Aldous Huxley :: Biography Biographies

Aldous Huxley Many talented twentieth century sources have been overshadowed by classical writers such as Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare. Novels dealing with classical topics are very much more recognized than works that tackle controversial topics. Aldous Huxley defies this stereotype, for his controversial works gained great fame while influencing many people. Huxley was not just a successful writer he was a complex person whose ideas and novels influenced many people.Aldous Huxley was born July 26, 1894 (Its Online-Aldous Huxley) in Godalming, Surrey, England (Aldous (Leonard) Huxley). Huxley was born into a prominent family. His grandfather, Thomas Henry Huxley, was a biologist who helped develop the theory of evolution. Huxleys aunt, Humphrey Ward, was a novelist. His mother was the niece of Matthew Arnold, a poet, and the granddaughter of Thomas Arnold, a famous educator and headmaster of Rugby school (Aldous Huxley-Biography). When Huxley was fourtee n geezerhood old, his mother died of cancer. He said his mothers death gave him a sense of the transience of human happiness and he felt that heredity do each individual unique, and uniqueness of the individual was essential to freedom (Aldous Huxley-Biography). From 1908 until 1913, Huxley studied at Eton College (Aldous (Leonard) Huxley). While at Eton, Huxley developed a condition of near blindness that plagued him until his death (Philosophers Corner Presents Aldous Huxley).After receiving his Bachelor of Arts in English at Balliol College, Oxford, Huxley worked in the War Office in London and taught at Eton and Repton (Aldous (Leonard) Huxley). While at Oxford, Huxley was introduced to the literary world and became good friends with D.H. Lawrence (Aldous Huxley-Biography). In 1916, Huxley published his first book of poems, The Burning Wheel (Philosophers Corner Presents Aldous Huxley). From 1920-1921, he was a part of the editorial staff of the Athenaeum under Middleto n Murray. Through the years, Huxley also worked as a drama critic for the Westminster Gazette, was an assistant at the Chelsea Book nine-spot and worked for Conde Nast Publications (Aldous (Leonard) Huxley). Huxley married Maria Nys in 1919. In 1920 they had a child named Matthew. The family split time between London and Italy and traveled around the world in 1925 and 1926 (Aldous Huxley-Biography). In 1955 Maria died of cancer, and a year later Huxley married Italian violinist and psychotherapist Laura Achera (Brooke 199).