'This is the saddest story I have ever heard.'
Set just before World War I, The Good Soldier is a tragic, psychologically rich novel of love, betrayal and illusion. It is regarded as one of Ford's best works, and has been adapted for theatre, television and radio.
Poignant and intricately crafted, The Good Soldier is told through the eyes of John Dowell, an unreliable and often naïve narrator. Through fragmented and non-linear storytelling, Dowell recounts the breakdown of his marriage to Florence, and the deterioration of Edward and Leonora's relationship, his prior friends. Behind the relationships' façade of elegance and propriety, Dowell unveils a web of infidelity, emotional manipulation and unspoken despair. As the truth about the foursome's friendship dynamic gradually and devastatingly comes to light, The Good Soldier becomes a chilling tale of romance gone sour, and an intelligent study of how people construct – and are destroyed by – their own misguided fantasies. A landmark of modernist fiction, Ford's novel is celebrated for its subtle irony and narrative complexity. This audiobook edition is expertly read by Thomas Judd.
Ford Maddox Ford (1873 – 1939) was an English novelist, poet and publisher. His journals – The English Review and The Transatlantic Review – significantly contributed to the development of early twentieth century literature across Britain and America. Today Ford is remembered for his novels, which often feature among lists denoting the greatest books of all time.
