Happy Birthday, Aldous Huxley!
by Eartoground
Writers Almanac offers some interesting tidbits about Aldous Huxley, who was born July 26, 1894, and died in 1963:
* Huxley's grandfather, Thomas Henry Huxley, is believed to have coined the word "agnostic."
* When Huxley was 17, he came down with a disease that rendered him almost blind. He taught himself Braille, and liked it because he could read in bed without getting his hands cold.
* Huxley wrote Brave New World because he wanted to write something light--in the model of H.G. Wells.
Does this intrigue you to take another look at Huxley? As Russell Baker said when he introduced Silas Marner on Masterpiece Theatre, don't let your high-school lit class prejudice you against classic literature.
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