March of Literature: From Confucius' Day to Our Own

· Deep Vellum Publishing
Ebook
648
Pages
Tools
Eligible

About this ebook

This 900-page survey of world literature, "From Confucius' Day to Our Own" (as the subtitle reads), was the last book written by Ford Madox Ford, one of the seminal figures of the modernist period. Written for general readers rather than scholars and first published in 1938, The March of Literature is a working novelist's view of what is valuable in literature, and why. Convinced that scholars and teachers give a false sense of literature, Ford brings alive the pleasures of reading by writing about books he is passionate about. Beginning at the beginning - with ancient Egyptian and Chinese literature and the Bible - Ford works his way through classical literature, the writings of the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, continuing up to the major writers of his own day like Ezra Pound, Henry James, and Joseph Conrad. With his encyclopedic reading and expertise in the techniques of writing, Ford is a reliable and entertaining guide. Ford also includes a chapter on publishers and booksellers, noting the key roles they play in literature's existence. Novelist Alexander Theroux (Darconville's Cat, An Adultery) has written an insightful introduction for this reissue, the first time this monumental book has been made available in paperback.
This 900-page survey of world literature, "From Confucius' Day to Our Own" (as the subtitle reads), was the last book written by Ford Madox Ford, one of the seminal figures of the modernist period. Written for general readers rather than scholars and first published in 1938, The March of Literatu...

About the author

Ford Madox Ford was an English writer and critic, best known for his novel The Good Soldier, considered to be one of the greatest literary works of the 20th century; the Parade s End tetralogy, which was influenced by Ford s military service during the First World War; and The Fifth Queen trilogy, which chronicles the life of Henry VIII s ill-fated wife, Katherine Howard. As a critic, Ford championed new literature and literary experimentation, and his journals, The English Review and The Transatlantic Review, launched the careers of critically acclaimed authors like Thomas Hardy, Joseph Conrad, Henry James, D. H. Lawrence, and Ernest Hemingway. Ford died in 1939 at the age of 65.

Alexander Theroux is an award-winning novelist, poet and teacher whose prose works include Laura Warholic or, The Sexual Intellectual, Estonia, and the two artist monographs The Strange Case of Edward Gorey and The Enigma of Al Capp. His novel Darconville s Cat was chosen by Anthony Burgess as one of the 99 greatest post-war novels. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife Sarah-Son Theroux.

Ford Madox Ford was an English writer and critic, best known for his novel The Good Soldier, considered to be one of the greatest literary works of the 20th century; the Parade s End tetralogy, which was influenced by Ford s military service during the First World War; and The Fifth Queen trilogy...

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