards.

Soames Forsyte is a solicitor who has married the beautiful but remote Irene, who married him under duress. Forsythe is the "Man of Property" of the first novel in the series, and she shares none of his passions.

The Man of Property, opens in the year 1886 with Soames at an engagement party for his cousin June. She is engaged to a handsome, dashing architect, Philip Bosinney. Bosinney is impecunious but is a genuine artist who hopes to get important commissions which will allow him to exercise his profession without compromising his commitment to artistic excellence.

Forsyte engages Bosinney to build a house for him in the countryside. Bosinney devises a plan for a stunning residence and sets to work. His endeavours take him to the Forsyte home where he regularly encounters Irene. Before long, talk begins of a suspected affair between the two. June comes to realize that she seems to be losing her fiancee to her friend Irene.

The novel is filled with melodrama and indeed has been called the English language world's first literary soap opera. It has adultery, rape, a lawsuit, unrequited love, and more. The significant pattern in the novel is developed through the clash of two worlds. The first is the world of property with which the various members of the Forsyte dan are associated. The males compete to amass fortunes and acquire expensive possessions. They are businessmen and lawyers and publishers who judge everyone by their apparent net worth. Soames is the leading representative of this world. He is a shrewd investor and collector. He has amassed a large collection of paintings but views these first and foremost as sound business investments. The other world is that of beauty and art. It is represented most interestingly by Bosinney. The architect dresses flamboyantly in the eyes of the Forsytes and speaks of his artistic vision, convincing the men of property that he is not sound.

A legal theme runs through the novel and juxtaposes the two worlds. Law in the world of the Forsytes is revered because it not only protects property interests but...