In this first novel of the Forsyte Saga, after introducing us to the impressive array of Forsytes headed by the formidable Aunt Ann, Galsworthy moves into the main action of the saga by detailing Soames Forsyte's desire to own things, including his beautiful wife, Irene Forsyte (née Heron). He is jealous of her friendships and wants her to be his alone. He concocts a plan to move her to the country, to Robin Hill and a house he had built, away from everyone she knows and cares about. She resists his grasping intentions, falls in love with the architect Philip Bosinney who has been engaged by Soames to build the house and has an affair with him. However, Bosinney is the fiancé of her friend June Forsyte, the daughter of Soames's cousin 'Young' Jolyon. There is no happy ending: Irene leaves Soames after he asserts what he perceives to be his ultimate right on his property – he rapes Irene, and Bosinney dies under the wheels of an omnibus after being driven frantic by the news of Irene's rape by Soames.

John Galsworthy OM (14 August 1867 – 31 January 1933) was an English novelist and playwright. Notable works include The Forsyte Saga (1906–1921) and its sequels, A Modern Comedy and End of the Chapter. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1932. John Galsworthy was born at what is now known as Galsworthy House (then called Parkhurst) on Kingston Hill in Surrey, England, the son of John and Blanche Bailey (née Bartleet) Galsworthy. His family was wealthy and well established, with a large estate in Kingston upon Thames that is now the site of three schools: Marymount International School, Rokeby Preparatory School, and Holy Cross Preparatory School.