Huxley, Aldous

Huxley, Aldous (Leonard)

Aldous Huxley, 1959.

(credit: Robert M. Quittner/Black Star)

(born July 26, 1894, Godalming, Surrey, Eng.—died Nov. 22, 1963, Los Angeles, Calif., U.S.) British novelist and critic. Grandson of T.H. Huxley and brother of Julian Huxley, he was partially blind from childhood. He is known for works of elegant, witty, pessimistic satire, including Crome Yellow (1921) and Antic Hay (1923), which established him as a major novelist, and Point Counter Point (1928). The celebrated Brave New World (1932) is a nightmarish vision of a future society that expresses his distrust of trends in politics and technology. Beginning with Eyeless in Gaza (1936), his works reveal a growing interest in Hindu philosophy and mysticism. Later works include the nonfiction The Devils of Loudun (1952) and The Doors of Perception (1954), about his experiences with hallucinogens.