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Picture source The one thing that stood out sharply in Tietjens’ mind when at last, with a stiff glass of rum punch, his, officer’s pocket-book complete with pencil because he had to draft before eleven a report as to the desirability of giving his unit special lectures on the causes of the war, and a […]
He said: “Yes I believe I did. I used to despise it, but I’ve come to believe I did…But no! They’ll never let me back. They’ve got me out, with all sorts of bad marks against me. They’ll pursue me systematically…You see, in such a world as this, an idealist–or perhaps it’s only a sentimentalist–must […]
Picture source Jumping down from the high step of the dog-cart the girl completely disappeared into the silver: she had on an otter-skin toque, dark, that should have been visible. But she was gone more completely than if she had dropped into deep water, into snow–or through tissue paper. More suddenly, at least! In darkness […]
Some Do Not Illustration by Stella BowenNote: check back for updates I will probably stay close to my usual pattern of posting during the read-along for Parade’s End. With “online resources,” I try to find sites or pages that are useful in understanding a work. If anyone would like to add a resource to these […]
Mel u at The Reading Life and I will be reading Parade’s End by Ford Madox Ford starting in April. I’ve had the Carcanet Press version sitting next to the bed for over a year and I can’t take the procrastination any more. Feel free to comment as we tackle the four books. If you […]
The text for The Good Soldier can be found at Project Gutenberg. I have rounded up a few online resources on Ford Madox Ford. Since The Good Soldier doesn’t really lend itself to posts on the sections as you read through them, I approached writing about the book with the following topics: The Good Soldier: […]
The credits for The Good Soldier, produced by Granada Television, can be found at IMDB. I remember seeing this when it originally aired on Masterpiece Theatre and enjoying it immensely. I didn’t realize it would be 25 years later before I read the book. The movie runs very true to the book despite the difficult […]
One theme in Ford’s book is the inadequacy or irrelevance of social and religious institutions in the modern (at that time) world. That there is a moral and social shortfall is hammered home by his use of August 4th (the day Britain declared war on Germany in World War I) for all important dates in […]
I covered quite a bit on Dowell’s self-deception and moral blindness. The inability to face the truth or make any sense of events is his personal failing. That Dowell elevates his personal failures to not being able to understand the world or judge another’s character does not mean Ford agrees with him. I think Ford […]
“I have, I am aware, told this story in a very rambling way so that it may be difficult for anyone to find their path through what may be a sort of maze. I cannot help it.” This quote, from the start of Part IV, sums up the method quite well. John Dowell has undertaken […]