Aldous Huxley (1894-1963), English novelist and critic, best known for his novel Brave New World

(1931).
Besides novels he published travel books, histories, poems, plays, and essays on philosophy, arts, sociology, religion
and morals.
Aldous Huxley was born in Godalming, Surrey on July 26, 1894, into a well-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 in 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.
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, where he wrote Brave New World, a dark
vision of a highly technological society of the future. He moved in 1937 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.
In 1954 Huxley 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.