Memories of a Pre-Raphaelite Youth

by Ford Madox Ford, Margaret MacDonald

• Ford Madox Ford's memories of his childhood and youth surrounded by the great figures of Victorian artistic life, full of rich anecdotes and comedy " … The author's personal, beautiful, and discursive style will appeal to enthusiasts of art and English literature." Library Journal One of the greatest literary artists in history, Ford Madox Ford's childhood is brought to life in this collection of anecdotes from his many memoirs. Ford Madox Ford, best known today for Parade's End and The Good Soldier, was also a very fine memoirist. The grandson of Ford Madox Brown, he grew up surrounded by all the great figures of Victorian artistic life, whom he saw with the unflinching eye of a child. This collection brings together some of his most evocative, witty, and tender memories of an extraordinary youth. There are rich anecdotes about the Rossettis, Brown, Morris, Burne Jones, Ruskin, Oscar Wilde, Leighton, Swinburne, the accomplished con-man Charles Augustus Howell, and many of the minor but no less vivid characters that made up the bohemian life of London in the second half of the 19th century. Ford's elegiac but always penetrating prose is a constant delight, and his comic timing invariably immaculate. Selected from Ford's many volumes of memoirs (all now out of print), this is a superb and very funny introduction to one of the great periods of English art and poetry by a great writer at the very heart of all that was old and all that was new.

88 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2013

About the author

Ford Madox Ford was an English novelist, poet, critic and editor whose journals The English Review and The Transatlantic Review were important in the development of early 20th-century English and American literature.

Ford is now remembered for his novels The Good Soldier (1915), the Parade's End tetralogy (1924–1928) and The Fifth Queen trilogy (1906–1908). The Good Soldier is frequently included among the great literature of the 20th century, including the Modern Library 100 Best Novels, The Observer′s "100 Greatest Novels of All Time", and The Guardian′s "1000 novels everyone must read".

Reviews

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laughed out loud many times. A few dense spots but that’s normal with Victorian/Edwardian prose. Overall so lovely and entertaining as well as educational!!

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading Ford Madox Ford's recounting of his childhood and his adventures growing up with his father and the rest of his father's artistic associates. Reading this one has made me interested in reading the rest of Ford's autobiographical books as well.