Editing Aldous Huxley (section)

== Career ==
{{stack|[[File:Aldous Huxley 1927.png|thumb|upright|Painting of Huxley (at age 32) by [[John Collier (painter)|John Collier]] (1927)]]}}
Huxley completed his first (unpublished) novel at the age of 17 and began writing seriously in his early twenties, establishing himself as a successful writer and social satirist. His first published novels were social satires, ''[[Crome Yellow]]'' (1921), ''[[Antic Hay]]'' (1923), ''[[Those Barren Leaves]]'' (1925), and ''[[Point Counter Point]]'' (1928). ''Brave New World'' (1932) was his fifth novel and first dystopian work. In the 1920s, he was also a contributor to ''[[Vanity Fair (American magazine 1913–1936)|Vanity Fair]]'' and [[British Vogue|British ''Vogue'']] magazines.{{sfn|Sexton|2007|p=144}}

=== Contact with the Bloomsbury Group ===
[[File:SomeBloomsburymembers.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|left|[[Bloomsbury Group]] members (July 1915). Left to right: [[Lady Ottoline Morrell]] (age 42); Maria Nys (age 15), who would become Mrs Huxley; [[Lytton Strachey]] (age 35); [[Duncan Grant]] (age 30); and [[Vanessa Bell]] (age 36)]]
During the [[World War I|First World War]], Huxley spent much of his time at [[Garsington Manor]] near Oxford, home of [[Lady Ottoline Morrell]], working as a farm labourer. While at the Manor, he met several [[Bloomsbury Group]] figures, including [[Bertrand Russell]], [[Alfred North Whitehead]],<ref>{{citation |last=Weber |first=Michel |author-link=Michel Weber |url=https://www.academia.edu/3268912 |title=On Religiousness and Religion. Huxley's Reading of Whitehead's Religion in the Making in the Light of James' Varieties of Religious Experience |editor1-first=Jerome |editor1-last=Meckier |editor2-first=Bernfried |editor2-last=Nugel |newspaper=Aldous Huxley Annual. A Journal of Twentieth-Century Thought and Beyond |volume=5 |place=Münster |publisher=LIT |date=March 2005 |pages=117–132}}.</ref> and [[Clive Bell]]. Later, in ''Crome Yellow'' (1921), he caricatured the Garsington lifestyle. Jobs were very scarce, but in 1919, [[John Middleton Murry]] was reorganising the ''[[Athenaeum (British magazine)|Athenaeum]]'' and invited Huxley to join the staff. He accepted immediately, and quickly married the Belgian refugee Maria Nys (1899–1955), also at Garsington.<ref>{{citation |title=The Huxleys |first=Ronald W |last=Clark |publisher=William Heinemann |place=London |year=1968}}.</ref> They lived with their young son in Italy part of the time during the 1920s, where Huxley would visit his friend [[D. H. Lawrence]]. Following Lawrence's death in 1930 (he and Maria were present at his death in Provence), Huxley edited Lawrence's letters (1932).<ref>{{cite book |first=George |last=Woodcock |year=2007 |title=Dawn and the Darkest Hour: A Study of Aldous Huxley |page=240 |publisher=Black Rose Books}}.</ref> Very early in 1929, in London, Huxley met [[Gerald Heard]], a writer and broadcaster, philosopher and interpreter of contemporary science. Heard was nearly five years older than Huxley, and introduced him to a variety of profound ideas, subtle interconnections, and various emerging spiritual and psychotherapy methods.<ref>Murray, Nicholas (4 June 2009). Aldous Huxley: An English Intellectual. Little, Brown Book Group. p. 220. ISBN 978-0-7481-1231-9.</ref>

Works of this period included novels about the dehumanising aspects of [[scientific progress]], (his [[magnum opus]] ''Brave New World''), and on pacifist themes (''[[Eyeless in Gaza (novel)|Eyeless in Gaza]]'').<ref>{{cite journal |last= Vitoux |first= Peter |year= 1972 |title= Structure and Meaning in Aldous Huxley's 'Eyeless in Gaza' |journal= The Yearbook of English Studies |volume= 2 |pages= 212–224 |doi= 10.2307/3506521 |jstor= 3506521 }}</ref> In ''Brave New World'', set in a dystopian London, Huxley portrays a society operating on the principles of mass production and [[Classical conditioning|Pavlovian conditioning]].<ref>{{cite journal |last= Firchow |first= Peter |year= 1975 |title= Science and Conscience in Huxley's "Brave New World" |journal= Contemporary Literature |volume= 16 |issue= 3 |pages= 301–316 |doi= 10.2307/1207404 |jstor= 1207404 }}</ref> Huxley was strongly influenced by [[F. Matthias Alexander]], on whom he based a character in ''Eyeless in Gaza''.<ref>{{cite journal |last= Watts Estrich |first= Helen |year= 1939 |title= Jesting Pilate Tells the Answer: Aldous Huxley |journal= The Sewanee Review |volume= 47 |issue= 1 |pages= 63–81 |jstor= 27535511 }}</ref>

[[file:Aldous Huxley by Low.jpg|thumb|Aldous Huxley by [[David Low (cartoonist)|Low]] (1933)]]

During this period, Huxley began to write and edit non-fiction works on pacifist issues, including ''[[Ends and Means]]'' (1937), ''An Encyclopedia of Pacifism'', and ''Pacifism and Philosophy'', and was an active member of the [[Peace Pledge Union|Peace Pledge Union (PPU)]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ppu.org.uk/people/huxley.html |publisher=Peace Pledge Union |title=Aldous Huxley |access-date=15 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606072731/http://www.ppu.org.uk/people/huxley.html |archive-date=6 June 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Life in the United States ===
In 1937, Huxley moved to [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]] with his wife Maria, son [[Matthew Huxley]], and friend Gerald Heard. [[Cyril Connolly]] wrote, of the two intellectuals (Huxley and Heard) in the late 1930s, "all European avenues had been exhausted in the search for a way forward – politics, art, science – pitching them both toward the US in 1937."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bucknell |first1=Katherine |url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/aldous-huxley-christopher-isherwood-writing-script-gay-liberation/ | title=Aldous Huxley and Christopher Isherwood: Writing the Script for Gay Liberation |website=LARB Los Angeles Review of Books |date=28 February 2014 |access-date=7 October 2023 |ref=Aldous Huxley and Christopher Isherwood}}</ref> Huxley lived in the U.S., mainly southern [[California]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Symons |first1=Allene |title=Aldous Huxley's Hands: His Quest for Perception and the Origin and Return of Psychedelic Science |date=2015 |publisher=Prometheus Books |isbn=978-1-63388-116-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3cvYCwAAQBAJ |language=en}}<!-- https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/allene-symons/aldous-huxleys-hands/ --></ref><ref>{{cite web |title=a book review by Stephen Hren: Aldous Huxley's Hands: His Quest for Perception and the Origin and Return of Psychedelic Science |url=https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/aldous |website=nyjournalofbooks.com |access-date=23 August 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title='Aldous Huxley Slept Here' – Illustrated Talk October 12 at West Hollywood Library |url=https://www.larchmontbuzz.com/the-swarm/aldous-huxley-slept-illustrated-talk-october-12-west-hollywood-library/ |access-date=23 August 2022 |work=Larchmont Buzz |date=8 October 2016}}</ref> until his death, and for a time in [[Taos, New Mexico]], where he wrote ''Ends and Means'' (1937). The book contains tracts on [[war]],{{sfn|Huxley|1937|loc=Chapter IX: War}} [[Economic inequality|inequality]],{{sfn|Huxley|1937|loc=Chapter XI: Inequality}} [[religion]]{{sfn|Huxley|1937|loc=Chapter XIII: Religious practices; Chapter XIV: Beliefs}} and [[ethics]].{{sfn|Huxley|1937|loc=Chapter XV: Ethics}}

Heard introduced Huxley to [[Vedanta]] ([[Upanishads|Upanishad-centered philosophy]]), [[meditation]], and [[vegetarianism]] through the principle of [[ahimsa]]. In 1938, Huxley befriended [[Jiddu Krishnamurti]], whose teachings he greatly admired. Huxley and Krishnamurti entered into an enduring exchange (sometimes edging on debate) over many years, with Krishnamurti representing the more rarefied, detached, ivory-tower perspective and Huxley, with his pragmatic concerns, the more socially and historically informed position. Huxley wrote a foreword to Krishnamurti's quintessential statement, ''[[The First and Last Freedom]]'' (1954).<ref>{{cite book |last=Vernon |first= Roland |year= 2000 |title= Star in the East |publisher= Sentient Publications |location= Boulder, CO |isbn= 978-0-0947-6480-4 |pages= 204–207 }}</ref>

Huxley and Heard became Vedantists in the group formed around [[Hindu]] [[Swami Prabhavananda]], and subsequently introduced [[Christopher Isherwood]] to the circle. Not long afterwards, Huxley wrote his book on widely held spiritual values and ideas, ''[[The Perennial Philosophy]]'', which discussed the teachings of renowned mystics of the world.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last1= Berg |editor-first1= James J. |editor-last2= Freeman |editor-first2= Chris |year= 2020 |title= Isherwood in Transit |last= Chandra Roy |first= Bidhan |chapter= Chapter 14: In Search of a Spiritual Home: Christopher Isherwood, The Perennial Philosophy, and Vedanta |pages= 190–201 |publisher= University of Minnesota Press |doi= 10.5749/j.ctv1220r9f.18 |jstor= 10.5749/j.ctv1220r9f.18 |isbn= 978-1-5179-0910-9 |s2cid= 225709456 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last= Robb |first= David |year= 1985 |title= Brahmins from abroad: English expatriates and spiritual consciousness in modern America |journal= American Studies |volume= 26 |issue= 2 |pages= 45–60 |jstor= 40641960 }}</ref>

Huxley became a close friend of Remsen Bird, president of [[Occidental College]]. He spent much time at the college in the [[Eagle Rock, Los Angeles|Eagle Rock]] neighbourhood of Los Angeles. The college appears as "Tarzana College" in his satirical novel ''[[After Many a Summer]]'' (1939). The novel won Huxley a British literary award, the 1939 [[James Tait Black Memorial Prize]] for fiction.{{sfn|Reiff|2009|p=113}} Huxley also incorporated Bird into the novel.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://britishheritage.org/en/aldous-huxley | title=Aldous Huxley }}</ref>

During this period, Huxley earned a substantial income as a Hollywood screenwriter; Christopher Isherwood, in his autobiography ''My Guru and His Disciple'', states that Huxley earned more than $3,000 per week (approximately $50,000<ref>{{Cite web|title=$3,000 in 1937 → 2020 {{!}} Inflation Calculator|url=https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1937?amount=3000|website=www.in2013dollars.com|access-date=23 May 2020}}</ref> in 2020 dollars) as a screenwriter, and that he used much of it to transport Jewish and left-wing writer and artist refugees from Hitler's Germany to the US.<ref>{{cite book |last= Isherwood |first= Christopher |author-link= Christopher Isherwood |year= 2013 |orig-year= 1980 |title= My Guru and His Disciple |publisher= Vintage Books |location= London |isbn= 978-0-0995-6123-1 |page= 44 }}</ref> In March 1938, Huxley's friend [[Anita Loos]], a novelist and screenwriter, put him in touch with [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] (MGM), which hired him for ''[[Madame Curie (film)|Madame Curie]]'' which was originally to star [[Greta Garbo]] and be directed by [[George Cukor]]. (Eventually, the film was completed by MGM in 1943 with a different [[Mervyn LeRoy|director]] and [[Greer Garson|cast]].) Huxley received screen credit for ''[[Pride and Prejudice (1940 film)|Pride and Prejudice]]'' (1940) and was paid for his work on a number of other films, including ''[[Jane Eyre (1943 film)|Jane Eyre]]'' (1944). He was commissioned by [[Walt Disney]] in 1945 to write a script based on ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]'' and the biography of the story's author, [[Lewis Carroll]]. The script was not used, however.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.salon.com/2010/04/15/mcsweeneys_intellectual_screenplays/ |title=7 unproduced screenplays by famous intellectuals |date=15 April 2010 |work=Salon |access-date=25 February 2018 }}</ref>

Huxley wrote an introduction to the posthumous publication of [[J. D. Unwin]]'s 1940 book ''Hopousia or The Sexual and Economic Foundations of a New Society''.<ref>{{citation |first=JD |last=Unwin |title=Hopousia or The Sexual and Economic Foundations of a New Society |year=1940 |publisher=Oscar Piest |place=NY}}.</ref>

On 21 October 1949, Huxley wrote to George Orwell, author of ''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four]]'', congratulating him on "how fine and how profoundly important the book is". In his letter, he predicted:
{{Blockquote | "Within the next generation I believe that the world's leaders will discover that infant conditioning and [[wikt:narcohypnosis|narcohypnosis]] are more efficient, as instruments of government, than clubs and prisons, and that the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience."<ref>{{cite book |last=Huxley |first=Aldous |editor=Grover Smith |title=Letters of Aldous Huxley |url=https://archive.org/details/lettersofaldoush0000unse |url-access=registration |year=1969 |publisher=Chatto & Windus |location=London |isbn=978-0-7011-1312-4}}</ref>}}

In 1953, Huxley and Maria applied for [[Citizenship of the United States|United States citizenship]] and presented themselves for examination. When Huxley refused to bear arms for the U.S. and would not state that his objections were based on religious ideals, the only excuse allowed under the [[McCarran Internal Security Act|McCarran Act]], the judge had to adjourn the proceedings.{{sfn|Reiff|2009|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=8JyRntokmqYC&pg=PA31 31]}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Murray|first=Nicholas|title=Aldous Huxley: An English Intellectual|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7h7CKgXGDi4C&pg=PT309|date=4 June 2009|publisher=Little, Brown Book Group|isbn=978-0-7481-1231-9|page=309}}</ref> He withdrew his application. Nevertheless, he remained in the U.S. In 1959, Huxley turned down an offer to be made a [[Knight Bachelor]] by the [[Harold Macmillan#Prime Minister (1957–1963)|Macmillan government]] without giving a reason; his brother Julian had been knighted in 1958, while his brother Andrew would be knighted in 1974.<ref>''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. (2003). Volume 6. p. 178</ref>

In the fall semester of 1960 Huxley was invited by Professor [[Huston Smith]] to be the Carnegie Visiting professor of humanities at the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (MIT).<ref>{{cite magazine|date=3 January 2017|first=Barry|last=Boyce|magazine=[[Lion's Roar (magazine)|Lion's Roar]]|url=https://www.lionsroar.com/huston-smith-fifty-years-on-the-razors-edge|title=Huston Smith's Fifty Years on the Razor's Edge|access-date=13 May 2020|archive-date=26 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726205231/https://www.lionsroar.com/huston-smith-fifty-years-on-the-razors-edge/|url-status=dead}}</ref> As part of the MIT centennial program of events organised by the Department of Humanities, Huxley presented a series of lectures titled, "What a Piece of Work is a Man" which concerned history, language, and art.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archivesspace.mit.edu/repositories/2/resources/761|title=Aldous Huxley lecture series, "What a Piece of Work Is a Man"|website=archivesspace.mit.edu|access-date=27 September 2019 }}</ref>

[[Robert S. de Ropp]] (scientist, humanitarian, and author), who had spent time with Huxley in England in the 1930s, connected with him again in the U.S. in the early 1960s and wrote that "the enormous intellect, the beautifully modulated voice, the gentle objectivity, all were unchanged. He was one of the most highly civilized human beings I had ever met."<ref>Ropp, Robert S. de, ''Warrior's Way: a Twentieth Century Odyssey'' (Nevada City, CA: Gateways, 2002). p 247</ref>