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Aldous Huxley was born in Godalming, Surrey on July 26, 1894, into a well-to-do upper-middle-class family. His father, Leonard Huxley, was a biographer, editor, and poet. He first studied at Eton College, Berkshire (1908-13). When Huxley was fourteen his mother died. At the age of 16 Huxley suffered an attack of keratitis punctata and became for a period of about 18 months totally blind. By using special glasses and one eye recovered sufficiently he was able to read and he also learned Braille. Despite a condition of near-blindness, Huxley continued his studies at Balliol College, Oxford (1913-15), receiving his B.A. in English in 1916. Unable to pursue his chosen career as a scientist - or fight in World War on the front - Huxley turned to writing. His first collection of poetry appeared in 1916 and two more volumes followed by 1920.
Huxley's first novel, Crome Yellow (1921), a witty criticism of society, appeared in 1921. Huxley's style, a combination of brilliant dialogue, cynicism, and social criticism, made him one of the most fashionable literary figures of the decade. In eight years he published a dozen books, among them Point Counter Point (1928) and Do What You Will (1929).
During the 1920s Huxley formed a close friendship with D.H. Lawrence with whom he traveled in Italy and France. For most of the 1920s Huxley lived in Italy. In the 1930s he moved to Sanary, near Toulon, where he wrote Brave New World, a dark vision of a highly technological society of the future. In the1930s Huxley was deeply concerned with the Peace Pledge Union. He moved in 1937 with the guru-figure Gerald Heard to the United States, believing that the Californian climate would help his eyesight, a constant burden. After this turning point in his life, Huxley abandoned pure fictional writing and chose the essay as the vehicle for expressing his ideas.
Brave New World Revisited appeared in 1958. Huxley's other later works include The Devils Of Loudon (1952), depicting mass-hysteria and exorcism in the 17th-century France. Island (1962) was an utopian novel and a return to the territory of Brave New World, in which a journalist shipwrecks on Pala, the fabled island, and discovers there a kind and happy people. But the earthly paradise is not immune to the harsh realities of oil policy. In 1963 appeared Literature And Science, a collection of essays.
In 1954 Huxley published an influential study of consciousness expansion through mescaline, The Doors Of Perception and became later a guru among Californian hippies. He also started to use LSD and showed interest in Hindu philosophy. In 1961 Huxley suffered a severe loss when his house and his papers were totally destroyed in a bush-fire. Huxley died in Los Angeles on November 22, 1963.
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What books/articles/journals ...
What books, journals, or articles discuss Aldous' Huxley's writing. It would help if you could point me in the the right direction. I'm analyzing his use of themes, the change of tone and styles in some of his works.
Posted By pyler at Tue 6 Dec 2011, 11:23 AM in Huxley, Aldous || 0 Replies
Contemporary writers that Huxley looked up to
Bertrand Russell might have been one since he did a review of his (Bertrand's book) Which Way to Peace? "The Pacifist Case." The Listener. Alexander Mathias could be another writer given that Huxley reviewed The Universal Constant in Living. Saturday Review of Literature Who are other contemporary writers that Huxley looked up to? D.H Lawrence was a close companion.
Posted By pyler at Tue 6 Dec 2011, 11:16 AM in Huxley, Aldous || 0 Replies
Major events that influenced his writing style.
I'm trying to master Huxley's writing style by trying to study the major events that influenced his writing. What are some of the major events in Huxley's life that influenced his writing style? or How did he develop his writing style?
Posted By pyler at Sun 4 Dec 2011, 1:32 PM in Huxley, Aldous || 0 Replies
Aldous Huxley's writing style
I often wonder what Aldous Huxley's writing style was. He wrote about many things, many themes in literature. What techniques of his writing can be inferred from his literary works?
Posted By pyler at Sun 4 Dec 2011, 12:15 PM in Huxley, Aldous || 0 Replies
Favourite Aldous Huxley Book?
Hi, I'm not well read but I think I'll enjoy changing that. As I was reading the philosophy of Eckhart Tolle, (love him) I saw that he likes Aldous Huxley's book Island. According to him, the book is about a utopia where people are "actually sane." Knowing that he was the writer of Brave New World, i googled him for more information. I found out that Island is sort of Huxley's "anti-BNW." The utopia to complement his distopia. Wiki mentioned that in BNW, the populace is drugged to pacify them and keep them in line, whereas in Island, people sometimes take drugs for self discovery and spiritual purposes. I find the idea of two books by the same author that compare how the same tool can be used for both good and evil to be interesting. Huxley's philosophy looks interesting in general and I'd really like to read these two books together. I was wondering what people around here think of as their favorite by him and why?
Posted By Stonebolt at Fri 29 Apr 2011, 3:21 PM in Huxley, Aldous || 3 Replies
Brave New World
What is the nature of male-female relationships in this novel?
Posted By bitemebree at Sun 9 Jan 2011, 6:51 PM in Huxley, Aldous || 1 Reply
The Cicadas
I really want to read Huxley's poem, The Cicadas, but I cannot find it anywhere on the internet. Does someone have it in their possession and is willing to post it for me?
Posted By paffy91 at Wed 30 Dec 2009, 2:48 PM in Huxley, Aldous || 1 Reply
huxley quote
"religion is not the opium of the masses but rather opium is becoming the religion of the masses." so true, so many people put on prescription drugs these days and grow addicted to them. drugs do more to keep the masses docile than religion has. that is why he used "Soma" as the future of drugs in Brave New World, which really just representing this idea. Its hard to start a revolution when your all high.
Posted By libernaut at Thu 25 Jun 2009, 3:08 AM in Huxley, Aldous || 2 Replies
After Many a Summer Dies the Swan or brave new world
which of aldous huxley's books do you recommend? i haven't read any of his works as yet, i am ashamed to say. i know brave new world is the most well-read, but maybe i should introduce myself with something less talked-about? any other suggestions are welcomed!
Posted By behindblueeyes at Wed 13 May 2009, 9:16 AM in Huxley, Aldous || 1 Reply
Dystopia or Utopia?
It is obvious to me that 1984 describes a future world, the creation of an unrestrained political Right. And that brave New World describes a future world, the creation of an unrestrained political Left. I would expect the authors to view these dystopias from the opposite perspective. Orwell’s life and subsequent beliefs fits well the narrative of the young Leftist rebel rejecting the Rightist traditions of his time and place. It makes perfect sense what he views to be the worst of all possible worlds. But Huxley not so much. A Brave new World could have been written by any number of today’s right leaning social commentators or political pundits. Indeed it is occasionally referred to in political discourse to highlight current left-leaning initiatives. But Huxley is not so easily put into such a box. What were Huxley’s political leanings? On a deeply personal level did he view the Brave New Wold as a dystopia or utopia? Brave New World Revisited seems to present BNW as dystopia yet the section on drugs is really quite ambivalent sometimes presenting soma as poison to the human soul and then peyote/LSD as enlightenment. He seems to sit the fence and perhaps longing for technology to give us the perfect drug. I wonder what he would think of today’s prevalence of psyche drugs and ritalin in particular. Creating the dystopian soma and then later experimenting with LSD definitely has a cognitive dissonance to it, no? What is known of his personal thoughts concerning sex? Is sex the physical manifestation of love, the intercourse of souls or simply animalistic pleasure?
Posted By Zerubbabel at Sat 20 Sep 2008, 1:59 PM in Huxley, Aldous || 16 Replies