Huxley was a very special kind of expert witness to his own unusual states of consciousness, which he actively cultivated in the service of his writing.
Edward Gooch Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Best known for his 1932 novel
Brave New World, Aldous Huxley later wrote about his experimentation with psychedelic drugs. But there’s a lot more to Huxley’s life than dystopian novels. Here are 10 things you might not know about the author.
1. Aldous Huxley was almost completely blind as a teenager.
Born in Surrey, England in 1894, Huxley had a challenging early life. During his teenage years, his mother died of cancer, his brother died by suicide, and he began having problems with his vision. Following an infection, his corneas became inflamed (a condition called