Some Do Not…

Some Do Not …, the first volume of Ford Madox Ford's highly regarded tetralogy Parade's End, was originally published in 1924. Some Do Not … begins with the two young friends, Christopher Tietjens and Vincent Macmaster, on the train to Rye for a golfing weekend in the country. The year, probably 1912, is only indicated later. Tietjens has a brilliant mind, and speaks it scathingly and heedlessly. Both men work in London as government statisticians; though Macmaster aspires to be a critic, and has just written a short book on Dante Gabriel Rossetti. He plans to call on a parson who knew Rossetti, and who lives near Rye. The first of the novel's two parts covers the ensuing weekend, which changes both their lives… Ford Madox Ford (né Joseph Leopold Ford Hermann Madox Hueffer (1873 – 1939) was an English novelist, poet, critic and editor whose journals The English Review and The Transatlantic Review were instrumental in the development of early 20th-century English literature. Ford is now remembered for his novels The Good Soldier (1915), the Parade's End tetralogy (1924–28) and The Fifth Queen trilogy (1906–08). 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».