This monumental novel, divided into four separate books, celebrates the end of an era, the irrevocable destruction of the comfortable, predictable society that vanished during World War I.
Christopher Tietjens, a brilliant, unconventional mathematician, is married to the dazzling yet unfaithful Sylvia, when, during a turbulent weekend, he meets a young Suffragette by the name of Valentine Wannop. Christopher and Valentine are on the verge of becoming lovers until he must return to his World War I regiment. Ultimately, Christopher, shell-shocked and suffering from amnesia, is sent back to London. An unforgettable exploration of the tensions of a society confronting catastrophe, sexuality, power, madness, and violence, this narrative examines time and a critical moment in history.
Following WWI, an English aristocrat struggles to find peace as he attempts to rebuild his life in this conclusion to the Parade’s End Tetralogy. The Great War is over. The ancestral home of Christopher Tietjens has been sold to an American. Christopher and Valentine Wannop now share a cottage with his brother and sister-in-law. A mathematician before the war, Christopher now earns a living selling antique furniture. It seems his world will be forever changed . . . Set over the course of one summer day, The Last Post follows its characters as they amble through a disorientating new world. Tensions arise for the inhabitants of the cottage. Valentine is pregnant and worried about her unmarried status as well as Christopher’s money troubles. Then Christopher’s estranged wife schemes to make their lives miserable. With the past haunting their present, the future seems uncertain for Christopher and Valentine. Praise for Parade’s End “The finest English novel about the Great War.” —Malcolm Bradbury “There are not many English novels which deserve to be called great: Parade’s End is one of them.” —W. H. Auden “The best novel by a British writer. . . . It is also the finest novel about the First World War. It is also the finest novel about the nature of British society.” —Anthony Burgess “The English prose masterpiece of the time.” —William Carlos Williams
This carefully crafted ebook: "Parade's End: The Complete Tetralogy (All 4 related novels: Some Do Not + No More Parades + A Man Could Stand Up + Last Post)" is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents. Parade's End is a tetralogy by Ford Madox. The four novels were originally published under the titles: Some Do Not ... (1924), No More Parades (1925), A Man Could Stand Up — (1926), and Last Post (or The Last Post in the USA) (1928). It is set mainly in England and on the Western Front in World War I, where Ford served as an officer in the Welsh Regiment, a life vividly depicted in the novels. The novels chronicle the life of Christopher Tietjens, a brilliant government statistician from a wealthy landowning family who is serving in the British Army during World War I. His wife Sylvia is a flippant socialite who seems intent on ruining him. Tietjens may or may not be the father of his wife's child. Meanwhile, his incipient affair with Valentine Wannop, a high-spirited pacifist and suffragette, has not been consummated, despite what all their friends believe. The two central novels follow Tietjens in the army in France and Belgium, as well as Sylvia and Valentine in their separate paths over the course of the war. Ford Madox Ford ( 1873 – 1939) was an English novelist, poet, critic and editor whose journals, The English Review and The Transatlantic Review, were instrumental in the development of early 20th-century English literature. He is now remembered best for his publications The Good Soldier, the Parade's End tetralogy and The Fifth Queen trilogy.
This is the first full-length critical study of Parade's End to focus on the psychological effects of the war. Originally published in 4 volumes between 1924 and 1928, Parade's End has been described as 'the finest novel about the First World War' (Anthony Burgess), 'the greatest war novel ever written by an Englishman' (Samuel Hynes), 'a central Modernist novel of the 1920s, in which it is exemplary' (Malcolm Bradbury), and 'possibly the greatest 20th-century novel in English' (John N. Gray).These 10 newly commissioned essays focus on the psychological effects of the war, both upon Ford himself and upon his novel: its characters, its themes and its form. The chapters explore: Ford's pioneering analysis of war trauma, trauma theory, shell shock, memory and repression, insomnia, empathy, therapy, literary Impressionism and literary style. Writers discussed alongside Ford include Joseph Conrad, Siegfried Sassoon, May Sinclair, and Rebecca West, as well as theorists Deleuze and Guattari, Michel Foucault, Sigmund Freud, William James, and W. H. R. Rivers.
No More Parades is the second novel in Ford Madox Ford's series of four novels depicting the meeting, courtship, and ultimate fulfillment of two modern heroes, Christopher Tietjens and Valentine Wannop, despite social condemnation, personal travails, and World War I. Ford poured his own experiences as writer, lover, and soldier into these novels. No More Parades finds Christopher with the army in France. His efforts are going unrewarded, his wife is raising a scandal about him, and his love for Valentine Wannop has been buried deep beneath layers of responsibility. At the novel's climax, he must undergo extended interrogation to avoid a court-martial on charges of striking a superior officer, and that same morning his command is to be subjected to a formal inspection. Through Ford's eyes we see war and romance as wrapped in an irrational embrace
The Good Soldier A Tale of Passion by Ford Madox Ford At the fashionable German spa town Bad Nauheim, two wealthy, fin de siecle couples - one British, the other American - meet for their yearly assignation. As their story moves back and forth in time between 1902 and 1914, the fragile surface propriety of the pre - World War I society in which these four characters live is ruptured - revealing deceit, hatred, infidelity, and betrayal. "The Good Soldier" is Edward Ashburnham, who, as an adherent to the moral code of the English upper class, is nonetheless consumed by a passion for women younger than his wife - a stoic but fallible figure in what his American friend, John Dowell, calls "the saddest story I ever heard."
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Ford Madox Ford's 'Parade's End: The Complete Tetralogy' is a monumental work that delves into the complexities of love, war, and societal change during the tumultuous period of World War I. The tetralogy follows the life of Christopher Tietjens, a man torn between duty and desire, as he navigates the shifting landscapes of his personal life and society at large. Ford's distinctive writing style, characterized by its introspective and psychological depth, offers a profound exploration of human emotions and the impact of war on individuals. The intricate narrative structure and rich character development make this work a masterful piece of modernist literature. Ford Madox Ford, a British writer and editor, drew inspiration from his own experiences serving in the war when creating 'Parade's End'. His keen observations of human nature and the effects of war on individuals add a layer of authenticity to the novel, making it a compelling and emotionally resonant read. Ford's command of language and ability to capture the nuances of human relationships make 'Parade's End' a classic of twentieth-century literature. I highly recommend 'Parade's End: The Complete Tetralogy' to readers interested in immersive and thought-provoking literature that explores the complexities of human nature, love, and war. Ford's masterful storytelling and profound insights into the human condition make this tetralogy a must-read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the impact of war on individuals and society.
No Enemy, written between The Good Soldier (1915) and Parade's End (1919) was not published until 1929 in New York. It is vintage Ford, neglected in part because of its publishing history, in part because it falls between the stools of fiction and autobiography.