Aldous Huxley was born on 26 July 1894 near Godalming Surrey. He began writing poetry and
short stories in his early 20s but it was his first novel Crome Yellow (1921) which
established his literary reputation. This was swiftly followed by Antic Hay (1923) Those
Barren Leaves (1925) and Point Counter Point (1928) ¿ bright brilliant satires in which Huxley
wittily but ruthlessly passed judgement on the shortcomings of contemporary society. For most
of the 1920s Huxley lived in Italy and an account of his experiences there can be found in
Along the Road (1925). The great novels of ideas including his most famous work Brave New
World (published in 1932 this warned against the dehumanising aspects of scientific and
material 'progress') and the pacifist novel Eyeless in Gaza (1936) were accompanied by a series
of wise and brilliant essays collected in volume form under titles such as Music at Night
(1931) and Ends and Means (1937). In 1937 at the height of his fame Huxley left Europe to
live in California working for a time as a screenwriter in Hollywood. As the West braced
itself for war Huxley came increasingly to believe that the key to solving the world's
problems lay in changing the individual through mystical enlightenment. The exploration of the
inner life through mysticism and hallucinogenic drugs was to dominate his work for the rest of
his life. His beliefs found expression in both fiction ( Time Must Have a Stop 1944 and
Island 1962) and non-fiction ( The Perennial Philosophy 1945 Grey Eminence 1941 and the
account of his first mescalin experience The Doors of Perception 1954. Huxley died in
California on 22 November 1963.
