Now More Than Ever: An Edition (HRHRC Imprint Series)

Over the course of his long career, British writer Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) shifted away from elitist social satires and an uncompromising irreligion toward greater concern for the masses and the use of religious terms and imagery. This change in Huxley's thinking underpins the previously unpublished play ''Now More Than Ever''.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 scheme for industrial renewal drives 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 rationalisation of Britain's industrial base. This volume contains the full text of ''Now More Than Ever'', a play hitherto believed to be lost. A ''thinker's play,'' it is the last of Huxley's major writings to be published 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. David Bradshaw is Hawthornden Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Worcester College, Oxford. James Sexton is a Lecturer in English at Camosun College in Victoria, British Columbia. Over the course of his career, British writer Aldous Huxley (18941963) 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 This change in Huxley's thinking underlies the previously unpublished play Now More Than Ever.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.

About the Author:
David Bradshaw is Hawthornden Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Worcester College, Oxford. James Sexton is a Lecturer in English at Camosun College in Victoria, British Columbia.

Over the course of his long career, British writer Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) shifted away from elitist social satires and an uncompromising irreligion toward greater concern for the masses, and, to his own surprise, the use of religious terms and imagery. This change in Huxley's thinking underpins the previously unpublished play Now More Than Ever.Written in 1932-1933 immediately after Huxley had completed 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 scheme for industrial renewal drives him to swindling and finally to suicide. His fate, which mirrors that of the notorious Swedish financier Ivar Kreuger, allows Huxley to expose the evils he perceives in free-market capitalism while pleading the case for national economic planning and the wholesale rationalization of Britain's industrial base.Widely thought to be lost, Now More Than Ever is a "thinker's play" and the last of Huxley's major writings to be published. It is immensely important to an overall understanding of his development as a writer. The editors of this volume have annotated the play for contemporary readers and have also written an introduction that sets the play in the context of Huxley's intellectual life. "Written in 1932-1933 immediately after Huxley had completed 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 scheme for industrial renewal drives him to swindling and finally to suicide. His fate, which mirrors that of the notorious Swedish financier Ivar Kreuger, allows Huxley to expose the evils he perceives in free-market capitalism while pleading the case for national economic planning and the wholesale rationalization of Britain's industrial base."--BOOK JACKET.