Showing results for "The Media Book" in World War I

War is coming to Europe. After a century of peace, the drums are beating again and the young man may seek honor and glory in service of his King and country. General Griffin's sons welcome the chance to leave the tedium of Oxford to pursue a manly existence for a few months—not for too long, the war will be over by Christmas.

Lieutenant Gilbert Maltravers is bored. It is 1912 and he has been promoted as fast as any in his Dartmouth class and is placed in a battleship where he can confidently look forward to promotion to post captain and a battleship of his own by the time he is forty. All he needs to do is keep a smart ship, polish the brass and salute every senior officer, while wearing an expensive uniform that testifies he is one of the right sort. His father is an admiral, so very little can go wrong.

A Man Could Stand Up—is the third of four installments in Ford Madox Ford's Parade's End tetralogy, which follows Christopher Tietjens, a wealthy British landowner and the last British Tory; his unfaithful wife, Sylvia; and his mistress, Valentine Wannop. Opening on Armistice Day (November 11, 1918), A Man Could Stand Up—serves as the climax of the series. Highlighting the tension between traditional values and a rapidly changing social order, the novel details Christopher and Valentine's trials as the post-war world takes shape around them.

No More Parades is the second of four in Ford Madox Ford's Parade's End tetralogy, a work that Ford hoped would contribute to the obviating of all future wars. The novel follows Christopher Tietjens, a wealthy British landowner and the last British Tory; his unfaithful wife, Sylvia; and his mistress, Valentine Wannop. Highlighting the tension between traditional values and the new reality of a world marred by war, the novel details Tietjens' turmoils in both his personal life and on the warfront—and what follows when those struggles become one and the same.

The Parade's End tetralogy privileges not the conflict of World War I itself, but the impact the war had on its participants and upon society writ large. It is often referred to as one of the greatest 20th century novels, and one of the best depictions of war in literature.