Ford, Madox
NAME: Ford, Ford Madox
ACHIEVEMENTS: Writer
NAME: Hueffer, Ford Hermann
DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH: December 17, 1873, Merton, Surrey, England
DATE/PLACE OF DEATH/AGE AT DEATH: June 26, 1939, Deauville, France. Aged 65
DISCIPLINE: Novelist/Editor/Literary critic
FIELD: Literature
LANGUAGE: English
PARENTS: Francis Hueffer; Catherine Ford Madox Brown
SIBLINGS: Oliver; Juliet
SPOUSE: Elsie Martindale
CHILDREN: Katharine; Christina
EDUCATION: Pretoria House, Folkestone, Kent; University College School, London
MAJOR WORK: "The Good Soldier"; "Parade's End"
LIFE AND TIMES:
Born Ford Hueffer, Ford was the son of a well-known music critic, Francis Hueffer, a German immigrant who married the daughter of Pre-Raphaelite artist Ford Madox Brown. At seven, Ford was sent to a boarding school in Kent, run by a pupil of <taught by>FWA Froebel*, the educational innovator.
Ford left school at 16, and at 18, published a fairy story and his first novel, "The Shifting of Fire". In 1896, novelist <mentor was> Henry James*, a neighbor, took an interest in him and became his mentor.
In 1897, Ford met novelist <collaborated with> Conrad*, who asked him (at the suggestion of the writer <knew> Henley*) to help with his novels because English was only his third language. Conrad and Ford wrote "The Inheritors" (1901) and "Romance" (1903). Ford also became good friends with <a pal of> H. G. Wells,* on whom Ford based several of his characters.
In 1908, Ford founded the "English Review," whose aim was to counter the sentimental style of popular fiction. In the first issue, he published a poem by <published> Thomas Hardy*, "A Sunday Morning Tragedy." In 1909, he met <a pal of> D.H. Lawrence*, who described Ford as one of the kindest of men. Ford printed three of Lawrence's poems in the review and after he read the novel, "The White Peacock", declared Lawrence to be a genius.
Although the "Review" had a small circulation and Ford was editor only briefly, Ford's influence on the literary world was considerable. He pulled together all the brightest stars of early modernism in England and was later credited by critic <admired by> Leavis* as having been a brilliant editor. But the "English Review" was not profitable and in 1910, Ford sold it to liberal Member of Parliament Alfred Mond (later Lord Melchett).
Though Ford kept in contact with the older literary generation, such as Henry James and <knew> Galsworthy*, he paid most attention to the young modernists, such as Lawrence and H.G. Wells, who rejected Victorian values. Through his acquaintanceship with <a pal of> Pound*, Ford read and admired the works other modern poets, such as <a fan of> Frost* and <a fan of> T.S. Eliot*.
Ford's own work was prolific, but he did not produce anything remarkable until he was 42. "The Good Soldier", published in 1915, explored the effect of the changing perceptions of sexuality, esthetics and religion on contemporary society. It is considered his finest book and was also his own favorite.
In 1922, Ford moved to Paris, where he again became the center of a group of young experimental authors. In 1924, he founded the "Transatlantic Review", in which he published work by <published> Joyce, J*, <published> Hemingway* and <published> Cocteau*. The "Review" also featured work by artists in other fields, including composer <published> Satie*, and painters <published> Braque* and <published> Picasso*.
Ford gave up the editorship in 1925, but continued to advise and encourage new writers. In the 1920s he wrote a quartet of novels about the First World War (1914-18): "Some Do Not" (1924), "No More Parades" (1925), "A Man Could Stand Up" (1926) and "Last Post" (1928). They were later published together as "Parade's End" (1950) and are generally recognized as among the best accounts of the war.
During the 1930s, Ford lived in France and the United States, and wrote his autobiography. In 1937, he lectured in comparative literature at Olivet College, MI.
ASSESSMENT: His literary contributions as editor, critic, and mentor were more significant in the long run than his writing
EXTRA CONNECTIONS: He was a pal of <a pal of> Stein* and <a pal of> William Morris*
Arp*? Le Corbusier*?
Ford was involved in British war propaganda after the beginning of World War I. He worked for the War Propaganda Bureau, managed by C. F. G. Masterman, along with Arnold Bennett, G. K. Chesterton, John Galsworthy, Hilaire Belloc and Gilbert Murray.
ONELINER: Ford Madox Ford, influential Victorian writer and editor
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Saunders, Max, Ford Madox Ford, A Dual Life, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1996.