Ford Madox Ford

by Alan Judd

Book Overview

Ford Madox Ford wrote nearly 80 books as well as editing two very influential literary magazines - the "English Review" and the "Transatlantic Review". This biography by the author of "Breed of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0674308158
• ISBN13: 9780674308152
• Release Date: March 1991
• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Length: 476 Pages
• Weight: 1.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 6.2" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Ford Madox Ford

I was amazed to learn that Ford Madox Ford published 81 books during his lifetime; other than "The Good Soldier" and the "Parade's End" tetralogy, and maybe "The Fifth Queen," nothing else seems to survive outside of deeply stocked libraries. He over-wrote but had little choice: what he wrote didn't sell very well so he had to keep churning out more to make ends meet. He wrote every day his whole life. He was a great help to young writers, most of whom treated him badly (Hemingway was probably the worst offender). Ford was not combative, but rather ironic: "following one of the occasions when he was attacked in print, he responded by protesting that he had never done anything to help his attacker, had never given him money, had not arranged for his first book to be published - so why was he thus attacked?" That was Ford, and it's a good anecdote told by Alan Judd, who is quite a good writer himself and relates this life of Ford in a relaxed, casual manner. He has high regards for his subject and though he doesn't whitewash Ford's faults, he finds much room for forgiveness and understanding. Some thought Ford the most underrated novelist of the century; though it might be hard to concur with that view, "The Good Soldier" will certainly last the test of time. Those interested in Ford should find much to admire about this biography.

a literary giant

Ford Madox Ford (born Ford Hermann Hueffer) had the good fortune to have as his biographer the English novelist Alan Judd. The tetralogy "Parades End" which marks the end of the gentleman officer class and Edwardian England had its origins in Ford's experiences after his arrival at the Battle of the Somme (1916) with the 9th Welch regiment. Ford's commanding officer,Colonel Cooke, disliked Ford's age (too old), his special reserve officer status, and his literary reputation. Colonel Cooke wrote to brigade headquarters that Ford was "quite unsuitable to perform the duties required of an officer in this campaign" Ford was soon hospitalized with lung problems and sent home to England for medical treatment. He failed in his attempt to return to duty in France and was assigned light duties as a captain in the 23rd King's Liverpool Regiment. He was discharged in 1919 under category 19-"authors,gipsies, travelling showmen, unemployables">(page 308).Judd's sympathetic biography brings to life a writer described by Richard Locke in the Wall Street Journal as a "perennially neglected and rediscovered literary" giant.Locke said that Ford "ended up out of fashion and out of cash". He was the writer in residence at Olivet College, Michigan.Ford will be remembered as a major novelist who generously helped many British and American writers.In 1939 Ford and his long time American companion Janice Biala traveled to France where he died.