During his lifetime, Ford wrote a number of general assess-
ments of literature, of which The English Novel ( 1929)proved
to be the most popular and successful. Based on a series of lectures
given in the United States following the publication of his best-
selling Tietjens novels, it was at one time widely used as supple-
mentary reading in university courses dealing with the novel.
Ford himself was amused by this development, and in the Eng-
lish edition of 1930, he observed in his prefatory remarks that
"The young, earnest student of literature for professional pur-
poses should, if he desires good marks, write in his thesis for
examination pretty well the opposite of what I have here set
down." Though still not without its relevance in some places,
this warning need not be taken so seriously today, for the view of
the novel here presented has become acceptable in most academic
circles. That it has become acceptable may be attributed in part
to Ford's own pioneering efforts as a critic which in turn helped
plant the seeds of the New Criticism.

In the selections here reprinted, Ford examines both the cen-
tral English tradition in the novel and its counterpart on the
Continent, especially in France, and draws conclusions which
constitute his own artistic standards.

^{* * *} For Richardson I have the profoundest respect that
amounts as nearly as possible to an affection--if that is to say it
is possible to have an affection for a man whose death preceded
one's birth by one hundred and twelve years. I do not apologize
for the fact that Pamela is my personal favourite whereas the
graver critics and mankind in general prefer Clarissa. By that the
reader need not be guided but he should certainly pay a good

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