Parade's End

FordMadoxFord'sacclaimedmasterpieceiswidelyconsideredoneofthebestnovelsofthetwentiethcentury.Parade'sEndwasoriginallypublishedinfourparts(SomeDoNot...,NoMoreParades,AManCouldStandUp--,andLastPost)between1924and1928.ItexplorestheworldoftheEnglishrulingclassasitdescendsintothechaosofWorldWarI,asseenthroughthelifeofChristopherTietjens,anofficerfromawealthyfamilywhoistornbetweenhisunfaithfulwife,Sylvia,andhissuffragettemistress,Valentine.Withscenesofsexualwarfarethatrivalthedevastationofitsbattlefieldscenes,Parade'sEndisaprofounddramatizationofoneman'sinternalstrugglesduringatimeofbrutalworldconflict.TheculminatingachievementofFord'scareer,itfulfillshisambitiousconceptionofthenovelist'sroleasthehistorianofthepresent,capturingtheessenceoftheage.