The Good Soldier: A 1915 novel by English novelist Ford Madox Ford

First published in 1915 Ford Madox Fords The Good Soldier begins famously and ominously This is the saddest story I have ever heard. The book then proceeds to confute this pronouncement at every turn exposing a world less sad than pathetic and more shot through with hypocrisy and deceit than its incredulous narrator John Dowell cares to imagine. Somewhat forgotten as a classic The Good Soldier has been called everything from the consummate novelists novel to one of the greatest English works of the century. And although its narrative hook--the philandering of an otherwise noble man--no longer shocks its unerring cadences and doleful inevitabilities proclaim an enduring appeal.Fords novel revolves around two couples: Edward Ashburnham--the titles soldier--and his capable if off-putting wife Leonora and long-transplanted Americans John and Florence Dowell. The foursomes ostensible amiability on display as they pass parts of a dozen pre-World War I summers together in Germany conceals the fissures in each marriage. John is miserably mismatched with the garrulous cuckolding Florence and Edward dashing and sentimental cant refrain from falling in love with women whose charms exceed Leonoras. Predictably Edward and Florence conduct their affair an indiscretion only John seems not to notice. After the deaths of the two lovers and after Leonora explains much of the truth to John he recounts the events of their four lives with an extended inflection of outrage. From his retrospective perch his recollections simmer with a bitter skepticism even as he expresses amazement at how much he overlooked.Dowells resigned narration is flawlessly conversational--haphazard sprawling lusting for sympathy. He exudes self-preservation even as he alternately condemns and lionizes Edward: If I had had the courage and the virility and possibly also the physique of Edward Ashburnham I should I fancy have done much what he did. Stunningly Edwards adultery comes to seem not merely excusable but almost sublime. Perhaps he could not bear to see a woman and not give her the comfort of his physical attractions John surmises. Fords novel deserves its reputation if for no other reason than the elegance with which it divulges hidden lives. --Ben GutersonThe novels 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.In 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.