Aldous Huxley (1894-1963), “Brave New World”, 1932 was the topic of an earlier blog post.
Aldous Huxley, “Island”, 1962 also was the topic of an earlier blog post.
Aldous Huxley, “Ape and Essence” 1948 likewise was the topic of an earlier blog post.
Here I present: Aldous Huxley (1894-1963), “Crome Yellow”, 1921 which was the first book by Aldous Huxley.
The book consists of thirty (30), untitled chapters. The first sentence of each chapter is shown BELOW.
Chapter #. First Sentence.
#1. “Along this particular stretch of line no express had ever passed.”
#2. “He took nobody by surprise; there was nobody to take.”
#3. “The terrace in front of the house was a long narrow strip of turf, bounded along its outer edge by a graceful stone balkustrade.”
#4. “Denis woke up next morning to find the sun shining, the sky serene.”
#5. “Mr. Wimbush had taken them to see the sights of the Home Farm, and now they were standing, all six of them.”
#6. “Mr. Barbecue-Smith arrived in time for tea on Saturday afternoon.”
#7. “At Crome all the beds were ancient hereditary pieces of furniture.”
#8. “Breakfast on Sunday morning was an hour later than on weekends, and Priscilla, who usually made no public appearance before luncheon, honored it by her presence.”
#9. “Mr. Bodiham was sitting in his study at the Rectory.”
#10. “Denis did not dance, but when ragtime came squirting out of the pianola in gushes of treacle and hot perfume, in jets of Bengal light, then things began to dance inside him.”
#11. “Mr. Barbecue-Smith was gone: the motor had whirled him away to the station, a faint smell of burning oil commemorated his recent departure.”
#12. “Blight, mildew, and smut … Mary was puzzled and distressed.”
#13. “Henry Wimbush brought down with him to dinner a budget of printed sheets loosely bound together in a cardboard portfolio.”
#14. “For their after-luncheon coffee the party generally adjourned to the library.”
#15. “In the time of the amiable Brantome, Mr. Scogan was saying, every debutante at the French Court was invited to dine at the King’s table, were she was served with wine in a handsome silver cup of Italian workmanship.”
#16. “The ladies had left the room and the port was circulating.”
#17. “Ivor brought his hands down with a bang on the final chord of his rhapsody.”
#18. “The nearest Roman Catholic church was upwards of twenty miles away.”
#19. “Henry Winbush’s long cigar burned aromatically.”
#20. “Ivor was gone: lounging behind the windscreen in his yellow sedan he was whirling across rural England.”
#21. “Perched on its four stone mushrooms, the little granary stood two or three feet above the grass of the green close.”
#22. “For the sake of peace and quiet Denis had retired earlier on this same afternoon to his bedroom.”
#23. “Gombauld was by no means so furious at their apparition as Denis had hoped and expected he would be.”
#24. “It was noontime: Denis descending from his chamber, where he had been making an unsuccessful effort to write something about nothing in particular, found the drawing-room deserted.”
#25. “I hope you all realize, said Henry Wimbush during dinner, that next Monday is Bank Holiday, and that you will all be expected to help in the Fair.”
#26. “A little canvas village of tents and booths had sprung up, just beyond the boundaries of the garden, in the green expanse of the park.”
#27. “Mr. Scogan had been accommodated in a little canvas hut.”
#28. “Towards sunset the fair itself became quiescent.”
#29. “It was after ten o’clock: the dancers had already dispersed and the last lights were being put out.”
#30. “Denis had been called: but in spite of the parted curtains he had dropped off again into drowsy, dozy state when sleep becomes a sensual pleasure almost consciously savoured.”
#Ending. “Nobody had noticed: he climbed into the hearse.”
Here I presented: Aldous Huxley(1894-1963), “Crome Yellow”, 1921 which was the first book by Aldous Huxley.
SUMMARY.
- CHARACTERS.
Mr. Scogan, the protagonist.
Mr. Henry Wimbush
Mr. Barbecue-Smith
Mr. Bodiham
Gombauld
Denis
Mary
Ivor
2. PLOT.
”Crome Yellow”, 1921 was the first book by British author Aldous Huxley. “Crome Yellow” is a satire of a house party at Crome. Crome is the parody version of Garsington Manor, home of Lady Ottoline Morrell. The house is the place where authors Huxley and T. S. Eliot used to gather and write.
The book contains a brief pre-figuring of Huxley’s later novel “Brave New World”. Mr. Scogan (the protagonist), describes an “impersonal” generation of the future. In vast state incubators, rows of bottles will supply the World with the population it requires. The family system will disappear; society sapped of its will find a new foundation. Eros, beautifully and irresponsibly free, will flower through a sunlit World of “Crome Yellow”.
Aldous Huxley (1894-1963), “Brave New World”, 1932 was the topic of an earlier blog post.
Aldous Huxley, “Island”, 1962 also was the topic of an earlier blog post.
Aldous Huxley, “Ape and Essence” 1948 likewise was the topic of an earlier blog post.
