The Forsyte Saga

The elder generation of Forsytes gather at Uncle Timothy's to exchange gossip about two of the younger members of the family: James's daughter Winifred is engaged to the charming b...

Young Jo’s decision to divorce his wife to live with Helene and their child shocks the family, and causes Old Jo to adjust his will in favor of his granddaughter June. Elsewhere, s...

Two sons are born. Winifred and her profligate husband Monty must appeal to her father James to ease Monty’s debts, as Winifred gives birth to her son, Val. The accidental death of...

Several years have passed, and the family is abuzz over the engagement of young June Forsyte to bohemian architect Phillip Bosinney. June’s best friend and confidante, Irene, endur...

Winifred’s spendthrift husband Monty continues to rack up debts, while Soames has bigger marital problems. Attempting to improve his disastrous marriage, Soames engages Bosinney to...

As the affair between Irene and Bosinney becomes more and more public, Soames threatens legal action against the architect regarding cost overruns at Robin Hill. June hides her con...

A thick fog envelops London, masking tragedy. Irene waits to run away with Bosinney, who is driven to distraction when hearing the news of Irene's rape. The next day, the Forsyte m...

Distraught, destitute, and alone, Irene returns to Soames for one last night, then deserts him for good. Four years later, Jolyon and his family have settled into the house at Robi...

Eight more years pass, during which Helene dies and June, now financially independent, strikes out on her own. Monty continues his profligate ways, stealing Winifred’s pearls and s...

The South African Boer War creates anxiety for James, while Winifred and Soames attempt to extricate themselves from their marriages. Soames hires a private investigator to follow...

Investigators shadowing Irene in Paris detect her growing affection for Jo, and gather enough evidence to proceed with Soames’s divorce. Val and Holly secretly become engaged, whil...

Queen Victoria’s isn’t the only death in this episode which also includes births, marriages, and divorce. Young Jolly dies in South Africa, while his sister Holly and Val Dartie ma...

Twenty years have passed (the Great War slips by here) as the third generation of Forsytes takes center stage. Jon has grown into an earnest and naive young man who decides to trai...

The elder Forsytes continue to hide the details of the family feud from Jon and Fleur. Michael Mont, the perky son of a baronet, courts Fleur and gains the respect of Soames, while...

The annual cricket match between Eton and Harrow facilitates awkward encounters. Fleur scrambles to get Jon to the altar before he learns the truth behind the family feud. Before h...

Jon and Irene relocate to Canada. On the rebound, Fleur marries Michael Mont, who assumes narration of the series. Two years and more pass, during which a new cast of characters ar...

Wilfred confesses his love of Fleur to Michael, as Soames lobbies for a grandchild. The board of directors is slow to act, while Elderson’s subordinate Butterfield confirms Soames’...

As Michael is tortured by the thought that Fleur may be interested in Wilfred, he encounters June, who lets slip some family history: Fleur was on the rebound from her first great...

Both Michael and Tony address issues of trust in their marriages. The Bickets leave the squalor of their London slum in favor of a new life in Australia. Elderson admits his larcen...

The scene shifts briefly to the Carolinas, where Jon and Irene are guests of young Ann Wilmot and her brother Francis. A gentle romance blooms, and Jon marries Ann. Back in London,...

Marjorie Ferrar’s threats of libel action against Fleur are meant to extract money and a public apology, but Soames contrives to turn the tables and prove Marjorie guilty of immora...

Michael and Fleur drift further apart as last ditch efforts to settle the libel case fail, and Ferrar vs. Mont is heard in court. The episode is dominated by the bruising cross-exa...

Social fallout from the Ferrar case drives Fleur and Soames on a trip around the world. Michael joins them in Washington, DC, at the very moment when Irene, Jon, and Ann arrive. So...

June lobbies for Soames to commission a portrait of Fleur. Michael buries himself in social work, but cannot mask his anxiety regarding his marriage. Likewise, Ann fears she is no...

This moody episode illuminates Fleur’s restlessness, and Soames’s feelings of mortality. Looking toward the future, Soames installs young Butterfield in his law office to oversee F...

The final episode of the series begins with an adulterous consummation, and ends in death. Jon succumbs to Fleur's seduction and immediately regrets his infidelity to his wife, Ann...