Publisher's Synopsis
The second interlude is on the innocent and joyful lifestyle of eight-year-old Jon Forsyte. His parents adore him. He had a perfect youth, with every want catered to. The Forsyte Saga comes to an end with this work. Fleur and Jon Forsyte, second cousins, meet and fall in love, unaware of their parents' past struggles, indiscretions, and transgressions. When Soames, Jolyon, and Irene uncover their children's romance, they prevent them from seeing one other again. Irene and Jolyon are also concerned that Fleur, like her father, will seek to take Jon completely once she has him in her grip. Regardless of her affections for Jon, Fleur has a very appropriate suitor in Michael Mont, the heir of a baronetcy, who has fallen in love with her. Fleur's family's standing would rise from nouveau riche to aristocratic upper class if they married. The title comes from Soames' reflections as he dismantles the house in which his Uncle Timothy, who died in 1920 at the age of 101 and was the last of the Forsytes' older generation, had lived as a recluse, hoarding his life like property.
