Book Description
The Silver Spoon is the fifth volume in The Forsyte Chronicles, one of the most popular and enduring works of 20th-century literature. In creating the many extraordinary members of the Forsyte family, the author also drew a fascinating and accurately detailed picture of the British propertied class, from the wealth and security of the mid-Victorian era through the Edwardian high-noon to a post-War world of change, strikes, and social malaise.

This volume carries on with the tale of Soames' daughter Fleur. Married to Michael Mont, in line for a Barony, the story focuses on Michael's start in Parliament and Fleur's inherent dissatisfaction with her marriage, not unlike her father's own experience only in this case it is Fleur who loves another. The American Frances Wilmont enters the scene bringing news that Fleur's real love, Jon, forbidden to her as the son of her father's ex-wife, has married Wilmont's sister. Fleur struggles to be happy and fulfilled, just as her father Soames did.

The nine novels, which make up The Forsyte Chronicles -- one of the most popular and enduring works of 20th century literature -- chronicle the ebbing social power of the commercial upper-middle class Forsyte family between 1886 and 1920. Galsworthy's masterly narrative examines not only their fortunes but also the wider developments within society, particularly the changing position of women.

The author has drawn a fascinating and accurately detailed picture of the British propertied class. Often incorrectly called The Forsyte Saga - the nine novel sequence properly known as The Forsyte Chronicles contains three trilogies- of which the first trilogy is The Forsyte Saga (The Man of Property - In Chancery- To Let). The second trilogy- A Modern Comedy (The White Monkey- The Silver Spoon- Swan Song) is followed by the third and concluding trilogy- End of the Chapter (Maid in Waiting- Flowering Wilderness- One More River). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

same disappointment
story line not what I had expected. Rambling on about other people of the husband's family, and lost interest in the whole book.

The Woman of Property
The Silver Spoon opens with the introduction of Frances Wilmot, the brother-in-law of Jon. He arrives at the Mont house with a letter of introduction for Fleur. Fleur herself is occupied with her son Kit and her life as a leading social figure.

It is that social life which is endangered in this book as an impoverished and slightly disreputable socialite (Marjorie Ferrar) makes a disparaging remark about Fleur as collector in a gossip column and sets off a storm. The fierce and public reaction of Soames leads to a libel suit being filed against Fleur and the issue of private morals is tried on the public stage. Fleur proves herself as stubborn as her father when a matter of principle is involved, and burns her own hands on changing public opinion.

The character of Marjorie is an interesting one. In the first Forsythe trilogy, the agents of moral change are drawn very kindly and are actually the heros and heroines of the books. By contrast, Marjorie as the typical flapper is as repellant as she is energetic. She clearly represents the new world, but the approval that the book has for her is just as clearly mixed. Her honesty speaks in her favor, but she is also visibly shallow and capable of great careless cruelty. She seems to represent the accelerating decay of standards and values and as such offers as bad an option as the inflexibility of the earlier generation of Forsythes. At one point in the book, her kindly grandfather asks, "If your idea of life is simply to have a good time, how can you promise anything?" It is a question that the book seems to be posing of itself.

The book is bound with "Passers By", an interlude in Washington in which Soames realizes that he, Fleur and Michael are in the same hotel as Irene, Jon and Anne. ... Read more

Product Description
From preface: In naming this second part of The Forsyte Chronicles "A Modern Comedy" the word Comedy is stretched, perhaps as far as the word Saga was stretched to cover the first part. And yet, what but a comedic view can be taken, what but comedic significance gleaned, of so restive a period as that in which we have lived since the war? An Age which knows not what it wants, yet is intensely preoccupied with getting it, must evoke a smile, if rather a sad one. ... Read more

Download Description
Contents Include: 1. HALL-MARKED, 2. DEFEAT, 3. THE SUN, 4. PUNCH AND GO, 5. THE FIRST AND THE LAST, 6. THE LITTLE MAN ... Read more