Ford Madox Ford
Ford Madox Ford
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Full Name and Common Aliases
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Ford Madox Ford was born Ford Madox Hueffer on December 17, 1873, in Merton, Surrey, England. He later adopted the pen name Ford Madox Ford, which he used for most of his writing career.
Birth and Death Dates
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December 17, 1873 – June 13, 1939
Nationality and Profession(s)
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British author, novelist, editor, and critic
Ford Madox Ford was a British writer known for his innovative and influential novels, as well as his work as an editor and critic. He is considered one of the most important writers of the modernist movement.
Early Life and Background
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Ford's family had a long history in the arts; his father, Francis Hueffer, was a music critic and writer, and his mother, Fanny Marsden, was a novelist. Ford grew up surrounded by literature and art, which would later influence his own writing style. He attended Balliol College at Oxford University but did not graduate.
Ford's early life was marked by a sense of restlessness and discontent. He moved to Paris in 1903 with his wife, Elsie Martyn, where they lived among the city's expatriate artists and writers. It was during this period that Ford began to develop his writing style, influenced by the avant-garde movements of the time.
Major Accomplishments
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Ford Madox Ford is best known for his novels, which explored themes of modernity, disillusionment, and the human condition. Some of his notable works include:
The Good Soldier (1915), a novel that explores the complexities of marriage and relationships through multiple narrative voices.
Parade's End (1924-1928), a tetralogy of novels that follows the lives of the British aristocracy during World War I.
* The Fifth Queen (1906), a historical novel set during the reign of Henry VIII.
Ford was also an influential editor and critic. He co-founded the avant-garde literary magazine _The English Review_ in 1908, which published works by notable writers such as Wyndham Lewis and E.M. Forster.
Notable Works or Actions
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In addition to his novels and editorial work, Ford was known for his personal life. He had a reputation for being charming and witty, but also volatile and prone to outbursts. His relationships were often tumultuous, including his marriage to Elsie Martyn, which ended in divorce.
Ford's most notable relationship was with Stella Bowen, an Australian artist whom he met while living in Paris. The two had a passionate and intense relationship that lasted for many years, although they never married.
Impact and Legacy
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Ford Madox Ford's impact on modernist literature cannot be overstated. His innovative use of narrative voice and structure influenced writers such as James Joyce and Virginia Woolf. His novels continue to be studied and admired for their nuanced exploration of the human condition.
Ford's legacy extends beyond his writing. He was a key figure in the development of modernist thought, influencing art, literature, and culture as a whole. His personal life, marked by turmoil and passion, has also been the subject of much interest and speculation.
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
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Ford Madox Ford is widely quoted or remembered for his insightful commentary on literature and society. His novels continue to be celebrated for their innovative style and nuanced exploration of the human condition. As a writer, editor, and critic, Ford played a significant role in shaping modernist thought and culture.
His personal life, marked by passion and turmoil, has also become legendary among literary circles. Despite his flaws and controversies, Ford remains an important figure in literary history, and his work continues to be studied and admired today.
Quotes by Ford Madox Ford
Ford Madox Ford's insights on:
Being correspondent of a Left paper with a name like Eisenstein deprived one of one’s chance of usefulness. Besides.
I am not going to be so American as to say that all true love demands some sacrifice. It doesn’t. But I think that love will be truer and more permanent in which self-sacrifice has been exacted.
Sylvia knew he was only now formulating his settled opinion so as not to have his active brain to give to the discussion.
And Paris, when you avoid the more conspicuous resorts, and when you are unprovided with congenial companionship can prove nearly as overwhelming as is, say, Birmingham on a Sunday.
In every man there are two minds that work side by side, the one checking the other; thus emotion stands against reason, intellect corrects passion and first impressions act a little, but very little, before quick reflection. Yet first impressions have always a bias in their favour, and even quiet reflection has often a job to efface them.
I couldn’t regard myself as personally repulsive. No man can, or, if he ever comes to do so, that is the end of him.
No, by God, it is false! It wasn’t a minuet that we stepped; it was a prison – a prison full of screaming hysterics, tied down so that they might not outsound the rolling of our carriage wheels as we went along the shaded avenues of the Taunus Wald.