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After Many a Summer is a novel by Aldous Huxley. Originally published in 1939, it tells the story of a Hollywood millionaire fearing his impending death. The novel was retitled After Many a Summer Dies the Swan when published in the USA. This satire explores several philosophical and social issues, some of which would later take the forefront in his final novel Island. The title is taken from the Lord Tennyson poem "Tithonus" and about a figure from Greek mythology to whom Zeus gave eternal life but not eternal youth. The book was awarded the 1939 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
Aldous Leonard Huxley (July 26, 1894 – November 22, 1963) was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. ...
For other uses, see Country (disambiguation). ...
The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...
Philosophy (from the Greek words philos and sophia meaning love of wisdom) is understood in different ways historically and by different philosophers. ...
This article is about the literary concept. ...
A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ...
Chatto and Windus has been, since 1987, an imprint of Random House, the publishers. ...
Harper & Row is an imprint of HarperCollins. ...
Hardcover books A hardcover (or hardback or hardbound) is a book bound with rigid protective covers (typically of cardboard covered with cloth, heavy paper, or sometimes leather). ...
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“ISBN†redirects here. ...
Aldous Leonard Huxley (July 26, 1894 – November 22, 1963) was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. ...
See also: 1938 in literature, other events of 1939, 1940 in literature, list of years in literature. ...
Lord Tennyson, Poet Laureate Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (August 6, 1809 - October 6, 1892) is generally regarded as one of the greatest English poets. ...
In Greek mythology, Tithonus was Eos lover. ...
For other uses, see Zeus (disambiguation). ...
Founded in 1919, the James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are among the oldest and most prestigious book prizes awarded for literature written in the English Language. ...
Plot summary
The action revolves around a few main characters brought together by the Hollywood millionaire, Jo Stoyte. Each character represents a different philosophy of living life. Mr. Propter believes: “For every individual is called on to display not only unsleeping good will but also unsleeping intelligence. And this is not all. For, if individuality is not absolute, if personalities are illusory figments of a self-will disastrously blind to the reality of a more-than-personal consciousness. So that even intelligence is not sufficient as an adjunct to good will; there must also be the recollection which seeks to transform and transcend intelligence.” This is most akin to Huxley's personal beliefs which he cultivated and refined throughout his life and novels. Though other characters achieve conventional success, and or happiness, only Mr. Propter does so without upsetting anyone or creating evil.
 Cover of the US mass-market paperback Stoyte, in his sixties and fearing death, finds himself in deep contemplation of life. Enlightenment eludes him, however, as he is ruled by fear and craving. Stoyte hires Dr. Obispo and his assistant Peter to research the secrets to long life in carp, crocodiles, and parrots. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
To set up Stoyte's wealth and work as a satiric foil, Jeremy, an English archivist and literature expert, is brought in to archive a rare collection of books. Jeremy's presence highlights Stoyte's shallow attitude toward the rare art only he can afford.
Dr. Obispo places great faith in science and medicine as a saviour of humankind. He sees everyone as a stepping stone to science, the greater good, and thus only derives happiness at others' expense. According to Propter's philosophy, he is trapped in ego-based "human" behaviour that prevents him from reaching enlightenment.
Obispo seduces Stoyte's young mistress Virginia in a characteristically egotistical way. She is unable to resist him despite her loyalty to Stoyte. When she is found out by Stoyte, he wishes to kill Obispo but accidentally kills Peter (whose thoughts and morals had slowly started to expand under Propter's tutelage) instead.
Obispo covers this up for money and continued research facilities. This takes him, along with Virginia and Mr. Stoyte to Europe, where they find an immortal human, who now resembles an ape. Mr. Stoyte cannot grasp that transcendence/goodness should be one's ultimate goal, rather than prevention of death, and expresses his wish to undergo treatment so that he too will live forever.
Characters - Jeremy
- Mr. Propter
- Peter
- Dr. Obispo
- Jo Stoyte
- Virginia
Major themes These characters expose questions and answers depicting their various life philosophies until the climax in a Socratic method. Socratic Method (or Method of Elenchus or Socratic Debate) is a dialectic method of inquiry, largely applied to the examination of key moral concepts and first described by Plato in the Socratic Dialogues. ...
An interesting aspect of the story is the way in which it blends scientific knowledge with a more traditional form of narrative. The evolutionary principle of neotony (adults retaining infant-like anatomy and/or behaviour) has been invoked to explain the origin of human characteristics from ape ancestors. The storyline suggests that if we lived longer, we would continue to develop along the path of an ape and eventually become ape-like. Huxley came from a well-known family of biologists, and his grasp of the principle of neotony seems to reflect this influence.
Clearly, a Briton's contemptuous nod to the Hearstian reality of the United States in the early part of the twentieth century as Jo Stoyte is clearly a William Randolph Hearst figure what with the acquisitions of art, etc. and living in a nice house with Virginia, who is clearly a parody of Marion Davies.
References Dawkins sheds an illuminating light upon the story in 'The Axolotl's Tale', by referring to Aldous Huxley's older brother, the biologist Julian Sorell Huxley. Julian Huxley made some name for himself in the English speaking world by a biological experiment involving an axolotl. The experiment had originally been done by Vilém Laufberger in Germany, which was unknown to Julian Huxley at the time. The experiment involves an axolotl, an amphibian expressing neoteny. By injecting hormones the axolotl grows into a fully adult salamander of an unknown species. Apparently, evolution of the creature had blocked growth beyond the tadpole stage, but further growth was activated by the injected hormone. Clinton Richard Dawkins (born March 26, 1941) is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and popular science writer who holds the Charles Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford. ...
The Ancestors Tale cover The Ancestors Tale (subtitled A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Life) is a 2004 popular science book by Richard Dawkins, with contributions from Dawkins research assistant Yan Wong. ...
Sir Julian Sorell Huxley, FRS (June 22, 1887 – February 14, 1975) was a British biologist, author, Humanist and internationalist, known for his popularisations of science in books and lectures. ...
This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
Neoteny describes a process by which paedomorphism is achieved, and is a subject studied in the field of developmental biology. ...
When Dr. Obispo finally finds the Fifth Earl of Gonister again in Europe, still alive at 200, the Earl has fully matured from the juvenile ape that man really is. Apparently, Huxley is referring to man as an immature, not fully grown ape.
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations - After Many a Summer (UK, 1967) (TV)
- In early 2000 the Baryshnikov Dance Foundation commissioned a 35-minute dance for the White Oak Dance Project called After Many a Summer Dies the Swan after Huxley's novel
The White Oak Dance Project was founded in 1990 by Mikhail Baryshnikov and Mark Morris to be the touring arm of the Baryshnikov Dance Foundation. ...
Release details - 1939, UK, Chatto and Windus ISBN ?, Pub date ? ? 1939, hardback (first edition)
- 1939, USA, Harper ISBN ?, Pub date ? ? 1939, hardback (first as "After Many a Summer Dies the Swan")
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