The second book in the ‘Parade’s End’ series, ‘No More Parades’ follows the story of Christopher Tietjens. An Edwardian Englishman through and through, Tietjens is forced to leave his ordered life behind him and join the bedlam of the First World War.
Drawing on his own experiences, it’s against this backdrop that Ford describes the domestic battles between Tietjens and his unfaithful wife.
Tragic and sometimes harrowing, this book deftly contrasts the chaos of private and personal conflicts against a war that would change the world, forever.
Born in Wimbledon, Joseph Leopold Ford Hermann Madox Hueffer (1873 – 1939) was a prolific poet, novelist, and literary critic, who would become better known by his pen-name, Ford Madox Ford. The grandson of the artist, Ford Madox Brown, he was educated firstly in Kent, before being accepted at the University College School in London.
At the age of 21, Ford eloped with his childhood sweetheart, Elsie Martindale. After living at several houses, they finally settled in Winchelsea. There, Ford befriended a number of authors living locally, including HG Wells and Henry James.
However, it was Joseph Conrad with whom he decided to collaborate, writing a pirate novel titled ‘Romance´. After a nervous breakdown, Ford went to recover in Germany, which laid the foundations for ‘The Good Soldier.’
On returning to England, he founded ‘The English Review’ magazine, before being sent to fight in World War I. When the war finished, Ford spent the rest of his life travelling and writing. He leaves behind him more than 80 books and numerous poems.