Brave New World is a dystopian novel, which extrapolated from the rise of technology, science, and totalitarianism in the 1930s to imagine a future totalitarian state in which humanity had been robbed of all free choice and were forced into happiness through the manipulation of genetics and psychology. In addition, a number of writers wrote dystopian novels, in which they imagined the worst possible society, using it to criticize their current world. But Utopia was the book that gave the genre its name, and numerous writers over the years wrote their own utopian novels. Utopia was not the first book to imagine a perfect society Plato's Republic, for example, does the same thing.

Its title meant either 'good place' or 'no place,' in Greek, and the book described an ideal society that More used in order to criticize his own society. In 1516, Sir Thomas More published a book called Utopia. In 1963, the same year he died, Huxley published his last book, Island, which depicted a utopia in contrast to the dystopia of Brave New World.

His attempt to write screenplays failed, but he developed an interest in hallucinogenic drugs that led to a book about his drug experiences, The Doors of Perception. As war loomed in Europe, Huxley, a pacifist, moved to California, along with his wife, Maria, and their son, Matthew. Huxley published Brave New World, his most successful novel, in 1932. He wrote prolifically throughout the 1920's, publishing numerous essays, sketches, caricatures, and four novels. Though his hopes of a medical career were dashed when an eye disease almost blinded him at 16, he soon built a career as a writer. He attended Eton and Oxford and was skilled and knowledgeable in both literature and science. Huxley was a thoughtful, imaginative child, though his family teased him for his grumbling disposition. Huxley’s father was the editor of Cornhill magazine, while his mother was related to the English poet Matthew Arnold. His grandfather, a biologist, was instrumental in popularizing Darwin's theory of evolution. Aldous Huxley was born into a family of noted scientists and writers.

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