Point Counter Point

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Point Counter Point, published in 1928, was Aldous Huxley's fourth novel. It is highly regarded: the Modern Library lists it in the top 100 novels of the 20th century.^[1]

Consistent with Huxley's other novels, Point Counter Point has no overarching plot. Much of the novel consists of deeply penetrating personality sketches and long intellectual conversations. When actions are described, Huxley analyzes every motive and internal emotion in detail, sometimes even jumping into a character's past to provide context. His characters decry the dangers of sacrificing humanity for intellectualism, and express concern about the staggering progress of science and technology.

Comparisons have been made between the character Everard Webley and his Brotherhood of British Freemen and Oswald Mosley and the British Union of Fascists. However, because Mosley was still a prominent member of the Labour Party at the time of the publication of Point Counter Point in 1928 and would remain so until 1931 it is highly unlikely that Huxley had him in mind. A number of other fascist groups preceded Mosley's BUF (founded in 1932), the most prominent of which was the British Fascists. Possibly one of these may have been Huxley's inspiration.

[edit] Synopsis and characters

Set in 1920s London, the novel begins by detailing the misery of one Walter Bidlake, but quickly expands its reach through Walter's social sphere, which is a mix of British nobility and lower-class intellectuals. Walter's affair with Marjorie, a married woman, has gone sour, and he is off to a party at Tantamount House to doggedly chase Lucy Tantamount, a woman he finds logically abhorrent but irrationally attractive. Following Lucy to a restaurant, they meet up with Mark Rampion and Maurice Spandrell, intellectuals.

Meanwhile, Walter's sister Elinor is returning from India with her husband Philip. Their relationship is not going well: Philip lives in a world of intellectualism, and is uncomfortable with his humanity so far as to suppress it.

Back in London, Walter tries to ask his boss at a literary magazine for a raise. The man, Denis Burlap, is a facetious and hypocritical individual who idolizes -- and thinks himself to be like -- St. Francis.

All the while, the charismatic Everard Webley is building up his Brotherhood of British Freemen, a group with decidedly fascist politics.

[edit] Film and television adaptations

The novel was adapted into a BBC mini-series by Simon Raven in 1968, starring Tristram Jellinek. It was later broadcast on PBS television in 1972.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Somaweb.org - a collection of links relating to Huxley's works in general
• Point Counter Point at the Internet Movie Database