Parade’s End: Introduction by Malcolm Bradbury

Ford Madox Ford’s acclaimed masterpiece is widely considered one of the best novels of the twentieth century.

Parade’s End was originally published in four parts (Some Do Not . . ., No More Parades, A Man Could Stand Up–, and Last Post) between 1924 and 1928. It explores the world of the English ruling class as it descends into the chaos of World War I, as seen through the life of Christopher Tietjens, an officer from a wealthy family who is torn between his unfaithful wife, Sylvia, and his suffragette mistress, Valentine. With scenes of sexual warfare that rival the devastation of its battlefield scenes, Parade’s End is a profound dramatization of one man’s internal struggles during a time of brutal world conflict. The culminating achievement of Ford’s career, it fulfills his ambitious conception of the novelist’s role as the historian of the present, capturing the essence of the age.