Showing results by author "Ford Madox Ford" in All Categories

Brought to you by Penguin. Consisting of four novels - Some Do Not..., No More Parades, A Man Could Stand Up and The Last Post - Parade's End is the story of Christopher Tietjens and his progress from the secure world of Edwardian England into the First World War and beyond. Both a portrait of a...

Set in the turbulent era just before and during the Great War, Some Do Not... delves into the dark depths of social cruelty within the English upper class. This gripping tale contrasts genuine honor with shameless duplicity, thrusting its central characters into extreme psychological turmoil that echoes the unspeakable physical horrors of the battlefield. The narrative follows the complex lives of Christopher Tietjens, a brilliant yet impossibly principled man; his frosty wife Sylvia; and Valentine Wannop, a passionate and educated young woman who is Christophers equal in both intellect and ...

When a train accident catapults Mr. Sorrell back to the enchanting Middle Ages, he is mistaken for a miraculous Greek slave. As he navigates the customs and intricacies of this bygone era, he finds himself not only adapting but also falling deeply in love. The more he embraces this new life, the more he questions his desire to return to the present. Will he choose to stay in the past where his heart truly belongs? Summary by Scarbo

A Man Could Stand Up marks the third and final installment of Ford Madox Fords acclaimed Parades End tetralogy, following Some Do Not and No More Parades, with Last Post serving as its poignant coda. While this novel can be enjoyed on its own, it truly shines for those already acquainted with its predecessors. Set against the backdrop of World War I, particularly in the trenches of France in 1918, it weaves a rich tapestry of social upheaval, profound love, and the complexities of human experience. Much like Virginia Woolfs Mrs. Dalloway, published just a year prior, Fords work appeals to ...

The first volume of Parade's End introduces the central characters: Christopher Tietjens, a brilliant, unconventional mathematician; his dazzling but unfaithful wife Sylvia; and the young Suffragette Valentine Wannop. It starts with the cataclysmic meeting of Tietjens and Valentine: a weekend whose violence prefigures the coming war.

Handsome, wealthy, and a veteran of service in India, Captain Edward Ashburnham appears to be the ideal "good soldier" and the embodiment of English upper-class virtues. But for his creator, Ford Madox Ford, he also represents the corruption at society's core. Beneath Ashburnham's charming, polished exterior lurks a soul well-versed in the arts of deception, hypocrisy, and betrayal.

A bumper collection of accessible classics from the perennially popular BBC Radio 4 series This diverse, wide-ranging anthology features readings of 10 of the greatest books in the English language, taken from the BBC's Book at Bedtime and performed by a stellar cast of narrators. Here are...

Brought to you by Penguin. This Penguin Classic is performed by Billy Howle, known for his roles in Dunkirk, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and On Chesil Beach. This definitive recording includes an introduction by David Bradshaw. The Dowells, a wealthy American couple, have been close friends...

A Man Could Stand Up, the third volume of Parade's End, brings Ford's characters to the 'crack across the table of History', across which lie their uncertain post-war futures. Divided into three parts, the novel is a kaleidoscopic vision of a society at climactic moment.

Ford Madox Ford's Parade's End tetralogy, written in the aftermath of World War I, was originally published in four parts in the 1920s: Some Do Not…; No More Parades; A Man Could Stand Up —; and Last Post. Highlighting the tension between traditional values and a rapidly changing social order in a world embroiled in war, the story details Tietjens' turmoils in both his personal life and on the warfront—and what follows when some of those struggles become one and the same.

This is the second novel in the series of four, depicting the meeting, courtship and ultimate fulfilment of two modern heroes, Christopher Tietjens and Valentine Wannop, despite social condemnation, personal travails and World War I.

The Parade's End tetralogy privileges not the conflict of World War I itself, but the impact the war had on its participants and upon society writ large. It is often referred to as one of the greatest 20th century novels, and one of the best depictions of war in literature.

The Last Post, the fourth and final volume of Parade's End, is set on a single post-war summer's day. Valentine Wannop and Christopher Tietjens share a cottage in Sussex with Tietjens' brother and sister-in-law. Through their differing perspectives, Ford explores the tensions between his characters in a changing world, haunted by the experience of war, facing an insecure future for themselves and for England.

Major BBC adaptations of Ford Madox Ford’s two most famous works, with stellar casts including Tom Goodman-Hill, Ruth Gemmell, Kyle Soller and Mark Bonnar A forgotten great of British fiction, Ford Madox Ford wrote over 80 books, founded two trailblazing literary journals and was a friend and...

The Good Soldier is a story about the complex social and sexual relationships between two couples - one English, one American - and the growing awareness of American narrator John Dowell of the intrigues and passions behind their orderly Edwardian façade. It is Dowell’s attitude - his puzzlement, uncertainty, and the seemingly haphazard manner of his narration - that makes the book so powerful and mysterious. In Ford’s brilliantly woven tale, nothing is quite what it seems.

These iconic works explore the depths of human suffering, identity, and transformation, showcasing some of the most profound voices of the 20th century. From the haunting reflections on war in All Quiet on the Western Front and A Farewell to Arms to the poetic expression of inner conflict in the works of Owen, Rosenberg, and Brooke, this collection provides a window into the world of writers who grappled with the aftermath of trauma and the search for meaning.

Two couples, two marriages; both seemingly perfect, both falling apart. Beneath the surface gentility of the American John Dowell with his wife Florence and the landed grace of Edward and Leonora lie fictions and deceit. There are secret desires, hidden power-games, suicides and madness. Everyone is hiding something; even the narrator can’t be trusted. Brilliantly inventive, tragic and ironic, The Good Soldier is one of the great novels of the 20th century.

The Fifth Queen is Ford Maddox Ford’s masterful trilogy of historical fiction centered on Katharine Howard, a young girl of a proud, noble, and impoverished family who catches the jaded eye of Henry VIII and becomes his controversial fifth Queen.

The tragic story of two couples, one American and one English, traveling together through Europe for an extended amount of time told by a seemingly unreliable narrator John Dowell.

In the gripping second installment of Fords Fifth Queen trilogy, we delve deeper into the tumultuous life of Katharine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII. As the king becomes increasingly enamored with Katharine, she finds herself caught in a web of political intrigue. Although married to Anne of Cleves, Katharine struggles with her own conscience, unwilling to be the catalyst for a devastating divorce. Meanwhile, the cunning Lord Privy Seal, Thomas Cromwell, plots to manipulate Katharine for his own ambitions, setting the stage for a riveting tale of love, loyalty, and betrayal. (Summary by...