Ford Madox Ford was born on 17 December 1873 in Merton, Devon. He began writing in the 1890s and both his fiction and his criticism are celebrated. His most famous works are The Good Soldier (1915) and Parades End (19248). His other major contribution to literature was the foundation of the English Review in 1908 and the Transatlantic Review in 1924. Ford changed his surname from Hueffer in 1919 after serving in the British army in France during the First World War. After 1927 Ford lived in the United States and France, and he died in Deauville on 26 June 1939.

The Good Soldier is a brilliant and heart-rending evocation of destructive passion. When John Dowell and his wife befriend Edward and Leonora Ashburnham they appear to be the perfect couple. He is a distinguished soldier and she is beautiful and intelligent. However, what lies beneath the surface of their marriage is far more sinister and their influence leads John into a tragic drama that threatens to destroy everything he cares about.