Letters of Aldous Huxley

by Aldous Huxley , Grover Smith (Editor)

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Professor Grover Smith has divided Aldous Huzley's letters into four groups, arranged in chronological order. The first group, spanning the years the years 1899 to 1922, covers Huxley's childhood, his time at Eton and Oxford, and his early struggles to make a living by journalism while writing poetry and the stories that later appeard in Limbo. The secound group, covering the years 1923 to 1936, the extraordinary fecund period of the early novels and the brilliant volumes of essays and short show more stories, were mostly written while he was living on the Continent or travelling abroad. The third group, dating from 1937 to 1952, begin shortly after Huxley decided, in the interest of his eyesight, to live in California, and were mostly written in America. Many of them, as one would expect, are concerned with his growing intrest in philosophy, medicine and the mystical religions. The final group, written duing the last ten years of his life, are perhaps the most interesting of all. For they de al with his experiences under mescalin and related drugs, a subject which he discussed in detail in letters to his friend Dr. Humphry Osmond, and several others. In one of these he emphasises the dangers of irresponsible experimentation with such drugs, and deplores the publicity given to them by mass communications media. This particualr correspondence would alone make the book one of absorbing contemporary interest; but it is only one of the many diverse subjects - from literature to music, from philosophy to art and architecture, from the problems of over-population to the study of contemporary would alone make the book one of absorbing contemporary interest; but it is only one of the many diverse subjects - from literature to music, from philosophy to art and architecture, from the problems of over-population to the study of contermporary religion - that engaged Aldous Huxley's interest. And on anything which interested him he wrote, always with ease, often with passion, above all^ - never without humanity. These letters form part of those writings, the informal part, but for that very reason the most revealing part. In reading them we come to know and understand the mind and heart of one of the most remarkable and lovable men of the 20th century. -- Cover. show less

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287+ Works 104,943 Members
Aldous Huxley was born on July 26, 1894, in Surrey, England, into a distinguished scientific and literary family; his grandfather was the noted scientist and writer, T.H. Huxley. Following an eye illness at age 16 that resulted in near-blindness, Huxley abandoned hope of a career in medicine and turned instead to literature, attending Oxford show more University and graduating with honors. While at Oxford, he published two volumes of poetry. Crome Yellow, his first novel, was published in 1927 followed by Antic Hay, Those Barren Leaves, and Point Counter Point. His most famous novel, Brave New World, published in 1932, is a science fiction classic about a futuristic society controlled by technology. In all, Huxley produced 47 works during his long career, In 1947, Huxley moved with his family to southern California. During the 1950s, he experimented with mescaline and LSD. Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hell, both works of nonfiction, were based on his experiences while taking mescaline under supervision. In 1959, Aldous Huxley received the Award of Merit for the Novel from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He died on November 22, 1963. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

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6 Works 121 Members

Common Knowledge

Original publication date
1969

Classifications

Genres
Fiction and Literature, Literature Studies and Criticism
DDC/MDS
823.9Literature & rhetoricEnglish & Old English literaturesEnglish fiction1900-
LCC
PR6015 .U9 .Z53Language and LiteratureEnglishEnglish Literature1900-1960

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43
Popularity
688,080
Rating
(4.00)
Languages
English
Media
Paper
ISBNs
2
ASINs
5