Point Counter Point

Point Counter Point is a novel by Aldous Huxley, first published in 1928. It is Huxley's longest novel, and was notably more complex and serious than his earlier fiction.

In 1998, the Modern Library ranked Point Counter Point 44th on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.

The novel's title is a reference to the flow of arguments in a debate, and a series of these exchanges tell the story. Instead of a single central plot, there are a number of interlinked storylines and recurring themes (as in musical "counterpoint"). Many of the characters are based on real people, most of whom Huxley knew personally.

Some of the main characters include:

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, when Huxley wrote Point Counter Point Mosley was still a prominent member of the Labour Party, and would remain so until 1931; the BUF was not founded until 1932. A number of other fascist groups preceded Mosley, the most prominent being the British Fascists, and possibly one of those may have been Huxley's inspiration. In the 1996 reprint of Point Counter Point, Mosley's son Nicholas discusses the connection in a new introduction to the novel. David Bradshaw has argued that the most likely source for Webley is John Hargrave, founder of The Kindred of the Kibbo Kift.

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.

...
Wikipedia