Ford Madox Ford: Prose and Politics

by Robert Green, Green Robert

Critical studies of Ford Madox Ford have generally been formalist in approach, seeking to demonstrate the novelist's technical innovations. In this book, Dr Green acknowledges Ford's success as a revolutionary technician, but argues also the importance of the particular historical context in which he wrote. This 1981 text shows for the first time how Ford responded to the astonishingly rapid changes in European politics and culture before, during, and after the First World War. Ford's critical reputation is firmly established. His greatest achievements are undoubtedly The Good Soldier and the war quartet, Parade's End. Though Dr Green also considers in some detail Ford's lesser-known fiction and the non-fictional prose, his main purpose is to provide a fresh context in which to view the major novels. As Ford's reputation as an essayist, editor and novelist continues to grow, this book makes a major contribution to our appreciation of his art.

236 pages, Paperback

First published July 9, 1981

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Robert Green, full name is Robert Kimball Green, holds graduate degrees from New York University and Harvard.

Reviews

[Humphrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellent pairing, and God knows one for which there's plenty available material. Though Ford was an awfully theatrical fellow, he inevitably wore his heart on his sleeve to a degree in his novels, and as such the study is fairly informing, if largely unsurprising. Slightly annoyed that Green makes himself a part of that unfortunate crowd which scoffs at all Ford's work not named Parade's End or The Good Soldier and writes off his ideas as imaginary/invented.