Aldous Huxley, The Devils of Loudon

Roy Booth (Royal Holloway, University of London)

Ed. by Peter Childs, Newman University
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.08: English Writing and Culture of the early Twentieth Century , 1900-1945.
Vol. editors: Chris Baldick (Goldsmiths College, University of London), Peter Childs (Newman University), Louise McDonald (Newman University)

Dates

First circulation or publication Oct 1952

Places

England (Publication/ performance)
United States (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Historical
Novel

Resources

Aldous Huxley’s work, describing and reflecting on a case of demonic possession in seventeenth century France, was published on October 1^st, 1952. A similar admonitory response to another historical instance of extreme beliefs cruelly enforced against all reasonable likelihood followed it in January 1953, with the first performance of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Huxley repeatedly comments on evil done in the 20^th century, set against what in the end he calls the relatively “minor horrors” perpetrated in Loudun (p.348, Chapter 11). The historian Michel de Certeau, noting the wider use made of the European witch panic by modern writers, comments appositely that “Yesterday&…

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2779 words

Citation: Booth, Roy. "The Devils of Loudon". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 November 2019 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=1076, accessed 22 November 2024.]

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