Book SynopsisThese first two volumes of a projected five, in preparation for several years, begin a major publishing venture, collecting the complete essays of one of the giants of modern English prose and of social commentary in our time. The first two volumes span the most productive period of Huxley's career. Volume I begins with his essays for Gilbert Murray's Athenaeum and his music essays for the New Westminster Gazette. Volume II continues through the 1920s and includes his controversial essays on India and the empire in "Jesting Pilate." The essays of both volumes range from nuanced assessments of art and architecture to political analyses, history, science, religion, and art, and a newly discovered series on music. Wide-ranging, allusive, and witty, they are informed by the probing skepticism of a highly educated and ironically incisive member of the English upper middle class. Huxley's fascination with the codes and conventions of European culture, his growing apprehensions about the menacing collapse of the European political order, and his awareness of the impact of science and technology on the post-Versailles world of England, France, Germany, and the United States form the basis for his critique. His subjects overlap with the satirical novels he wrote during the period between the wars, culminating in Point Counter Point and Brave New World. At their best, these essays stand among the finest examples of the genre in modern literature.Trade ReviewPerusing Volume One, I was struck by the sensitivity and the unerring perception in these unknown reviews, ultimately my most enjoyable reading of the year. -- Robert Craft, conductor and writer on music * Times Literary Supplement, (Books Of The Year, Dec.) *The editors...have done their job with commendable thoroughness. -- P. N. Furbank * Times Literary Supplement *An important and admirable publishing event. * Atlantic Monthly *There is much to enjoy in these volumes...they are important as a document of his times. * Economist *He writes with an easy assurance and a command of classical and modern cross-references. -- Christopher Hitchens * Los Angeles Times *To read all the essays in sequence is like being enrolled at the college of your dreams. * The New Yorker *A remarkable publishing event...these volumes return Huxley from our forgetfulness so as to enjoy his fine intelligence, prose and exemplary strengths. -- Jeffrey Hart * The Washington Times *Ultimately my most enjoyable reading of the year. * The Times Library, (London, England) *
Read more less
