Aldous Huxley Recollected: An Oral History - Hardcover

Dunaway, David King

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0786701897 ISBN 13: 9780786701896

Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub, 1995

Synopsis

David King Dunaway has crafted an oral history of Huxley's central place in intellectual history that restores Huxley's reputation during his American years.
After a brilliant early career with novels like Antic Hay and Chrome Yellow, Huxley's reputation suffered with his exile to California, which he undertook partly for the sake of his failing sight, partly out of disappointment with the European peace movement and partly in search of a new spiritual direction.
This wide-ranging study includes interviews with Huxley's family, Isherwood and other key figures in British and American letters, with such sources as his FBI file and his newly discovered film scripts for Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice. In addition, never-before published interviews trace Huxley's pioneering steps into the world of meditation and psychoactive drugs. In a chronological exploration of Huxley's life, the book portrays the intimate side to Huxley's shift from a satiric novelist to a prophet of science, sociology and mysticism.

About this title

About the Author:

David King Dunaway is a professor at the University of New Mexico.

From Booklist:

When Dunaway launched his investigation into Aldous Huxley's life, he was surprised to discover that the books Huxley wrote during his fruitful California years were all but ignored by the critics. He set out to correct this glaring oversight, first in Huxley in Hollywood (1989) and now in this fascinating collection of anecdotal and interpretative interviews. A skilled oral historian, Dunaway talked with two dozen of Huxley's family members, friends, and colleagues, then distilled their conversations into a vivid and shimmering account of the writer's passions and endeavors. Huxley was a striking and memorable man. His severely limited vision didn't keep him from accomplishing herculean intellectual feats nor from taking immense pleasure in nature and art, but it did lead to a preoccupation with seeing, both visually and metaphorically. His quest for improved vision and mystical knowledge was a constant impetus. Dunaway's articulate interviewees include the renowned librarian Lawrence Powell, Christopher Isherwood, Burgess Meredith, and a host of friends and relatives. Donna Seaman

About this edition

• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0786701897
• ISBN 13: 9780786701896
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 225