Editing The Forsyte Saga (section)

===''The Man of Property'' (1906)===
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). The character of Irene is based upon Galsworthy's wife [[Ada Galsworthy]].<ref>{{cite book |date=1963 |last=Barker |first=Dudley |title=A Man of Principle |publisher=House and Maxwell |location=London |page=111 |ISBN=1379084962}}</ref> Forsyte is jealous of her friendships and wants her to be his alone. He concocts a plan to move her to a house he is having built at Robin Hill, away from everyone she knows and cares for. She resists his grasping intentions, and falls in love with the architect Philip Bosinney, who has been engaged by Soames to build the house. Bosinney returns her love, although he is the fiancé of her young friend June Forsyte, the daughter of Soames's estranged 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 by raping her, and Bosinney dies under the wheels of a bus after being driven frantic by the news of the rape.