The Good Soldier — Ford Madox Ford

A Tale of Passion as its subtitle declares The Good Soldier relates the complex social and sexual relationships between two couples one English one American and the growing awareness by the American narrator John Dowell of the intrigues and passions behind their orderly Edwardian facade It is the attitude of Dowell his puzzlement his uncertainty and the seemingly haphazard manner of his narration that make the book so powerful and mysterious

Wealthy American John Dowell describes in a disarmingly casual compellingly intimate manner how he and his wife Florence meet an English couple in a German spa resort They become friends over the years and gradually the history of their relationships and the passions that lie behind the orderly Edwardian façade are unveiled Dowell is the archetypal unreliable narrator and his casual revelations are both unexpected and explosive A masterpiece of early Modernism and a virtuoso performance of literary skill Ford s Tale of Passion reflects contemporary interests in psychology sexuality and the New Woman Its portrayal of the destruction of a civilized elite anticipates the cataclysm of the First World War which erupted while Ford was finishing the book This new edition includes Ford s important essay On Impressionism which sheds valuable light on his artistic technique

Wealthy American John Dowell describes in a disarmingly casual compellingly intimate manner how he and his wife Florence meet an English couple in a German spa resort They become friends over the years and gradually the history of their relationships and the passions that lie behind the orderly Edwardian façade are unveiled Dowell is the archetypal unreliable narrator and his casual revelations are both unexpected and explosive A masterpiece of early Modernism and a virtuoso performance of literary skill Ford s Tale of Passion reflects contemporary interests in psychology sexuality and the New Woman Its portrayal of the destruction of a civilized elite anticipates the cataclysm of the First World War which erupted while Ford was finishing the book This new edition includes Ford s important essay On Impressionism which sheds valuable light on his artistic technique