Original subtitles

'It was a momentous day

'when June's mother remarried and they joined our family.

'The illustrious Forsytes.

'Or so we like to think of ourselves.

'The groom, my grandson, Jolyon.

'Newly returned from his escapades in Europe

'to take up his role as heir to the family firm.

'Much to the frustration of his cousin, Soames.

'An ambitious soul.

'Unwilling to play second fiddle to anyone.'

I wish your mother could have lived to see this day.

She'll be the making of you.

'Frances was a widow. Queen of high society.

'Hand-picked to cement our status among the London elite.'

'Of course, every family has its rivalries, its intrigues.

'But on this great day of celebration, we put them aside.'

That one is my brother James's abode.

But inside, it's not a patch on ours.

You can see why my brother wanted her for Jo.

She'll steady him,

put an end to all this running amok amid the fleshpots of Europe.

But you could've had her.

- I'd have made an offer. - I'm obliged to you, Pa.

But when the time comes, the bride will be of my choosing.

Well, quite frankly, why would you want to burden yourself

with an eight-year-old brat?

My late husband invested with Forsyte and Co,

so you might think this is a natural progression.

I'm a prime asset changing hands.

And June has long needed a father figure.

Go and be presented.

Grandmama Ann is the head of our family.

Do I have to like you?

No.

Cos I don't like anyone.

It's a good decision.

Grandmama?

This is June.

Do you know what a Forsyte is?

A Forsyte is someone who knows the value of stock.

And family. And repute.

You must never ask questions, never contradict,

and never, ever fail to come up to scratch.

Don't scare her!

She needs to know what she's letting herself in for.

'Ten years on,

'as June's 18th birthday approaches,

'the peace and stability of the Forsyte world

'is about to be overturned.'

Explain to me why drawing is

such a necessary accomplishment for cultured young ladies?

What possible use could it be?

It's exactly what your grandfather said to me

when I joined the family firm.

But you used to love drawing.

I love many things.

Will you draw me. Please?

Just a quick sketch?

That is me! Exactly me!

Here. We'll be late for breakfast.

So, I was thinking...

..for my birthday, instead of a ball,

could we just have a picnic?

Because your mother wouldn't for a moment

mind cancelling the event she's been planning for the last ten years

So, what do we think of Charlie Armstrong?

Is that Sir Roger's boy?

For what?

For June.

Does she like him?

Well, she's never met him.

But I've invited the Armstrongs to the ball.

Along with the Latimers...

- Tea. - Pallisters...

Railways.

..Carterets...

Land.

It's a question of who would most benefit the family.

Miles Latimer?

Horatio Carteret?

The Prince of Wales?

I'm serious!

Hurry with your breakfast, we have an appointment in town.

Where?

The dressmaker. Your gown for the ball?

So, Pa, well, something rather exciting...

- And costly? - A racehorse, Papa.

Monty's found the very thing.

And when you know the gee-gees as I do...

I'd hope, as my brother, you'd want to encourage my husband.

Just as when you wed, I'll happily take your wife under my wing.

If ever there were a reason not to marry.

Who's marrying?

Frances said she knows a dozen girls who'd make Soames a splendid wife.

Though I'm sure I don't know who'd be good enough.

I believe she has several coming to June's ball.

Well, thanks for the warning. I'll go in disguise.

Shall we be off, Pa?

- Thank you so much. - Thank you.

Lady Carteret.

Dear. We were hoping to keep Miss Louisa to ourselves.

My apologies.

Do you know Mrs Frances Forsyte? And her daughter, June?

Good day to you.

How do you do?

We need a gown for June's 18th birthday ball.

I hope you received our invitation?

So kind.

Try not to let Mrs Forsyte monopolise you.

- If you'd please remove your coat? - Yes.

Obviously, this has to go.

Sadly, she's been influenced by her father,

who has his own eccentric views on fashion.

Like wearing clothes which actually let you move.

So, a tight waistline, a bustle, potentially a train...

Certainly, madam. If I may first take measurements?

Yes, of course.

I've other calls to make. I'll return.

- Morning. - Morning.

For half a century, we have been pre-eminent

among London's stockbroking elite.

But lately, young upstarts have been snapping at our heels.

So, how do we maintain our supremacy?

By not resting on our laurels.

By seeking out new investments,

new markets, by keeping our ear to the ground

for information that we may be able to turn to our advantage.

I have something.

Soames.

Sir Roger Armstrong, Durham Mining Co, is about to croak.

Good God, he's barely fifty.

Of course, the family keeps it close to their chest.

Who'll be taking over?

- The young lad, Charlie Armstrong. - That wastrel?

- Never done a day's work in his life. - Precisely the point.

When the news breaks, the share price will plummet.

Not necessarily.

Could hold steady, if there's no loss of confidence.

We should sell.

- Our stock, clients' stock... - Thus ensuring a loss of confidence?

So, where do you suggest our loyalties lie?

You know as well as I a massive sale of stock will panic the markets.

And some of our clients have their entire savings invested with us.

If enough shareholders got together,

they could force the company to appoint a steadier hand.

Confidence could be restored.

Excellent. Anything else?

Have a good day. Onward.

- Obviously, we'll sell. - Obviously.

Your mother is very beautiful.

I don't take after her.

Perhaps you favour your father?

Stepfather.

Is he a good one?

The best. Without him, I'd have ran away to sea.

What would you be if you could choose?

Free.

To go where I like, meet who I want, choose my own gowns.

And you?

Would you be anything other than the best-kept secret in London?

I'm content.

My father was a visionary in every way

except for one fatal flaw.

His insistence that the company be passed

from eldest son to eldest son, regardless of merit or aptitude.

Ridiculous.

My brother's had his moments, the company's prospered.

But as for Jo, our so-called heir apparent...

well, far inferior to you in every way.

Still, there's a long way to go before my uncle dies.

And by that time...

Jo's utter unfitness for leadership will be clear.

Whereas you will have demonstrated your credentials.

Papa!

You are more like your mother than you know.

She used to tell me we had too much fire.

I almost wish I didn't.

When she died, I wanted you to have a less fraught profession,

but now I think I was wrong.

Had we stayed in Paris,

you would not have had to scratch about London for tuition.

But then I would not have met your dear stepmother,

and then where would we be?

Lost...

entirely without the sanity of an outside perspective.

My dear...

..the ballet,

- it's simply... - Not a respectable profession?

Well, you can't deny it attracts women of ill repute.

And artists. Of which my mother was one.

And so must you be.

Madame Lanner says there's no more she can teach me here.

She thinks I should return to Paris,

take my chance with the corps de ballet.

If they'll have me.

As for further securing our heritage,

it's high time you were seeking an advantageous match.

Look.

Papa?

Papa, what is it? Your heart again? I knew it.

- I knew it! - I said we shouldn't go out.

You were told to stay indoors and keep still. I'll see you at home.

- Here, Papa, lean on me. - May I be of assistance? Sir!

How thoughtful. My husband has taken a turn.

- Here, permit me. - You're very kind.

May I call you a carriage? Where do you live? Putney.

How generous of you, Mr...?

- Forsyte. - Forsyte?

Forsyte?

Of Fitzalan Terrace?

Clarissa Heron. Honoured to make your acquaintance.

And yours. Wait here. I'll fetch you a carriage.

So obliging of you, sir.

Let me give you my card, Miss...?

Heron. Irene.

Soames Forsyte. A pleasure.

Tell me about your day.

I was measured for my gown.

And Mama told me who was coming to my ball.

Anyone you know?

A few dull cousins and a torrent of "people who matter".

No doubt you'll be flounced up like a meringue

and served up for dessert.

You guessed.

I brought you these, Grandmama.

Sweet boy.

Show Grandmama the drawing.

Isn't it wonderful?

Don't encourage him.

No, seriously...

..don't.

It isn't that the Forsytes dislike art.

They understand its value, provided they can buy it and sell it.

Just they don't care for the artists.

And they certainly don't wish to be related to them.

Do we really have to be thinking of a match for June?

The darling girl is an asset.

To be deployed strategically.

As I was...

Hand-picked to ready you for rule.

If only I was the ruling type.

You are, my love.

- Are you coming, Mama? - You said you'd read to us.

I will, my darlings. Let me just finish this.

You must write to Madame Grasse in Montmartre.

Hopefully she'll have a room.

Yes, Papa, but my first priority is to get you well again.

Never compromise. You hold fast to your passion.

You have the means to pursue it.

In my will...

Why are you saying this?

Set me a place.

Frances omitted to order tripe,

and I cannot abide breakfast without offal.

Sir Jimmy Buckland's had electric lamps installed at his house.

Blighter must be coining it in!

I believe your brother's considering them for next door.

Look into it, Soames.

I'll be damned if he gets them before we do.

Quite right, too. It's imperative.

Well, you must be delighted.

The will is entirely weighted in your favour.

Purely to cover my expenses in Paris.

But your share amply covers the lease on this house.

With no change to your manner of living.

My sincere condolences.

I saw the notice and felt compelled to pay my respects.

That's so kind of you.

He was my dearest friend.

I hope family and friends will rally round.

My stepmother is my only family.

Mr Forsyte!

We are bereft. I doubt we shall ever recover.

- If there's anything I can do... - There is.

My husband's financial affairs... quite baffling.

Any light you could shed... I'm entirely at your service.

So, what I've done is create the impression of a corset,

but without the whalebone structure.

Where did you learn all this?

I used to be a lady's maid and had to repair her dresses.

Then when I came to London,

I took in mending and set up as a seamstress.

Are you coming, Mama?

Er... Excuse me, we normally have tea at this hour.

Would you like to join us?

Yes, please. I'm ravenous!

What I'd give for your life.

- It's so simple. - Thank you.

Straightforward.

Honestly, you don't know how lucky you are.

Signature here.

And have you had chance

to look over the contracts for the Blackfriars purchase?

- Remind me. - Land adjacent to the river,

acquired by the company, with a view to development.

Yes, canny piece of business. This is your doing, Jo tells me?

Well, I can't take all the credit.

As the firm's attorney,

your judgement is highly regarded, Mr Cole.

Please, come with me.

Thank you.

Any savings, property?

My father's wealth was largely in shares.

He was retired, and lived off the dividends.

Yes.

Yes, I see.

Would you excuse me for a moment?

Any update on the Durham share price?

Yes, as a matter of fact...

Congratulations.

You did it.

You off-loaded every share.

You went behind my back,

knowing we had agreed to try and save the company.

I considered it the best course of action.

Did you? Leaving no time to finalise a rescue package.

So the company has collapsed.

It has.

Which you knew would happen, and still you went ahead with it,

disregarding all the consequences.

The consequences... are that I've succeeded

in protecting the bulk of our clients.

Do you have a moment to look at some contracts?

So, I see that the majority of Professor Heron's estate

was invested in a mining company.

- The Durham Mining Company? - Yes.

Ruined.

Utterly!

How could your father let this happen?

As Mr Forsyte explained, stock rises and falls.

It's no-one's fault.

But how are we to live?

We cannot entertain, pay calls...

even leave the house without risking ignominy.

And I cannot go to Paris.

Well, shall we go and pay our weekly homage to the emperor?

I'd pay a fortune not to endure my brother's wittering.

All smiles for Grandmama?

I was thinking to go to Bath next month.

What nonsense.

Harrogate's far superior if you really know your waters.

Is this...? Sure this is real Old Worcester?

Think my brother's been diddled.

The Carterets and Latimers have confirmed,

but, for some reason, the Armstrongs have sent their regrets.

I can think of a few reasons.

Four pits, 2,000 jobs, and a family in mourning.

Need we revisit this?

I realise it's inconvenient to be reminded.

- We can't afford to be sentimental. - Can we afford to be human?

Do excuse us.

A disagreement at the office.

- Yes. - Usual story.

Soames the pragmatist, Jo the hothead.

Most unseemly.

Sets a very poor example to the clerks.

Will you ever learn?

I shouldn't think so.

Dear boy, just can't help himself, he's too impulsive by half.

For the firm, or the world in general?

Both.

Ours is a cut-throat business.

And Soames, you see, and James, they are hard-headed,

whereas Jo is...

Led by the heart?

But to prosper, truly,

as we have done, one has to be cold, unsentimental.

As I have been my whole life.

And yet, lately, I have regretted sometimes.

Well...

..easy to say when one has amassed a great fortune.

I believe the boy has the makings of a fine leader.

Once he has acquired a little more...

Ruthlessness?

Yes. Of course, I know little of business,

but might there ever be a circumstance

or a need for Jolyon to step up...

..would he then not see the necessity

of acquiring a little more steel?

Quite possibly.

Whilst absolutely retaining his principles.

So, what would this circumstance be?

The sheer...

extravagance of this ball...

..of my life, of this place...

I'm glad you're aware of the advantages you've been given.

But I wish we were poor.

My dressmaker in Soho, her life... it's simple.

She works hard, she's an artist, but...

she answers to no-one.

No strictures, no rules, no obligation to marry well.

Well, there's no obligation to marry at all.

Isn't there? In this family?

Grandmama.

Uncanny, how like you she is.

And not even a Forsyte born.

So, she might still escape.

Will you?

On my wedding day,

I stood in this very room, brimming with hope,

my whole life ahead of me.

And then?

I became a Forsyte.

You won't be content till we haven't a stick to sit on.

Well, what choice do we have?

How else do you propose to shore up our future?

There are other ways... that don't involve beggaring ourselves.

Especially when one is in one's prime.

Have we some appointment?

- I wasn't aware. - Good heavens, is that...

It's...

Mr Forsyte. Did he invite us?

Ha, bravo!

Hello?

Take this.

Ha!

Mrs Heron.

Miss Heron.

- So good of you to come. - Marvellous sport, polo.

I've long been a fan.

I like to keep active. Desk work is stifling.

Do you enjoy sports, Miss Heron?

Tennis and archery are my favourites.

- May I offer you some tea? - How delightful.

So, tonight.

At what hour?

Leave it to me.

I know how to time things for maximum effect.

Well...

..show me.

I realise it's the function of youth to aggravate its elders,

but could you occasionally resist the impulse,

and allow me to take some pleasure in my child?

Can you?

Do you?

Contrary to what you might think, often.

And if I seem to dictate,

that is only because I was also once your age,

and I thought I knew best.

And did you?

I did not.

So, humour me.

And allow me sometimes to offer you the benefit of hindsight.

As long as you allow me to make my own mistakes.

I will try.

And now may I see?

No, Hannah. It's impossible. I-I can't.

There's a carriage here waiting to take you.

It will take time. I must replace the entire panel.

Please be as quick as you can. The guests will soon be arriving.

Sir Stanley and Lady Carteret.

Miss Olivia and the Honourable Horatio Carteret.

Mr and Mrs Isaac Cole.

And what are Horatio's plans after Cambridge?

I hope we'll see more of him in London.

My grandson and his sister have a very full calendar,

as I'm sure you'll appreciate.

- Mr Forsyte. - She'd do very well for you.

Elevate us no end.

Not wishing to upstage June's occasion,

but... Mrs Cole and I have some news.

The Cole dynasty is about to produce an heir.

That's tremendous!

- Any advice? - On fatherhood?

- Hardly think I'm the expert. - June might disagree.

Sir. Miss June is on her way.

Would you excuse me?

Miss June Forsyte.

Lord, he was dull as ditchwater.

- Will you dance with me? - I don't think I should.

Your mother has a whole list of eligibles lined up.

- Please! - Come on.

My dear friends and family...

..we are here to celebrate our beloved June.

Her entry into society.

For what is life but a series of entrances and exits?

As one steps out, another steps aside.

As chairman of Forsyte and Co,

I have laboured long for the greater glory in our little empire.

But now I am wondering,

has the time come for me to pass over the reins?

To my son...

..Jo.

I tell you this now not to distract from your special day,

but to rather augment it.

A double celebration, if you will.

To my son and granddaughter both stepping up.

Mrs Byrne? Mrs Byrne. A moment.

There's someone I want you to meet.

Papa.

Papa, may I introduce you to a new friend,

and the most wonderful dressmaker, Mrs Louisa Byrne.

I have to speak with my cousins.

Er... I...

I hope June is pleased with her gown?

How are you here?

Your wife came to my shop.

How long have you been...?

..in Soho? A long time.

And are you married?

Widowed.

Since when?

Many years.

And you didn't think to tell me?

Our lives are very different now.

- I... - I must go.

Louisa!

After I left Venice, you...

You promised to write.

It was a difficult time, we were travelling.

I had no way of reaching you.

Nothing could ever have come of it.

I was a lady's maid. You were the heir to a dynasty.

I loved you.

You would not have been allowed to love me.

I must go.

God bless you, Jo.

Interesting decision.

But you approve?

Are you prepared?

Is he?

My brother would never have come to this alone.

It's her doing.

And hats off to her.

A man needs an ambitious wife if he's to scale the heights.

Wasted mission, of course.

The firm will go to the dogs with him in charge.

He simply never had the killer instinct.

No matter.

Others do.

So...

..had you the least idea?

Your father's announcement?

Yes.

What on earth possessed him? I never knew him to be so impulsive.

One wonders what he was like in his youth.

Quite feral, I should imagine.

- Not unlike yourself. - Me?

Well, rumour has it, on your grand tour,

you blazed across Europe, leaving a trail of broken hearts.

And why not?

We all deserve our moments of madness.

And then we grow up.

And then we grow up.

Don't move.

'My apologies for calling unannounced.'

I'm afraid my stepmother's out. May I tell her you called?

By all means.

Forgive my presumption, but...

since I first met you and Mrs Heron,

well, I suspect you've noticed where my attentions have been directed.

I have.

And may I just say...

..my stepmother is an admirable woman.

Y-Your stepmother?

Yes.

I sense perhaps a slight confusion.

Admirable as Mrs Heron is,

she's not, in fact, the primary motivation for my visit.

Miss Heron. I'm aware that your life must be in turmoil.

The loss of your father, your financial difficulties.

All I ask is to be considered a friend, a-a companion.

- To me? - To you.

Will you allow that?

A friend... would be most welcome.

And if you do your lessons well,

perhaps when I've finished Miss Carteret's gown,

we might go to the park and eat ices.

May we, please?

That'll be the laundress.

- I'll get it. - Thank you, Hannah.

Forgive me, I was passing,

and I wanted to thank Mrs Byrne for saving the day last night.

Absolutely, Mrs Forsyte.

You're more than welcome.

So...

..you've been in London for ten years now.

- And before that? - Ireland, as a lady's maid.

And Europe?

Did you ever travel?

Italy, perhaps?

Er, well, I, erm...

Mama, look at this picture!

Who are these charming persons?

- I'm Holly. - I'm Jos.

- We're twins. - But I'm the oldest.

- Only just! - And the tallest.

Nobody cares!

Jos? Is that...?

It's what Mama calls me.

Although my proper name's Jolyon.

Well, I'm delighted to meet you both.

And thank you again for last night.

It turned out to be quite the occasion.