Mortal Coils 1921 is a collection of short fiction by English author Aldous Huxley Focused on themes of love taboo disillusionment and the writing process these four stories and one play illuminate the young writers abundant wit and critical vision of life in twentieth century England In quotThe Gioconda Smilequot a wealthy aristocrat named Henry Hutton invites the young Miss Janet Spence to dinner with him and his invalid wife Doris After eating a dish against her doctors orders Doris falls ill and is escorted to her room by her husband after which Miss Spence goes home for the night Taking the opportunity to see his mistress Hutton leaves his wife alone unwittingly but perhaps unsurprisingly welcoming disaster into his routinely dishonorable life quotThe Tillotson Banquetquot involves the unexpected rediscovery of a renowned artist who seemed to have disappeared without a trace in 1860 after painting his masterpiece at the age of twentysix Tasked with arranging an illustrious banquet for the man Spode the young man who at long last found Tillotson scrambles to appease Lord Badgery his illustrious benefactor Mortal Coils compiles five short works of fiction by Aldous Huxley...
