Other editions of book Antic Hay

Doubtless best known for his classic "Brave New World," his earlier works are also compelling reads. Hardly dystopian, this book follows a group of people in England, in their pursuits of indulgence in all kinds, whether comfort, knowledge, or lust. It's a comedic read, but also sad in its own way. Without question, it's a fulfilling read.For more like this, check out New Old Books. We're a small company, but we're trying to get moving with some big classics. We're online at http://NewOldBooks.com

Antic Hay is one of Aldous Huxley's earlier novels, and like them is primarily a novel of ideas involving conversations that disclose viewpoints rather than establish characters; its polemical theme unfolds against the backdrop of London's post-war nihilistic Bohemia. This is Huxley at his biting, brilliant best, a novel, loud with derisive laughter, which satirically scoffs at all conventional morality and at stuffy people everywhere, a novel that's always charged with excitement.

London life just after World War I, devoid of values and moving headlong into chaos at breakneck speed - Aldous Huxley's Antic Hay, like Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, portrays a world of lost souls madly pursuing both pleasure and meaning. Fake artists, third-rate poets, pompous critics, pseudo-scientists, con-men, bewildered romantics, cock-eyed futurists - all inhabit this world spinning out of control, as wildly comic as it is disturbingly accurate. In a style that ranges from the lyrical to the absurd, and with characters whose identities shift and change as often as their names and appearances, Huxley has here invented a novel that bristles with life and energy, what the New York Times called "a delirium of sense enjoyment!"

Antic Hay takes us to London and depicts the aimless and self-absorbed cultural elite in the sad and turbulent times following the end of World War I. The book follows the lives of a diverse cast of characters in bohemian, artistic and intellectual circles. The characters have to deal with the lack of values and stability brought by the terrible conflict. Everybody is lost but at the same time looking for happiness while everything is going out of control in a ridiculous and comic way. Huxley's satire lampooons conventional London behavior and morality in the 1920s.

Antic Hay takes place in London, and depicts the aimless or self-absorbed cultural elite in the sad and turbulent times following the end of World War I. The story follows one Theodore Gumbril in his invention of Gumbril's Patent Small-Clothes, trousers which contain a pneumatic cushion in the seat. Gumbril's quest for love occasionally makes him resort to utilizing "The Complete Man" which is a disguise he concocts around a false full beard. He relates to a diverse cast of characters in bohemian, artistic and intellectual circles. Everybody is lost but at the same time looking for happiness while everything is going out of control in a ridiculous and comic way.

Aldous Leonard Huxley was born in Godalming, Surrey, on 26th July 1894.He was educated for a time by his mother and then entered Oxford University and obtained a degree in English Literature.As a young man he contracted the eye disease keratitis punctate, that left him, to all intents, blind for almost three years until partial sight was restored. It was to trouble him for the rest of his life.During the First World War, Huxley spent much of his time at Garsington Manor, near Oxford, working as a farm labourer where he met several members of the Bloomsbury set. In 1919 he met and quickly married the Belgian refugee Maria Nys. Their son, Matthew, was born on 19th April 1920.By now he had written several volumes of poetry and some short stories. Now he pursued novels.In ‘Crome Yellow’ (1921) he caricatured the Garsington lifestyle. He followed up with further social satires, ‘Antic Hay’ (1923), ‘Those Barren Leaves’ (1925), and ‘Point Counter Point’ (1928).In 1937 Huxley moved to Hollywood with his wife and child. He would live in the U.S., mainly in southern California, and for a time in Taos, New Mexico, until his death. As a Hollywood screenwriter Huxley used much of his earnings to bring Jewish and left-wing writer and artist refugees from Hitler's Germany to the US. He worked for many of the major studios including MGM and Disney. In 1953, Huxley and Maria applied for United States citizenship. When Huxley refused to bear arms for the U.S. and would not state his objections, he had to withdraw his application. Nevertheless, he remained in the U.S. In the spring of 1953, Huxley had his first experience with the psychedelic drug mescaline. Undoubtedly, he was drawn to their mind-altering powers and was a firm believer thereafter.In 1955, Maria Huxley died of cancer.The following year, 1956, Huxley married Laura Archera, also an author, as well as a violinist and psychotherapist. She would later write ‘This Timeless Moment’, a biography of Huxley.Huxley was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer in 1960; in the years that followed, with his health deteriorating, he wrote the Utopian novel ‘Island’, and gave lectures on "Human Potentialities". On his deathbed, unable to speak due to advanced laryngeal cancer, Huxley made a written request to Laura for "LSD, 100 µg, intramuscular." She obliged with an injection at 11:20 a.m. and a second dose an hour later; Aldous Leonard Huxley died aged 69, at 5:20 p.m. on 22nd November 1963.

Antic Hay takes place in London, and depicts the aimless or self-absorbed cultural elite in the sad and turbulent times following the end of World War I. The story follows one Theodore Gumbril in his invention of Gumbril's Patent Small-Clothes, trousers which contain a pneumatic cushion in the seat. Gumbril's quest for love occasionally makes him resort to utilizing "The Complete Man" which is a disguise he concocts around a false full beard. He relates to a diverse cast of characters in bohemian, artistic and intellectual circles. Everybody is lost but at the same time looking for happiness while everything is going out of control in a ridiculous and comic way.

Aldous Huxley’s classic comedy novel, set in post-World War I London. Sometimes called a novel of ideas, the book explores societal excesses, elitism, and cultural substance. The novel follows the exploits of Theodore Gumbril, a shy inventor who meets women while disguised and affecting a false persona.Criticized for its discussion of sex following release, the book was banned in some areas and burned in others.

Antic Hay is one of Aldous Huxley's earlier novels, and like them is primarily a novel of ideas involving conversations that disclose viewpoints rather than establish characters; its polemical theme unfolds against the backdrop of London's post-war nihilistic Bohemia. This is Huxley at his biting, brilliant best, a novel, loud with derisive laughter, which satirically scoffs at all conventional morality and at stuffy people everywhere, a novel that's always charged with excitement.

Antic Hay is one of Aldous Huxley's earlier novels, and like them is primarily a novel of ideas involving conversations that disclose viewpoints rather than establish characters; its polemical theme unfolds against the backdrop of London's post-war nihilistic Bohemia. This is Huxley at his biting, brilliant best, a novel, loud with derisive laughter, which satirically scoffs at all conventional morality and at stuffy people everywhere, a novel that's always charged with excitement.