Now More Than Ever
(Author) Aldous HuxleyOver the course of his career, British writer Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) shifted away from elitist social satires and an atheistic outlook toward greater concern for the masses and the use of religious terms and imagery. This change in Huxley's thinking underlies the previously unpublished play Now More Than Ever. Written in 1932-1933 just after Brave New World, Now More Than Ever is a response to the social, economic, and political upheavals of its time. Huxley's protagonist is an idealistic financier whose grandiose schemes for controlling the means of production drive him to swindling and finally to suicide. His fate allows Huxley to expose the evils he perceives in free-market capitalism while pleading the case for national economic planning and the rationalization of Britain's industrial base. This volume contains the full text of Now More Than Ever, which was believed to be lost until 1976, when a copy was found at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center of the University of Texas at Austin. A "thinker's play" that has never been produced on stage, it is the last previously unpublished piece of Huxley's major writings and immensely important to understanding his development as a writer. The editors of this volume have annotated the play for contemporary readers. Their introduction sets the play in the context of Huxley's intellectual life.
Aldous Huxley
Aldous Huxley was a British writer and philosopher known for his dystopian novel "Brave New World," published in 1932. His works often explored themes of technology, society, and the human condition. Huxley's writing style was characterized by his use of satire and wit, as well as his keen observations of society. He was a prominent figure in the literary genre of dystopian fiction, influencing writers such as George Orwell and Margaret Atwood. In addition to "Brave New World," Huxley's other notable works include "Point Counter Point" and "The Doors of Perception." His contributions to literature continue to be celebrated for their thought-provoking commentary on the complexities of human existence.