The Good Soldier (Dover Thrift Editions: Classic Novels) - Softcover

Ford Madox Ford

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0486419215 ISBN 13: 9780486419213

Publisher: Dover, 2011

Synopsis

Leonora and Edward Ashburnham were "good people" from England, as John Dowell, the narrator of this tale, explains: and Dowell and his wife, Florence — leisured Americans of solid stock — were, like their English friends, a "model couple."
For a dozen years, the foursome cultivated and maintained a friendship reinforced with yearly meetings at a fashionable German health resort, which Dowell visited with his "ailing" wife and the Asburnhams traveled to because of Edward's "heart problems." Their marriages seemed exemplary studies of permanence, stability, and tranquility. That is, until the day Dowell learned that for the previous nine years his wife had been the mistress of his friend Captain Ashburnham, the apparently honorable "good soldier."
A provocative study of deception and betrayal and of convention and desire, The Good Soldier was also formally innovative. Along with Ford's Parade's End tetralogy, this powerful novel — first published in 1915 — has earned him a reputation as one of the major writers of the 20th century.

About this title

About the Author:

FORD MADOX FORD (1873-1939) was a novelist, poet, literary critic, editor, and one of the founding fathers of English Modernism. He published over seventy books in his lifetime, perhaps most famously The Good Soldier. His books often centered on the conflict between traditional British values and those of the modern industrial society.

Review:

''One of the finest novels of our century.'' --Graham Greene

''This is the most intriguing, shocking, and original book I have ever read...The Good Soldier is the only book I have ever read and wanted to read again immediately.'' --Times (London)

''Almost a perfect novel.'' --Guardian (Manchester)

''Beautifully written, a wonderful novel.'' --Western Daily Press (Bristol)

About this edition

• Publisher: Dover
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0486419215
• ISBN 13: 9780486419213
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 160