Introduction

The first chapter aims to explain why Huxley’s short fiction has never been given full attention even though he published five collections during his lifetime and a dozen stories that appeared in magazines. The introduction elaborates on main prejudices against Huxley’s literature, highlighting his widely misunderstood status as a novelist of ideas that often prevents critics from exploring more important aspects of his works such as humor and irony. Providing a brief literature review, the first chapter also underscores that a deeper analysis of Huxley’s short fiction can answer controversial questions about Huxley’s stance on religion, mysticism, modernist poetics, and major political issues. Finally, the introduction explains the sources used in this book, which range from Huxley’s fiction and essays to early reviews of his stories in literary magazines (by the likes of Virginia Woolf and T. S. Eliot) and recent criticism by renowned Huxley scholars.