Book description
The life of Father Joseph, Cardinal Richelieu's aide, was a shocking
paradox. After spending his days directing operations on the
battlefield, Father Joseph would pass the night in prayer, or in
composing spiritual guidance for the nuns in his care. He was an
aspirant to sainthood and a practising mystic, yet his ruthless exercise
of power succeeded in prolonging the unspeakable horrors of the Thirty
Years War. In his masterful biography, Huxley explores how an intensely
religious man could lead such a life and how he could reconcile the
seemingly opposing moral systems of religion and politics. Aldous
Huxley was born on 26th July 1894 near Godalming, Surrey. He began
writing poetry and short stories in his early twenties, but it was his
first novel, 'Crome Yellow' (1921), which established his literary
reputation. This was swiftly followed by 'Antic Hay' (1923), 'Those
Barren Leaves' (1925) and 'Point Counter Point' (1928) - bright,
brilliant satires in which Huxley wittily but ruthlessly passed
judgement on the shortcomings of contemporary society. For most of the
1920s Huxley lived in Italy and an account of his experiences there can
be found in 'Along The Road' (1925). The great novels of ideas,
including his most famous work 'Brave New World' (published in 1932 this
warned against the dehumanising aspects of scientific and material
'progress') and the pacifist novel 'Eyeless in Gaza' (1936) were
accompanied by a series of wise and brilliant essays, collected in
volume form under titles such as 'Music at Night' (1931) and 'Ends and
Means' (1937). In 1937, at the height of his fame, Huxley left Europe to
live in California, working for a time as a screenwriter in Hollywood.
As the West braced itself for war, Huxley came increasingly to believe
that the key to solving the world's problems lay in changing the
individual through mystical enlightenment. The exploration of the inner
life through mysticism and hallucinogenic drugs was to dominate his work
for the rest of his life. His beliefs found expression in both fiction
('Time Must Have a Stop', 1944 and 'Island', 1962) and non-fiction ('The
Perennial Philosophy', 1945, 'Grey Eminence', 1941 and the famous
account of his first mescalin experience, 'The Doors of Perception',
1954. Huxley died in California on 22nd November 1963.
