Long before the upstairs/downstairs drama of Downton Abbey, there was John Galsworthy’s dynastic shenanigans of the nouveau riche Forsyte family. Their loving and feuding was spread across nine books and set against more than four decades of British history.
Unlike Downton, the story features just the upstairs lot. They have come a long way from their Dorset farming descendants and are not the best sort of people: they hold money paramount with a need to “possess things”. Adapted by Shaun McKenna and Lin Coghlan, who previously adapted the story for radio, we see how this entitlement manifests in love, marriage and betrayal.
