{"product_id":"the-good-soldier-ford-madox-ford-9781533621252","title":"The Good Soldier","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Good Soldier\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA Tale of Passion\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBy Ford Madox Ford\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\"saddest story ever told\"\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Good Soldier is narrated by the character John Dowell, half of one of the couples whose dissolving relationships form the subject of the novel. Dowell tells the stories of those dissolutions as well as the deaths of three characters and the madness of a fourth, in a rambling, non-chronological fashion that leaves gaps for the reader to fill. The \"plot\" is not then the real story; the reader is asked to consider whether they believe Dowell and what part he truly played in how this \"saddest story ever told\" actually plays out.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Good Soldier: A Tale of Passion is a 1915 novel by English novelist Ford Madox Ford. It is set just before World War I and chronicles the tragedy of Edward Ashburnham, the soldier to whom the title refers, and his own seemingly perfect marriage and that of two American friends. The novel is told using a series of flashbacks in non-chronological order, a literary technique that formed part of Ford's pioneering view of literary impressionism. Ford employs the device of the unreliable narrator to great effect as the main character gradually reveals a version of events that is quite different from what the introduction leads the reader to believe. The novel was loosely based on two incidents of adultery and on Ford's messy personal life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe novel's original title was The Saddest Story, but after the onset of World War I, the publishers asked Ford for a new title. Ford suggested (sarcastically) The Good Soldier, and the name stuck.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 1998, the Modern Library ranked The Good Soldier 30th on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. In 2015, the BBC ranked The Good Soldier 13th on its list of the 100 greatest British novels. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Ford Madox Ford\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 153362125X\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781533621252\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Createspace Independent Publishing Platform\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/05\/2016\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 186\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.56lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.02h x 5.98w x 0.40d\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ford Madox Ford","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44716436455679,"sku":"9781533621252","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_0a505ec1-e1a5-400d-8adc-d4b2061475e7.jpg?v=1705682333","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-good-soldier-ford-madox-ford-9781533621252","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}