A Modern Comedy

A Modern Comedy is a book by John Galsworthy, first published in 1929. It is the second book in The Forsyte Chronicles, and continues the sweeping chronicle of the Forsyte family’s fortunes, ambitions, and emotional entanglements in post–World War I England. This classic work of British literary fiction explores shifting social values, generational conflict, and the uneasy balance between wealth, respectability, and personal freedom.

At the heart of the trilogy is Soames Forsyte, still defined by his possessiveness and concern for status, yet increasingly confronted by a world that no longer operates by Victorian certainties. His daughter Fleur Forsyte becomes central to the drama, driven by passion, pride, and a desire to secure happiness on her own terms. Her marriage to Michael Mont, an idealistic and politically minded young man, reveals the contrast between old-money caution and modern social reform. As their relationship strains under ambition, jealousy, and unresolved attachments from the past, the emotional cost of social aspiration becomes clear.

Across its three parts—The White Monkey, The Silver Spoon, and Swan Song—the narrative examines the changing landscape of 1920s England, from fashionable London society to political movements and artistic circles. Galsworthy’s measured prose dissects class tension, marriage, property, and moral compromise with sharp observation. Readers searching for historical family sagas, Edwardian and postwar British novels, and character-driven literary classics will find a richly layered exploration of love, pride, and social change.

Blending psychological insight with social commentary, A Modern Comedy stands as a significant continuation of the Forsyte chronicles and a compelling portrait of a family adapting—sometimes reluctantly—to the modern age.