the man of property

ALam

In 19th century England, the upper class people who knew what it meant to speak and behave properly belonged to the upper class. The upper class people had definite opinions about what to wear, where to go, what music and paintings they liked, and so on. Most upper class people are rich, but rich is not enough. A woman in the 19th century could not own anything when she got married. All her property belonged to her husband. Some husbands treated his wife as only a family possession.

The Forsyth family described in "The Man with the Property" belonged to the so-called "high society" of the time, and was a typical example of an upper-class family. They were wealthy, had magnificent homes, and collected valuable porcelain and paintings. They knew how to get along with others in a courteous manner, and they were "decent people" - a term used by the upper class to describe everything they considered decent.