Sebastian Barnack, a handsome English schoolboy, is on bad terms with his socialist father who disapproves of his hedonistic lifestyle. He escapes to Florence in order to learn about life. His education there, thanks to the contradictory influences of his scurrilous Uncle Eustace and a saintly bookseller, is both sacred and profane. A haunting novel from one of the twentieth century's most powerful commentators.

Aldous Huxleywas born on 26 July 1894 near Godalming, Surrey. He began writing poetry and short stories in his early 20s, but it was his first novel,Crome Yellow(1921), which established his literary reputation. This was swiftly followed byAntic Hay(1923),Those Barren Leaves(1925) andPoint Counter Point(1928) bright, brilliant satires in which Huxley wittily but ruthlessly passed judgement on the shortcomings of contemporary society. For most of the 1920s Huxley lived in Italy and an account of his experiences there can be found inAlong the Road(1925). The great novels of ideas, including his most famous workBrave New World(published in 1932 this warned against the dehumanising aspects of scientific and material 'progress') and the pacifist novelEyeless in Gaza(1936) were accompanied by a series of wise and brilliant essays, collected in volume form under titles such asMusic at Night(1931) andEnds and Means(1937). In 1937, at the height of his fame, Huxley left Europe to live in California, working for a time as a screenwriter in Hollywood. As the West braced itself for war, Huxley came increasingly to believe that the key to solving the world's problems lay in changing the individual through mystical enlightenment. The exploration of the inner life through mysticism and hallucinogenic drugs was to dominate his work for the rest of his life. His beliefs found expression in both fiction (Time Must Have a Stop,1944, andIsland, 1962) and non-fiction (The Perennial Philosophy, 1945;Grey Eminence, 1941; and the account of his first mescalin experience,The Doors of Perception, 1954. Huxley died in California on 22 November 1963.

The novel Huxley considered to be his greatest achievement; an absorbing fusion of philosophical exploration and colourful narrative