The Good Soldier – Ford Madox Ford

"This is the saddest story I have ever heard."

John Dowell recounts the story of his friendship with the 'perfect' couple, Edward and Leonora Ashburnham. Beneath the surface of their polite, upper-class Edwardian lives lies a tangled web of adultery, deceit, and tragedy. Dowell's unreliable narration slowly peels back the layers of deception to reveal the rot at the heart of their society.

Ford's novel is a masterpiece of impressionism and narrative technique. It explores the gap between appearance and reality, and the devastating impact of passion on a repressive social order.