Ford Madox Ford

Ford Madox Ford (1873-1939). Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Ford Madox Ford
Born	Ford Hermann Hueffer December 17 1873(1873-Template:MONTHNUMBER-17) Merton, Surrey, England
Died	June 26 1939(1939-Template:MONTHNUMBER-26) (aged 65) Deauville, France
Occupation	novelist, publisher
Nationality	United Kingdom
Period	1892–1939

Ford Madox Ford (17 December 1873 - 26 June 1939) was an English poet, novelist, literary critic, and editor whose journals, The English Review and The Transatlantic Review, were instrumental in the development of early 20th-century English literature.

Life

by Anthony Domestico

Overview

Ford Madox Ford (1873-1939), poet, novelist, essayist, and editor, was an important figure in the beginning years of the modernist movement. Ford’s poetry, although not studied much today, was considered elegant and formally interesting in its day; both Ezra Pound and D.H. Lawrence thought Ford one of the best poets of the 1910’s, and his style had an important influence on the Imagist movement . His finest novel, The Good Soldier (1915), features one of modernism’s best examples of the unreliable narrator; it is both a damning exploration of Edwardian sexual hypocrisy and an experiment in narrative mediation. The two journals for which Ford served as editor, the English Review and the Transatlantic Review, were incredibly important organs for the dissemination of modernist poetry and prose.

Youth

Ford was born Ford Hermann Hueffer in Merton, Surrey in 1873 into a family that was firmly ensconced within the artistic scene: his grandfather was the pre-Raphaelite painter Ford Madox Brown; his uncle was William Michel Rossetti, and Ford spent time with Swinburne, Dante Gabriel, and Christina Rossetti while young. After traveling a great deal during his childhood, Ford attended the University College School in London. At the age of 19, he converted to Catholicism.

Career

In 1891, at the tender age of 18, Ford published The Brown Owl, a literary fairy tale. In 1894, he married Elsie Martindale; they would separate fourteen years later, but the two never divorced. Shortly after this marriage, in 1898, Ford began to collaborate with Joseph Conrad in a series of projects. Together, the two would publish The Inheritors (1901), Romance (1903), and other works. Ford’s later formal characteristics – the incessant circling around narrative events, an interest in oblique narration and delayed decoding, the use of impressionistic sensory details – were much influenced by Conrad.

Ford became one of the leading proponents of European literary theories in early 20th-century London. Seeking to provide a forum in which new, challenging works could find a home, Ford in 1908 began the English Review. The immediate reason for its founding was Ford’s desire to publish Thomas Hardy’s “The Sunday Morning Tragedy,” which had been rejected by a number of other periodicals. With Ford at the helm until 1910, the English Review published work by Hardy, Henry James, H.G. Wells, and D.H. Lawrence, among others.

Ten years after the publication of his experimental novel The Soul of London (1905), Ford published The Good Soldier. Parts of the novel, originally titled The Saddest Story, appeared in Wyndham Lewis’s BLAST. The text is an outstanding formal achievement in which chronology and causality are jumbled through a series of flashbacks filtered through the perspective and voice of the American John Dowell. If Ford’s early work exhibited visual impressionism, then The Good Soldier exemplified cognitive impressionism: Conradian delayed decoding forces the reader to confront epistemological uncertainty, as both narrator and reader furiously try to reconstruct narrative events and their meaning. The work put into practice some of the principles that Ford outlined in his 1913 essay "On Impressionism."

Ford served in the First World War, experiencing shell shock during the Battle of the Somme; his poem "Antwerp" was considered by T.S. Eliot to be one of the few good pieces of verse to emerge from the early months of the war. He also wrote a number of works of propaganda for the war effort. In 1919, Ford changed his name from Hueffer to Ford, due in part to his many marital problems, but also to the feeling that a German name might hurt sales of his books. He soon thereafter founded the Transatlantic Review, an important publication that printed the work of modernists like Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, and Gertrude Stein.

In 1924 to 1928, Ford published his consciousness-driven, morally complex tetralogy of war experience Parade’s End. In his last years, Ford lived in the United States and taught literature at Olivet College in Michigan, continuing to promote literature and its study until his death in 1939.

Recognition

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 '1000 novels everyone must read'.

In popular culture

Ford is the model for the character Braddocks in Hemingway's novel, The Sun Also Rises.

Publications

Poetry

• The Questions at the Well, with sundry other verses for notes of music. London: Digby, 1893.
• Poems for Pictures, and for notes of music. London: J. MacQueen, 1900.
• The Face of the Night: A second series of poems for pictures. London: J. MacQueen, 1904.
• From Inland, and other poems. London: Alston Rivers, 1907.
• Songs from London. London: Elkin Mathews, 1910.
• High Germany: Eleven sets of verse. London: Duckworth, 1911 [1912].
• Collected Poems. London: Martin Secker, 1914; London: Max Goschen, 1914.
• Antwerp (with Wyndham Lewis). London: Poetry Bookshop, 1915.
• On Heaven, and poems written on active service. London & New York: Lane, 1918.
• New Poems. New York: W.E. Rudge, 1927.
• Buckshee, 1936; Cambridge, MA: Pym-Randall, 1966.
• Collected Poems (edited by Bruce Rogers). New York: Oxford University Press, 1936.
• Selected Poems (edited by Basil Bunting). Cambridge, MA: Pym-Randall Press, 1971.
• Selected Poems (edited by Max Saunders). Manchester: Carcanet, 1997; New York: Routledge, 2003.

Play

• A House: Modern morality play. London: Poetry Bookshop, 1921.

Novels

• The Shifting of the Fire. London: T.F. Unwin, 1892.
• The Inheritors: An extravagant story (with Joseph Conrad). London: Heinemann, 1901; New York: Doublday, 1901.
• Romance (with Joseph Conrad). London: Dent, 1903; New York: Doubleday, Page, 1903.
• The Benefactor: A tale of a small circle. London: Brown, Langham, 1905.
• Privy Seal: His last venture. London: Alston Rivers, 1907.
• An English Girl: A romance. London: Methuen, 1907.
• Mr Apollo: A just possible story. London: Methuen, 1908.
• The 'Half Moon': A romance of the old world and the new. London: E. Nash, 1909.
• A Call: The tale of two passions. London: Chatto, 1910; Manchester, UK: Carcanet, 1988.
• The Portrait. London: Methuen, 1910.
• Ladies whose Bright Eyes: A romance. London: Constable, 1911; New York: Baker & Taylor, 1911
  • revised edition, Philadelphia & London: Lippincott, 1935.
• The Simple Life Limited (as "Daniel Chaucer"). London & New York: John Lane, 1911.
• The Panel: A sheer comedy. London: Constable, 1912.
  • published in U.S. as Ring for Nancy: A sheer comedy. Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs-Merrill, 1913.
• The New Humpty Dumpty (as "Daniel Chaucer"). London & New York: John Lane, 1912.
• Mr Fleight. London: Howard Latimer, 1913.
• The Young Lovell: A romance. London: Chatto & Windus, 1913.
• The Good Soldier: A tale of passion. London & New York: John Lane, 1915; Harmondsworth, UK, & New York: Penguin, 1946; Oxford, UK, & New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.
• Zeppelin Nights: A London entertainment (with Violet Hunt). London & New York: John Lane, 1916 [1915].
• Women and Men. Paris: Three Mountains Press, 1923.
• Mister Bosphorus and the Muses; or, A short history of poetry in Britain, variety entertainment in four acts. London: Duckworth, 1923.
• The Marsden Case: A romance. London: Duckworth, 1923.
• The Nature of a Crime (with Joseph Conrad). Duckworth, 1924.
• A Little Less Than Gods: A romance. London: Duckworth, 1928; New York: Viking, 1928.
• No Enemy: A tale of reconstruction. New York: Macauley, 1929; New York: Ecco Press, 1984
  • (with introduction by Paul Skinner). Manchester, UK: Carcanet, 2002.
• When the Wicked Man. New York: Liveright, 1932 [1931]; London: Cape, 1932.
• The Rash Act: A novel. London: Cape, 1933; New York: R. Long & R.R. Smith, 1933.
• Henry for Hugh: A novel. Philadelphia & London: Lippincott, 1934.
• Vive Le Roy. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1936; London: Allen & Unwin, 1937.

Fifth Queen trilogy

• The Fifth Queen. London: Alston Rivers, 1906.
• Privy Seal (Part Two of The Fifth Queen trilogy). Alston Rivers, 1907.
• The Fifth Queen Crowned (Part Three of The Fifth Queen trilogy). Nash, 1908.

Parade's End

• Some Do Not . . .. London: Duckworth, 1924; New York: Thomas Seltzer, 1924.
• No More Parades. London: Duckworth, 1925; New York: A. & C. Boni, 1925.
• A Man Could Stand Up: A novel. London: Duckworth, 1926; New York: A. & C. Boni, 1926.
• Last Post: A novel. London: Duckworth, 1928
  • published in U.S. as The Last Post: A novel. New York: A. & C. Boni, 1928; New York: Literary Guild of America, 1928.

Non-fiction

• Ford Madox Brown: A record of his life and work. London & New York: Longmans Green, 1896.
• The Cinque Ports: A historical and descriptive record. Edinburgh & London: William Blackwood, 1900.
• Rossetti: A critical essay on his art. London: Duckworth / New York: Dutton,, [1902].
• Hans Holbein, the Younger: A critical monograph. London: Duckworth / New York: Dutton, 1905.
• The Soul of London: A survey of a modern city. London: A. Rivers, 1905.
• The Heart of the Country: A survey of a modern land. London: A. Rivers, 1906.
• The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood: A critical monograph. London: Duckworth / New York: Dutton, 1907.
• The Spirit of the People: An analysis of the English mind. London: A. Rivers, 1907
• England and the English: An interpretation. New York: McClure, Phillips, 1907
  • (edited by Sara Haslam). Manchester, UK: Carcanet, 2004.
• The Critical Attitude. London: Duckworth, 1911; Freeport, NY: Books for Libraries Press, 1967.
• Ancient Lights and New Reflections: Being the memories of a young man. London: Chapman & Hall / New York: Wiley, 1911.
  • published in U.S. as Memories and Impressions: A study in atmosphere. New York: Harper, 1911.
• This Monstrous Regiment of Women. London: Women's Freedom League, 1913.
• The Desirable Alien: At home in Germany (with Violet Hunt). London: Chatto & Windus, 1913.
• Henry James: A critical study. London: Martin Secker, 1913 [1914]; New York: A. & C. Boni, 1915.
• Between St. Dennis and St. George: A sketch of three civilizations. London: Hodder, 1915.
• When Blood is Their Argument: An analysis of Prussian culture. London: Hodder, 1915.
• Thus to Revisit: Some reminiscences. London: Chapman & Hall, 1921; New York: Dutton, 1921; New York: Octagon, 1966.
• Joseph Conrad: A personal remembrance. London: Duckworth, 1924; Boston: Little, Brown, 1924.
• A Mirror to France. London: Duckworth, 1926; New York: A. & C. Boni, 1926.
• New York is Not America: Being a mirror to the States. London: Duckworth, 1927; New York: A. & C. Boni, 1927.
• New York Essays. New York: W.E. Rudge, 1927.
• The English Novel: From the earliest days to the death of Joseph Conrad. Philadelphia & London: J.B.Lippincott (One Hour Series), 1929; London: Constable, 1930; Manchester, UK: Carcanet, 1997.
• Return to Yesterday. London: Gollancz, 1931; New York: Boni & Liveright, 1932.
• It Was the Nightingale. Philadelphia & London: J.B. Lippincott, 1933.
• Provence: From minstrels to the machine (illustrated by Janice Biala). Philadelphia & London: J.B. Lippincott, 1935; London: Allen & Unwin, 1938.
• Great Trade Route. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1937; New York & Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1937.
• Portraits from Life: Memories and criticisms of Henry James, Joseph Conrad, Thomas Hardy, H.G. Wells, Stephen Crane, D.H. Lawrence, John Galsworthy, Ivan Turgenev, W.H. Hudson, Theodore Dreiser, Algernon Charles Swinburne. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1937; Chicago: Regnery, 1937.
  • published in UK as Mightier than the Sword: Memories and criticisms of Henry James, Joseph Conrad, Thomas Hardy, H.G. Wells, Stephen Crane, D.H. Lawrence, John Galsworthy, Ivan Turgenev, W.H. Hudson, Theodore Dreiser, Algernon Charles Swinburne. London: Allen & Unwin, 1938.
• The March of Literature: From Confucius to modern times. London: Allen & Unwin, 1938
  • published in U.S. as The March of Literature: From Confucius' day to our own. New York: Dial, 1938.
• Critical Writings (edited by Frank McShane). Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1964.
• Your Mirror to My Times: The selected autobiographies and impressions of Ford Madox Ford. Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, 1971.
• A History of Our Own Times (edited by Solon Beinfeld & Sondra J. Stang). Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1988; Manchester, UK: Carcanet, 1988.
• Critical Essays (edited by Max Saunders & Richard Stang). Manchester, UK: Carcanet, 2002.

Juvenile

• The Brown Owl: A fairy story (illustrated by Ford Madox Brown). London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1891; New York: Stokes, 1891; New York: Cassell, 1892.
  • (illustrated by Grambs Miller). New York: Braziller, 1966.
• The Feather: A tale (illustrated by Ford Madox Brown). London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1892.
• The Queen Who Flew: A fairy tale (illustrated by Edward Burne-Jones). London: Bliss Sands & Foster, 1894
  • (illustrated by Grambs Miller). New York: Braziller, 1965.
• Christina's Fairy Book. London: A. Rivers, 1906
  • (illustrated by Jennetta Vise). London: Latimer House, 1949.

Collected editions

• The Bodley Head Ford Madox Ford (edited by Graham Greene). London: Bodley Head, 1962.
  • Volume I: The good soldier; selected Memories; Poems (edited by Graham Greene), 1962
  • Volume II: The fifth queen. Privy seal; The fifth queen crowned (edited by Graham Greene), 1962
  • Volume III: Parade's end 1: Some do not... (edited by Graham Greene), 1963
  • Volume IV: Parade's end, 2: No more parages, 3: A Man Could Stand Up (edited by Graham Greene), 1963.
  • Volume V: Memories and impressions (edited by Michael Killigrew), 1971.
• The Ford Madox Ford Reader (edited by Sondra J. Stang). New York: Ecco Press, 1986; Manchester, UK: Carcanet Press, 1986.

Edited

• The English Review (literary magazine). London: Duckworth, 1908-1910.
• Transatlantic Review ((literary magazine). Paris: Transatlantic Review / London: Duckworth / New York: T. Seltzer, 1924-
• Transatlantic Stories. London: Duckworth, 1926; New York: L. MacVeagh / Dial Press, 1926.

Letters and journals

• The Letters of Ford Madox Ford (edited by Richard M. Ludwig). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965.
• The Correspondence of Ford Madox Ford and Stella Bowen (edited by Sondra J Stang & Karen Cochran). Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1993.

Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy Ford Madox Ford Society, abd WorldCat.

Poems by Ford Madox Ford

1. The Silver Music

See also

• Imagist poets
• List of British poets
• List of literary critics

References

• John Attridge, "Steadily and Whole: Ford Madox Ford and Modernist Sociology," in Modernism/modernity 15:2 ([1] April 2008), 297–315.
• Humphrey Carpenter (1987). Geniuses Together: American Writers in Paris in the 1920s. Unwin Hyman. ISBN 0-04-440-331-3.  Contains a sharp, critical biographical sketch of Ford.
• Judd, Alan, Ford Madox Ford. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1991.
• Saunders, Max, Ford Madox Ford: A Dual Life, 2 vols. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1996. ISBN 0-19-211789-0 and ISBN 0-19-212608-3
• Thirlwell, Angela, Into the Frame: The Four Loves of Ford Madox Brown. London, Chatto & Windus, 2010. ISBN 9780701179021

Fonds

• The Ford Madox Ford Papers at Washington University in St. Louis

External links

Poems

• "Antwerp", by Ford Madox Hueffer, in The New Poetry: An anthology
• Ford Madox Hueffer in Poetry: A magazine of verse, 1912-1922: "On Heaven," "What the Orderly Dog Saw," "The Silver Music," "The Sanctuary," "A House"
• Ford Madox Ford 1873-1939 at the Poetry Foundation.
• Ford Madox Ford at PoemHunter (5 poems)

Books

• Works by Ford Madox Ford at Project Gutenberg
• Ford Madox Ford at the Online Books Page
• The Good Soldier complete

About

• Ford Madox Ford in the Encyclopædia Britannica
• A Ford Madox Ford at books and writers.
• Ford Madox Ford at NNDB.
• Ford Madox Ford: Biography by Max Saunders
• Ford Madox Ford at the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
• International Ford Madox Ford Studies
• This page uses Creative Commons-licensed content from The Modernism Lab at Yale University. Original article is at "Ford Madox Ford".

Etc.

• Ford Madox Ford Society Members of the Ford Madox Ford Society get a free copy of new books published in the International Ford Madox Ford Studies series; see the Society website for details.