The Man of Property (Forsyte Saga Vol. 1)


Read by LibriVox Volunteers

(4.2 stars; 57 reviews)

'The Forsyte Saga' is the story of a wealthy London family stretching from the eighteen-eighties until the nineteen-twenties. The Man of Property is the first book in the saga. The 'man of property' of the title is Soames Forsyte, a partner in the family law firm. He is married to Irene but the marriage is not happy and during the book she falls in love with another man.

Another branch of the family is headed by 'Old Jolyon,' estranged from his bohemian artist son 'Young Jolyon' and the story tells of their rapprochement and of Young Jolyon's daughter June who is engaged to an architect Philip Bosinney.

For those familiar with the Forsytes, this book takes us up to the night when Soames exercises his 'rights' and to the death of Bosinney. (Summary by Andy Minter) (12 hr 23 min)

Chapters

Preface 8:24 Read by Andy Minter (1934-2017)
Pt. I Ch. I 'At Home' at Old Jolyon's 42:52 Read by Andy Minter (1934-2017)
Pt. I Ch. II Old Jolyon Goes To The Opera 36:40 Read by Andy Minter (1934-2017)
Pt. I Ch. III Dinner At Swithin's 30:29 Read by Kirsten Ferreri
Pt. I Ch. IV Projection Of The House 20:15 Read by Kirsten Ferreri
Pt. I Ch. V A Forsyte Menage 16:05 Read by Justin Brett
Pt. I Ch. VI James At Large 22:24 Read by Justin Brett
Pt. I Ch. VII Old Jolyon's Peccadillo 15:40 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
Pt. I Ch. VIII Plans Of The House 15:33 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
Pt. I Ch. IX Death Of Aunt Ann 22:57 Read by rusalka
Pt. II Ch. I Progress Of The House 15:23 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
Pt. II Ch. II June's Treat 20:54 Read by eva
Pt. II Ch. III Drive With Swithin 33:33 Read by eva
Pt. II Ch. IV James Goes To See For Himself 32:12 Read by eva
Pt. II Ch. V Soames And Bosinney Correspond 34:55 Read by Andy Minter (1934-2017)
Pt. II Ch. VI Old Jolyon At The Zoo 13:46 Read by rusalka
Pt. II Ch. VII Afternoon At Timothy's 27:12 Read by rusalka
Pt. II Ch. VIII Dance At Roger's 17:12 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
Pt. II Ch. IX Evening At Richmond 25:01 Read by Andy Minter (1934-2017)
Pt. II Ch. X Diagnosis Of A Forsyte 21:33 Read by Andy Minter (1934-2017)
Pt. II Ch. XI Bosinney On Parole 10:08 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
Pt. II Ch. XII June Pays Some Calls 27:48 Read by eva
Pt. II Ch. XIII Perfection Of The House 23:16 Read by eva
Pt. II Ch. XIV Soames Sits On The Stairs 13:00 Read by eva
Pt. III Ch. I Mrs. Macander's Evidence 23:04 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
Pt. III Ch. II Night In The Park 11:15 Read by Andy Minter (1934-2017)
Pt. III Ch. III Meeting At The Botanical 29:40 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
Pt. III Ch. IV Voyage Into The Inferno 24:18 Read by Andy Minter (1934-2017)
Pt. III Ch. V The Trial 20:43 Read by Andy Minter (1934-2017)
Pt. III Ch. VI Soames Breaks The News 22:16 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
Pt. III Ch. VII June's Victory 22:01 Read by Lucy Burgoyne (1950 - 2014)
Pt. III Ch. VIII Bosinney's Departure 27:51 Read by eva
Pt. III Ch. IX Irene's Return 15:24 Read by eva

Reviews

quality control needed


(2.5 stars)

OK, I can understand there might be a shortage of readers, but I can see no good reason to have a woman with a thick Eastern (?) European accent reading Galsworthy! To her credit, her elocution is fine, I but her accent renders the text almost unintelligible. Also, there needs to be some standard of consistency in pronunciation--is the female protagonist's name Eye-Reen, Eye-Reeny, or Ee-Raynay? (Oh, and the song is La Donna e Moh-be-lay, not Mo-Beel.)


(2.5 stars)

Two excellent readers and one dreadful one. An Australian sounding accent who misread some words , left pauses in the wrong places thus rendering the text meaningless, a travesty of this fine writing. I agree that such dense and sometimes archaic style of writing should be left to more experienced readers.

Just couldn't handle Eva's accent and way of reading.


(1.5 stars)

Just started listening first two chapters


(5 stars)

Galsworthy's wit is superb in his satire of the upper middle-upper class . Andy Minter (1934-2017) is in a better place. i feel Mr. Minters reincarnation is a good one in another time and place. the late great Andy Minter's reading is so good and brings out the hilarity of the first two chapters . laughing every four or five sentences. This has brought me out of a melancholy. ok , so did a Level 42 at Wembly 1986 video earlier this night, in a different way. God bless Andy Minter .....to be continued\ Internet Archive : We are grateful for the reading speed widget . However fast is too fast and slow mode should be somewhere in between normal and the too slow mode you are giving us now. Or just add the two suggested reading speeds to widget...... thank you

Excellent


(5 stars)

This is an excellent, if sad, story. I'll definitely be continuing the series. What I think I appreciate the most about it is that it reveals the real humanity of this group of people who suffer as much as any human, but feel forced to hide it and so receive no comfort. If we could only realize how much alike we all are, there could be so much more compassion in the world! While I admit that one reader does have a strong accent, I didn't find her too difficult to understand. One reviewer's remarks against her were so strong as to sound racist (very ugly). Only one or two readers left something to be desired by way of their monotonous reading style, which deadened the impact is what should have been very poignant scenes. Otherwise, I thoroughly enjoyed & devoured the book!

Wonderful book


(4 stars)

This is the first of the Forsyte Saga trilogy. It is a wonderful book about family, wealth, old age, change and passion. I agree with the other reviewers of this book. Unfortunately a number of readers did not do justice to the book and was off-putting. Reading out loud while putting in the drama or comedy is a difficult thing to do. I cannot do it and that is a reason I do not volunteer. I began to get annoyed with some of the readings and almost stopped listening. However, Andy and Kirsten's wonderful narration of a number of the chapters was worth my continuing to listen.

Inconsistent


(2.5 stars)

Sadly, overall, this recording does not do justice to Galsworthy’s lovely novel. I appreciate that the readers are volunteers and I did not expect professional level quality. However, several of the readers’ phrasing and cadence was so off it rendered the prose almost unintelligible. It was the only the excellent readings delivered by two or three of the narrators was what kept me persevering through the to the end, hoping to hear more from them.

Mixed Experience


(2 stars)

Some readers are perfect! One reader's accent made the text impossible to understand. These kinds of readers should be directed to less demanding books or those in their native language. I could not finish hearing the book and note that the next book in the series has many chapters by the same reader. It is sad to lose the value of the efforts of readers who make Galsworthy come alive.