Memories and impressions

by Ford Madox Ford

As a child, 'Fordie' frequently heard loud arguments between William Morris, Rossetti and the other Pre-Raphaelites; he was well used to finding Swinburne dead drunk in the bath; he say on Turgenev's knee and offered a chair for Tolstoy. As a young writer he was companion to Henry James; contorted to Crane; collaborator with Conrad; friend and then enemy of H.G. Wells. Fattish and fiftyish, he was universal uncle to 'the arts'; patron of Ezra Pound; first guide of D.H. Lawrence; employer of Ernest Hemingway. Later still be turned, like Horace, to his garden, living off his own shareholding in Provence and preaching the holocaust to come.

This book is an engaging collection of essays, anecdotes and autobiographical passages taken from various of his works. Arranged chronologically, they create a fascinating picture of his life in England, France and America, and an intimate glimpse into the lives of many of the literary giants of the century.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, Literature

467 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1969

About the author

Ford Madox Ford was an English novelist, poet, critic and editor whose journals The English Review and The Transatlantic Review were important in the development of early 20th-century English and American literature.

Ford is now remembered for his novels The Good Soldier (1915), the Parade's End tetralogy (1924–1928) and The Fifth Queen trilogy (1906–1908). The Good Soldier is frequently included among the great literature of the 20th century, including the Modern Library 100 Best Novels, The Observer′s "100 Greatest Novels of All Time", and The Guardian′s "1000 novels everyone must read".

Reviews

[Vincent Hernot · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit of a vanity project this, and at the same time a nice look back - Maugham wrote this as impressions and aphorisms, perhaps to be used later, perhaps not.
Maugham when young must have been insufferable, and Maugham old sees that at least.
Some good bits but lots of less interesting material in between.

[Eddie Watkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not nearly as interesting as his later "memoir" It Was the Nightingale, but still thoroughly enjoyable as a time-passer with a seemingly effortless master. It isn't as structured with a multi-directional time flow as the later book, so from a technical stand point it's not as engaging.

This comes highly recommended to anyone obsessed with the Pre-Raphaelites, as the launching pad for the book is Ford's grandfather Ford Madox Brown who was one of the originals of that brotherhood, and had a big old house where many of the principals gathered. Fordie covers lots of the gossip, including some rather dry discussions of book and painting deals and poetry readings. There are also special appearances by Oscar Wilde, Turgenev, Swinburne, et al.

Now I must move on to his novels.

[Bryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Ford Madox Ford's novels despite disliking what I know of his personal life, so I gave this a try and was not sorry tht I did. His maternal grandfather was a Pre-Raphaelite painter, so a lot of this is somewhat meandering sets of memories and anecdotes about people in that circle -- the Rosettis (Dante Gabriel & Christina), William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones and so forth. From other things I have read about him, FMF was also an inveterate liar who would tell any story that entertained or served him without much regard for the truth of the matter, so while I enjoyed his often-funny tales about various famous Victorians, I take it all very much with salt. It was a nice peaceful read for early September but not the sort of thing I expect to ever come back to.