Aldous Huxley(1894-1963)
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Aldous Leonard Huxley was born on July 26, 1894, at Laleham in
Godalming, Surrey, England. He was the third of four children. His
brother Julian Huxley was a biologist known for his theories of
evolution. His grandfather, named Thomas Henry Huxley, was a naturalist
known as "Darwin's Bulldog." His father, named Leonard Huxley, was a
writer. His mother, named Julia Arnold, was related to poet Matthew
Arnold. Young Huxley graduated from the Hillside School, where his
mother was supervisor. He was traumatized by the death of both his
mother and sister in 1908. He then followed in the footsteps of his
brothers by going to Eaton and then to Balliol College, Oxford
University. At age 16 he contracted keratitis which left him
practically blind for two years, and disqualified him from service in
WWI. Upon his recovery he graduated with a First in English Literature,
he taught English literature at Balliol College, Oxford.
Huxley's literary life began in 1915, when he joined the circle of Lady
Ottoline Morell at Garsington Manor. There he met
Bertrand Russell, D.H. Lawrence,
T.S. Eliot,
Lytton Strachey,
Virginia Woolf, and
Katherine Mansfield. He also met and
fell in love with a Belgian refugee Maria Nys. In 1919 she became his
wife, and they had a son, named Matthew. In 1920 Huxley began writing
for Conde Nast at House and Garden to support his family, and later
contributed to Vanity Fair and Vogue magazines. He soon established
himself as a successful writer and social satirist with his novels:
Crome Yellow (1921), Antic Hay (1923), Those Barren Leaves (1925, and
Point Counter Point (1928). The latter novel brought him international
fame and was lated included in the Modern Library list of the top 100
novels of the 20th century.
His best known novel
'Brave New World' (1932) was actually preceded by
"We" (written in 1920, published in English in 1924), which was the
very first anti-Utopian novel in literature, written by Yevgeni Zamyatin.
Both novels describe the futurist idea of One World State, where
totalitarian government manipulates people's lives by eliminating
individual freedom, family, art, literature, religions and cultural
diversity. Totalitarian government controls humans from their
conception and regulates assisted reproduction, as well, as education,
indoctrination, and also enforces the medical drug use for
pacification. Huxley himself called it a "negative utopia" which was
written as a parody on
'Men Like Gods' (1923), a Utopian novel by H.G.
Wells, which was also preceded by writings of Yevgeni Zamyatin.
In 1937 Huxley moved to Hollywood, California, with wife Maria and a
life-long friend Gerald Heard. There Huxley
befriended Jiddu Krishnamurti and
became one of his disciples, adopting a blend of eastern philosophical
traditions with modernized mysticism. He also joined the circle of
'Swami Prabhavadanta' and became influenced by Vedanta and meditating.
Huxley dramatically updated his lifestyle, become a vegetarian and
practiced yoga. He also experimented with non-addictive psychedelic
drugs and wrote about these experiences extensively. He even reported
that his eyesight had improved for the first time in over 25 years.
After the Second World War Huxley applied for the United States
citizenship, but was denied for refusing to take up arms to defend the
country. He remained a British Citizen for his entire life. Later in
the
1950's he turned down
an offer of a Knight Bachelor by the British government.
In 1955 his wife, Maria, died of breast cancer. A year later Huxley
became married to Laura Archera Huxley
who was herself a writer and also became his biographer. In 1960 Huxley
was diagnosed with throat cancer. In his last Utopian novel 'Island'
(1962), Huxley re-visited and updated his basic ideas from the 'Brave
New World' and from his other novels. In 'Island' Huxley summarized his
views on the modern world and society, including his position on
medical drug use and his political stands on democracy, modernity,
ecology and pacifism. The novel served as an inspiration for the 1960's
psychedelic culture and was also incorporated in ideology of the New
Age Movement. Huxley's opposition to the rigid social organization and
self-destructive nature of modern class society and inevitable fatality
of the modern world was paralleled by that of
Jean-Paul Sartre.
Aldous Huxley volunteered in experimental drug use in research carried
by his friend Dr. Humphry Osmond since 1953. Huxley repeatedly
experimented with mescaline injections and described his observations
in 'The Doors of Perception' (1954) and 'Heaven and Hell' (1956). His
own health deteriorated dramatically in the early
1960's. Huxley spent
his last days bedridden, almost blind, and unable to speak. On his
deathbed he made a written request to his wife for an intramuscular
injection of 100 mg of LSD. Laura Archera Huxley
followed his instruction, and Huxley died peacefully in a few hours
after the injection. That was on November 22, 1963, in his home in
California. His death was obscured by the news of the assassination of
President John F. Kennedy, which occurred on the same day.
Huxley wrote the original screenplay for Disney's animated 'Alise in
Wonderland' (1951), and co-wrote the screenplays for 'Pride and
Prejudice' (1940) and 'Jane Eyre' (1944). Many of his novels were
adapted for film or television: two TV productions of 'Brave New World'
(in 1980 and in 1998), a BBC production of 'Point counterpoint' (1968)
and 'The Devils' (1971) starring Vanessa Redgrave and directed by Ken
Russell, as well as other film and TV adaptations.
Godalming, Surrey, England. He was the third of four children. His
brother Julian Huxley was a biologist known for his theories of
evolution. His grandfather, named Thomas Henry Huxley, was a naturalist
known as "Darwin's Bulldog." His father, named Leonard Huxley, was a
writer. His mother, named Julia Arnold, was related to poet Matthew
Arnold. Young Huxley graduated from the Hillside School, where his
mother was supervisor. He was traumatized by the death of both his
mother and sister in 1908. He then followed in the footsteps of his
brothers by going to Eaton and then to Balliol College, Oxford
University. At age 16 he contracted keratitis which left him
practically blind for two years, and disqualified him from service in
WWI. Upon his recovery he graduated with a First in English Literature,
he taught English literature at Balliol College, Oxford.
Huxley's literary life began in 1915, when he joined the circle of Lady
Ottoline Morell at Garsington Manor. There he met
Bertrand Russell, D.H. Lawrence,
T.S. Eliot,
Lytton Strachey,
Virginia Woolf, and
Katherine Mansfield. He also met and
fell in love with a Belgian refugee Maria Nys. In 1919 she became his
wife, and they had a son, named Matthew. In 1920 Huxley began writing
for Conde Nast at House and Garden to support his family, and later
contributed to Vanity Fair and Vogue magazines. He soon established
himself as a successful writer and social satirist with his novels:
Crome Yellow (1921), Antic Hay (1923), Those Barren Leaves (1925, and
Point Counter Point (1928). The latter novel brought him international
fame and was lated included in the Modern Library list of the top 100
novels of the 20th century.
His best known novel
'Brave New World' (1932) was actually preceded by
"We" (written in 1920, published in English in 1924), which was the
very first anti-Utopian novel in literature, written by Yevgeni Zamyatin.
Both novels describe the futurist idea of One World State, where
totalitarian government manipulates people's lives by eliminating
individual freedom, family, art, literature, religions and cultural
diversity. Totalitarian government controls humans from their
conception and regulates assisted reproduction, as well, as education,
indoctrination, and also enforces the medical drug use for
pacification. Huxley himself called it a "negative utopia" which was
written as a parody on
'Men Like Gods' (1923), a Utopian novel by H.G.
Wells, which was also preceded by writings of Yevgeni Zamyatin.
In 1937 Huxley moved to Hollywood, California, with wife Maria and a
life-long friend Gerald Heard. There Huxley
befriended Jiddu Krishnamurti and
became one of his disciples, adopting a blend of eastern philosophical
traditions with modernized mysticism. He also joined the circle of
'Swami Prabhavadanta' and became influenced by Vedanta and meditating.
Huxley dramatically updated his lifestyle, become a vegetarian and
practiced yoga. He also experimented with non-addictive psychedelic
drugs and wrote about these experiences extensively. He even reported
that his eyesight had improved for the first time in over 25 years.
After the Second World War Huxley applied for the United States
citizenship, but was denied for refusing to take up arms to defend the
country. He remained a British Citizen for his entire life. Later in
the
1950's he turned down
an offer of a Knight Bachelor by the British government.
In 1955 his wife, Maria, died of breast cancer. A year later Huxley
became married to Laura Archera Huxley
who was herself a writer and also became his biographer. In 1960 Huxley
was diagnosed with throat cancer. In his last Utopian novel 'Island'
(1962), Huxley re-visited and updated his basic ideas from the 'Brave
New World' and from his other novels. In 'Island' Huxley summarized his
views on the modern world and society, including his position on
medical drug use and his political stands on democracy, modernity,
ecology and pacifism. The novel served as an inspiration for the 1960's
psychedelic culture and was also incorporated in ideology of the New
Age Movement. Huxley's opposition to the rigid social organization and
self-destructive nature of modern class society and inevitable fatality
of the modern world was paralleled by that of
Jean-Paul Sartre.
Aldous Huxley volunteered in experimental drug use in research carried
by his friend Dr. Humphry Osmond since 1953. Huxley repeatedly
experimented with mescaline injections and described his observations
in 'The Doors of Perception' (1954) and 'Heaven and Hell' (1956). His
own health deteriorated dramatically in the early
1960's. Huxley spent
his last days bedridden, almost blind, and unable to speak. On his
deathbed he made a written request to his wife for an intramuscular
injection of 100 mg of LSD. Laura Archera Huxley
followed his instruction, and Huxley died peacefully in a few hours
after the injection. That was on November 22, 1963, in his home in
California. His death was obscured by the news of the assassination of
President John F. Kennedy, which occurred on the same day.
Huxley wrote the original screenplay for Disney's animated 'Alise in
Wonderland' (1951), and co-wrote the screenplays for 'Pride and
Prejudice' (1940) and 'Jane Eyre' (1944). Many of his novels were
adapted for film or television: two TV productions of 'Brave New World'
(in 1980 and in 1998), a BBC production of 'Point counterpoint' (1968)
and 'The Devils' (1971) starring Vanessa Redgrave and directed by Ken
Russell, as well as other film and TV adaptations.