Aldous Huxley

Born in Godalming, England, in 1894, Aldous Huxley grew up in a famously intellectual family and went on to become one of the major English-language writers of the 20th century. He first made his name with witty, satirical novels such as Crome Yellow and Antic Hay, before publishing Brave New World in 1932, the book that remains his best-known work.

Huxley wrote widely across fiction and nonfiction, returning again and again to big questions about science, freedom, education, spirituality, and the dangers of a society shaped by comfort and control. Later works such as The Doors of Perception and Island show how far his interests extended beyond the dystopian vision that made him famous.

He spent part of his later life in the United States and died in Los Angeles in 1963. Readers still come to Huxley for his clear, elegant prose and for how uncannily modern his concerns feel.