Aldous Huxley and the Search for Meaning

Aldous Huxley, author of eleven novels, remains one of the towering figures of the twentieth century, his work resistant to passing fads in literature. This critical biography explores Huxley’s lifelong quest for self-actualization by intertwining the events of his life and details of the creative period that produced each book. Considering Huxley’s letters, essays and interviews in its examination of the thematic content of each novel, the text finds a man striving for the intellectual growth that would yield a sound philosophical and spiritual view of life, one he infused into his work.

Ronald T. Sion, whose Ph.D. in humanities with a concentration in modern literature is from Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island, teaches English at Cranston High School East in Cranston, Rhode Island, and has served on the adjunct faculty of the Rhode Island School of Design.

Ronald T. Sion
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 338
Bibliographic Info: notes, appendix, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2010
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4746-6
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5778-6
Imprint: McFarland

Preface      1
Introduction      7

ONE. The Man      13
TWO. The Four Social Satires      21
Crome Yellow      21
Antic Hay      31
Those Barren Leaves      44
Point Counter Point      58
THREE. Three Novels of Transformation      75
Eyeless in Gaza      78
After Many a Summer Dies the Swan      96
Time Must Have a Stop      110
FOUR. Thesis, Antithesis, Synthesis: Three Futuristic Novels      125
Thesis: Brave New World      126
Antithesis: Ape and Essence      155
Synthesis: Island      169
FIVE. Standing Alone: The Genius and the Goddess      179
SIX. Integration and Conclusion      193
Appendix: Selected Books and Articles by Aldous Huxley      205
Chapter Notes      209
Works Cited      217
Index      223

“recommended”—Choice.